1 week old macbook air m4 keeps overheating

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1 week old macbook air m4 keeps overheating

I bought the new macbook air m4, with the macOs sequoia 15, and every time i try to play The Sims 4 or Roblox, it overheats like crazy, with no fan noises! I can’t think of any reason why it’s doing that, since it’s the 16GB RAM version and it’s sitting on a table, no soft surfaces. Why is it doing that and how do I fix it, it’s my first mac so i’m confused, are they all like that? I had an HP with 4GB of RAM and it did not overheat once while playing the same games! I would really appreciate an answer, thank you!

MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

Posted on Jul 4, 2025 02:56 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 4, 2025 03:05 AM in response to joanaav

Check Activity Monitor for High CPU Usage

Open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor)
Click the CPU tab.
Sort by %CPU to see if any apps are consuming excessive resources.
Quit or force quit unnecessary or heavy apps.

If still Mac is heating Boot Mac in safe mode and check. How to boot Mac in safe mode I have mentioned below.

Shut down your Mac completely.

Press and hold the Power button until you see “Loading startup options.”

Select your Startup Disk.

Hold the Shift key and click “Continue in Safe Mode.”

Log in as usual — you’ll see “Safe Boot” in the top right menu bar or login screen.

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Answer 2

Jul 4, 2025 05:00 AM in response to joanaav

The MacBook Air is of a fanless design so no fan noise ever.

It is expected that the device may become very warm when the cpu and gpu are under load as when playing games. It’s normal.

If the computer is truly “overheating” it will shut down. That is protective behavior and by design.

Macs have never been a great choice for gaming. If that’s your thing, then a PC or a game console is the way to go. Meanwhile, there are cooling devices available that can be used with laptop computers, if you wish.

And here is some guidance from Apple in the subject:

Keep your Mac laptop within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Jul 4, 2025 06:17 AM in response to joanaav

HOWEVER, to allay your concerns over the off-chance that you did receive a defective unit (it DOES occasionally happen) ..

… suggest you have your Mac evaluated at an Apple Store BEFORE your 14-day “return window” closes.

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Answer 4

Jul 4, 2025 05:16 AM in response to joanaav

The fanless macs indeed run higher case temps than “fanned” models which have their Heat Exchanger(s) (HX) inside the case.

Your Mac’s case IS the HX. It can only reject heat if it’s warmer than the surroundings.

More heat rejection (e.g. needed for gaming) necessitates a higher HX temperature.

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Answer 5

Jul 4, 2025 05:59 AM in response to joanaav

"This warm" is a subjective term, but as I posted, a Mac that is truly overheating will shut itself down, though it would first throttle down the performance of the processors in an attempt to limit the heat generated.

I don't think you have much to worry about with Roblox or The Sims as neither is generally considered to be heavy gaming.

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