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I would like to know if there is a utility to completely turn off the fans.

Currently, when completely idle, fans are showing 2000 and 2100 RPM. Although this is probably not recommended, I would like to have the option to completely shut them down.

Software such as 1 enable fan control but only lets you lower the RPM to the minimum set by Apple (which is 2000 and 2100 for each fan respectively),but I’m looking for an off switch.

When the CPU is idling, this should help preserve some battery life, and prevent dust from accumulating.

I am fully aware that this can damage the system and am not recommending this to anyone.

The question is whether this could be done and not whether this should be done.

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  • 4
    .. and cause logic board failure.
    – benwiggy
    Commented Dec 7, 2019 at 12:28
  • 1
    The question is can this be done, and not should this be done
    – amanusk
    Commented Dec 7, 2019 at 12:33
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    The smc-command tool included with smcFanControl has no limits. It should do what you need without changing the code. Be careful!
    – Graham Miln
    Commented Dec 8, 2019 at 9:31
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    Perfect, @GrahamMiln, smc-command is the answer I was looking for
    – amanusk
    Commented Dec 8, 2019 at 16:47
  • Appreciate the downvotes, (and the answers of course). Remember, you own your computer, not Apple. You should be able to perform basic things like controlling the fans on your computer.
    – amanusk
    Commented Dec 8, 2019 at 17:08

1 Answer 1

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Disabling the fans is not recommended but appears possible through the software below:

smc-command

This tool will allow you to write values to the SMC which could irreversably damage your computer.

...

This program will allow you to read and write values to the SMC using the AppleSMC kernel extension. The purpose of this is to show how to talk to the controller.

smcFanControl is a graphical interface for sic-command with additional safely limits:

smcFanControl

smcFanControl lets the user set a minimum speed for built-in fans. It allows you to increase your minimum fan speed to make your Intel Mac run cooler. In order to not damage your machine, smcFanControl does not let you set a minimum speed to a value below Apple's defaults.

Being open source, you could remove the minimum limits imposed by smcFanControl.

smcFanControl screenshot

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  • Interestingly smc-control also returns an error when attempting to pass a value under 1000, but this can probably be easily changed in code
    – amanusk
    Commented Dec 8, 2019 at 17:03

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