Kernel task?

[woodynorman]

Newb question here...I only know enough about this stuff to be dangerous.

I have a new 2018 MBP. Occasionally it runs really warm and the fans start spinning fast. I only use safari, Evernote and iMessage. Activity monitor shows "kernel task" using a lot of CPU/battery/etc. What exactly is a "kernel task"? Ive seen posts about "kernel panic" but have no idea what that is. Info would be appreciated.

 

[maflynn]

What exactly is a "kernel task"?

From Apple: If kernel_task is using a large percentage of your Mac CPU

One of the functions of kernel_task is to help manage CPU temperature by making the CPU less available to processes that are using it intensely

 

[sk8r1230]

Mine was doing this at idle and near idle. Took it in to Apple and they also couldn’t figure it out and advised me to return it. Kernal task should only be kicked in when the cpu needs to throttle to cool off. Not something that should happen at idle or near.

 

[maflynn]

Mine was doing this at idle and near idle. Took it in to Apple and they also couldn’t figure it out and advised me to return it. Kernal task should only be kicked in when the cpu needs to throttle to cool off. Not something that should happen at idle or near.

In another thread, it was mentioned if you use fan control type software, and that crashes, that could invoke the kernel_task as the system would be unable to control the fans. I suggest not having any utilities load and see what happens.

 

[woodynorman]

It seems my problem may be with Evernote. Its stuck syncing. When I close the app the app it goes away. Ive sent a support ticket to them.

 

[maflynn]

It seems my problem may be with Evernote. Its stuck syncing. When I close the app the app it goes away. Ive sent a support ticket to them.

That's good to know, its odd that an app could cause this, but there you have it.