I bought a refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air from 2020 a little over two years ago, and it heats up quickly even when I'm only watching YouTube. The fan frequently makes a loud whooshing sound, especially in quiet places. It also becomes difficult to use while it's plugged in. I'm not sure how to interpret the information in the system settings, so I can't tell whether this is a hardware problem, normal aging, or something I can fix. Is this common for this model, what should I check, and when would replacing it make more sense?
1 Answer
That model came with Intel processors, and the Intel 2020 MacBook Air is known for running warm and spinning its fan during tasks like video playback. Check Activity Monitor for processes using a lot of CPU, make sure the vents aren’t blocked, and use it on a hard surface. You can also install pending macOS updates and run Apple Diagnostics. If it still overheats while doing very little, the battery or thermal system may need service. Check the battery condition in System Information too, since an aging battery can make using it while charging feel especially problematic.
I checked the processor information, and it says 1.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, so it is the Intel version rather than an M1 model.