Mac Mini getting too hot

[eltoslightfoot]

My M4 Mini routinely shoots past 80C when running Affinity and some other stuff (safari with a couple of tabs, etc.,) using that Hot program to monitor. The whole time it is still cold to the touch? Haven't noticed a single issue...

 

[dmccloud]

I use iStat Menus. When I'm using it, CPU temperature is showing 50C

That's not even close to hot. Most processors such as those manufactured by AMD and Intel have max temps around the 90-95C range, but the M4 apparently can go significantly above that, even 110C or higher in some cases. Unless you are getting either noticeable throttling or high temperature warnings from your Mac, there is nothing to even be concerned with here.

 

[rafark]

50c isn't even hot enough to cook an egg.

No but it’s hot enough to give you a third degree burn

 

[Timpetus]

No but it’s hot enough to give you a third degree burn

Maybe if you fall asleep on it, it would take a really long time if it’s even possible. 3rd degree burns are charred skin, usually requiring 200+C.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Hello, my mac mini m4 It's getting too hot even when it's idle without any programs running. The only way to stop it from heating up is to log off the user. I've already taken it to an authorized Apple technical support center and they said everything is ok. Does anyone else have this problem? I've tried leaving it in 'low power' mode but the problem persists.

?? Why do you claim "too hot" when an authorized Apple technical support center says it is normal? You need real data to prove your claim that there is a problem.

 

[ddsforlife]

No but it’s hot enough to give you a third degree burn

Really? 50º C or 122º F is hot enough to give a 3rd degree burn? Pretty sure it's not. 😊

 

[rafark]

Maybe if you fall asleep on it, it would take a really long time if it’s even possible. 3rd degree burns are charred skin, usually requiring 200+C.

Really? 50º C or 122º F is hot enough to give a 3rd degree burn? Pretty sure it's not. 😊

🤷‍♂️

Burn Exposure Chart

antiscald.com

 

[Larry-K]

Really? 50º C or 122º F is hot enough to give a 3rd degree burn? Pretty sure it's not. 😊

My shower is set for 120° F, I doubt another two degrees would kill me.

 

[A Hobo]

To help any gamers out there suggested when fans are whirring and lots of air flow and case it really hot to back down the graphic settings and experiment with the sweet spot to where the fans are noticeable but not full run and noisy.
The case will always be warm to touch that is the heatsink and the fan is removing the hot air around it.
I use my mini on its side and looking at it directly the left side the air goes up/exhaust power connection side.
The bottom half of fan cage is the air intake of the mini. So half air in and half air out. Wifi is on that side too/black cover.

This comment was truly difficult to read. And it’s not my comprehension skills.

 

[Jeromevilaroel]

Hello, my mac mini m4 It's getting too hot even when it's idle without any programs running. The only way to stop it from heating up is to log off the user. I've already taken it to an authorized Apple technical support center and they said everything is ok. Does anyone else have this problem? I've tried leaving it in 'low power' mode but the problem persists.

It’s unusual for your Mac Mini M4 to overheat while idle, especially if Apple support found no issues. Have you checked Activity Monitor for background processes or tried resetting the SMC and NVRAM?

 

[Joniz]

If you have the Mini on its side, make sure the bottom vent pointing down is not the heat vent.

Otherwise, you’re just sucking warm air back into the intake vents.

 

[DankeBrutus]

I still have yet to have any major problems with the heat out of the M4 mini. I wrote back in December my experience with temps. When gaming yes I have seen temps hit 100 degrees. Though I have also heard that that is not unusual behaviour for modern chips. I saw an article sometime last year that was posted either here or somewhere on Reddit where an AMD engineer was talking about CPU temps. IIRC modern chips are designed to hit their thermal limits sooner and maintain those temperatures. I could absolutely be misremembering though.

I may be worth investing in TG Pro for anyone anxious about temperatures. You can set a more aggressive fan curve with it. Personally I let the system handle the fan itself unless I am doing something really intensive like Handbrake. While gaming, usually with WoW, I have yet to see any throttling negatively impact the performance.

 

[crashwarez]

Mine while using it, design work, listening to music and browsing, watching YouTube is solid 40c. the top case mostly it’s cold, sometimes slightly warm.

What is the temp of your city? here is 30c on the morning and 27c at night. All year round.

 

[crashwarez]

What’s the temperature in your home?

In the office (where he is) it is around 26c

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

Right now the ambient temperature is 21C, I have air conditioner for the summer.
If your ambient temp is so high then please double check the temperature readings.
My main temp from Sensei app is like yours - 40C but in ambient 21C room.
And Mac mini is cool to touch, sometimes slightly warm but definitely not hot.

 

[crashwarez]

Does the issue persist if you create and log into a new user account?

Its a good idea, i wii try do that. Thanks

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

Right now DropBox is indexing huge set of files, Sensei reading is 56C and enclosure is just little warm.

 

[crashwarez]

Right now the ambient temperature is 21C, I have air conditioner for the summer.
If your ambient temp is so high then please double check the temperature readings.
My main temp from Sensei app is like yours - 40C but in ambient 21C room.
And Mac mini is cool to touch, sometimes slightly warm but definitely not hot.

so, but when I log off the user, and do the test (I put my hand on top of it) after a few minutes it is already cold/normal. This problem only happens when the user is logged in (without any open problem). I will post the prints of the temperatures below

 

[crashwarez]

You need to tell us what climate you're in, and what temperature is being reported by iStat Menu.

 

[crashwarez]

have you done a full reboot? not just logged out, or rebooted from menu, but shutdown, waited a bit, then hit the power to turn back on - Yes
is everything up to date OS wise? yes, it is in the latest version

what is it physically setting on? low power mode on , wake up Lan OFF, Prevent auto-sleep when screen is off OFF
directly on a hard flat surface? Yes, on a glass surface. or something soft that might block airflow.
and it's free and clear of all obstuctions around it (2" or 5cm should be enough) - Yes, it is in front of the glass table. There is no obstruction on either side.

it's in a cool area of your home?
not sitting right next to another pice of electronics that's blowing out hot air. (or anything making heat), or in direct sunlight? is in front of my monitor

you say "when I log off, it cools down"
are you the only user account? yes
if there are others does it get hot for them also? i only have 1 user. I will create another and test. I haven't done this test yet
if you log on as a guest, does it still get warm? (may have to be enabled in users and groups in settings)
can you make a second user account, and see if it still happens? i will do that, thanks for the idea


my guess would be that you've got some weird process running, (as others have suggested, activity monitor will be your biggest help here).

The only process that is 'consuming' something is windowserver. But there are no open programs. Only those from the operating system itself.

 

[Boyd01]

I have a base m4 Mini, has run 24/7 without sleeping as a media server since purchased in November 2024. It sits inside a closed cabinet and I am always logged in. Just checked and it's cold to the touch, as usual.

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

Looking at your readings, all looks good

 

[kevcube]

I have been tracking my m4 pro mini's temperature on both the die and the ssd and an external ssd, to get an impression of normal. I have to tell you 50 degrees C is not that hot. In usage spikes I see 66 degrees with just a few apps open. What I've observed is the machine's priority is to conserve energy, which includes how fast it spins the fan, which it prefers to let spin at idle 1000 rpm until it is really, really needed. Also be aware that under full load it will hover around 110 and under continued heavy use will reach 118 and peg itself there.

I've been using LLMs that fully load the GPU with work for long periods at a time, what's when I see 118, and the fans come up to full speed. I also have played several 3D games at 4K and 5K, when I see it then hover near 110 and engage the fans continuously at around 2500rpm.

My point is--this thing runs hotter than any Mac I've ever had--and it's also the fastest I've had by far. My only other M-series chips were M1 and M2 Air's that behaved entirely differently with regard to temperature.

Before you start saying something is *TOO* hot, you need to know what the engineering specs are for TJ Maximum, which is not published by Apple. You can also compare the temperatures we are seeing on M4 pros to other latest-generation silicon, which I have also learned runs far hotter than I am accustomed to.

Unless you are seeing performance throttling, I am willing to wager that your machine is operating normally. Or normal to Apple engineers, at least.

wait... the thing can sustain at 118ºC? that's incredible.

 

[kevcube]

The only process that is 'consuming' something is windowserver. But there are no open programs. Only those from the operating system itself.

based on your images everything is normal. if it's too hot to touch then don't touch it 😄

 

[crashwarez]

I have been tracking my m4 pro mini's temperature on both the die and the ssd and an external ssd, to get an impression of normal. I have to tell you 50 degrees C is not that hot. In usage spikes I see 66 degrees with just a few apps open. What I've observed is the machine's priority is to conserve energy, which includes how fast it spins the fan, which it prefers to let spin at idle 1000 rpm until it is really, really needed. Also be aware that under full load it will hover around 110 and under continued heavy use will reach 118 and peg itself there.

I've been using LLMs that fully load the GPU with work for long periods at a time, what's when I see 118, and the fans come up to full speed. I also have played several 3D games at 4K and 5K, when I see it then hover near 110 and engage the fans continuously at around 2500rpm.

My point is--this thing runs hotter than any Mac I've ever had--and it's also the fastest I've had by far. My only other M-series chips were M1 and M2 Air's that behaved entirely differently with regard to temperature.

Before you start saying something is *TOO* hot, you need to know what the engineering specs are for TJ Maximum, which is not published by Apple. You can also compare the temperatures we are seeing on M4 pros to other latest-generation silicon, which I have also learned runs far hotter than I am accustomed to.

Unless you are seeing performance throttling, I am willing to wager that your machine is operating normally. Or normal to Apple engineers, at least.

So, I don't think 50c is too much, on the contrary, I think it's normal. What bothers me is that the machine is idle without any program open and it's still very hot (when I put my hand on it) while when the machine is idle but with the user logged out it's cold.