2019 iMac 27” fan issues

[j1huynh]

Hi All,
This is very interesting. I have an iMAC 27" 2020. Bought it in Sept 2020. Ran completely quiet and had no issue until around May 2021. The fan began full throttle during sleep mode and even after rebooting, the fan is still on.
Call/Went into apple:
1) Call in: they've told me to reinstall mac os to latest version. fan full blast during sleep mode.
2) Went into apple store: they completely wiped hard drive. No issue at store. Went home. Fan on during sleep mode and full blast after that unless shut down.
3) Went back into apple store: took it in for repair. waiting to hear back from them.. sigh. I might need to buy extended warranty

 

[AAPLGeek]

Hi All,
This is very interesting. I have an iMAC 27" 2020. Bought it in Sept 2020. Ran completely quiet and had no issue until around May 2021. The fan began full throttle during sleep mode and even after rebooting, the fan is still on.
Call/Went into apple:
1) Call in: they've told me to reinstall mac os to latest version. fan full blast during sleep mode.
2) Went into apple store: they completely wiped hard drive. No issue at store. Went home. Fan on during sleep mode and full blast after that unless shut down.
3) Went back into apple store: took it in for repair. waiting to hear back from them.. sigh. I might need to buy extended warranty

Sounds like dust build up in bottom intake ports and/or in the internal fan blades.

 

[j1huynh]

Sounds like dust build up in bottom intake ports and/or in the internal fan blades.

They did the diagnostic and found no hardware issue. They have opened up and now replacing.. power supply first before moving on to other things..

 

[DannyCam]

This is a frustrating one alright. As you've seen in my posts my iMac was also back with Apple and they could not reproduce the issue and gave it a totally clean bill of health, software and hardware, they wiped it and sent it back. As I type this the thing is screaming at me at 3895 RPM and my web browser is literally the only thing open. No predictable pattern, and as I run a small podcast studio recording for clients I can't even risk having the iMac on during sessions in case it randomly kicks in, so it's a pain in the neck. My unit has had this issue through a couple of software and OS updates so I'm not overly optimistic that the next one will solve it, but I will hope. My plan was to manually back everything up and then wipe the unit and manually reinstall everything but it seems another user here has tried that to no avail.

I'm actually at a loss as to what my next step would be, seeing as Apple has already had it and haven't been able to repair.

 

[count_ordinary]

I have the same exact problem on my imac 2019, radeon pro, 64gb ram. Fan randomly jumps to 3700 rpm, sometimes even when the computer is asleep. Temperatures are fine, around 50. Tried the SMC reset a few times. It may have helped temporarily but the problem always comes back. Problem started in May. Very irritating!

 

[Long Peter]

Me too. 2019 iMac with 40GB of RAM. Started randomly pulsing yesterday. Called Apple and they ran me through Safe Mode, SMC and PRAM resets. All was well overnight but it started happening again this morning, then went to flat knacker for 90min before going back to completely normal for the rest of the day so far.

The above steps did solve my WindowServer process using heaps of CPU time, though possibly unrelated.

I'm guessing (hoping) the fan connector theory might be right. The pulsing was like an electrical connection on the edge and I have recently moved my iMac. I cleaned what dust I could but there's just no freaking access at all.

One other thing: The Ambient Air (inside mac) sensor is consistently reading low – 9-16ºC. It's definitely not that cool. The thermometer on my desk is at 24ºC. All other temps are between 30 and 60ºC most of the time.

I'm using Temperature Gauge by Tunabelly Software, just because I already had it in the App Store from years ago. I'm not sure it has been updated recently so I'm considering trying another one which has been recently updated.

 

[aligate]

I will add that I have had the same issue on a 2019 27 inch imac with 2tb factory ssd and 40gb of ram. I have installed a clean os to no avail. With mine the fans will come on full on cold boot, cold machine and run for up to five minutes. At times I can watch whole movies or youtube all day with no problem, other days not. The fan will also go up and down in speed, from full throttle to very little throttle for 20 to 50 seconds at a time. The problem is not reproduce able. I have the best outcome if I leave the machine on all the time. I will not bother with repair and will sell off as soon as an apple silicon device is available at 27 inch or greater. I feel like I bought a Dell computer with the poor support Apple has on this issue. Not willing to travel back and forth to apple to hear minimum wage flunkies tell me there is nothing wrong or it's a software problem. Nice to know I'm not alone...

 

[count_ordinary]

Sheepishly crawling back here to say that my problem was solved by a simple cleaning at the Apple Store.

I have the same exact problem on my imac 2019, radeon pro, 64gb ram. Fan randomly jumps to 3700 rpm, sometimes even when the computer is asleep. Temperatures are fine, around 50. Tried the SMC reset a few times. It may have helped temporarily but the problem always comes back. Problem started in May. Very irritating!

 

[Long Peter]

Sheepishly crawling back here to say that my problem was solved by a simple cleaning at the Apple Store.

I hope it's as simple as that. Please do let us know in a few weeks if the problem returns or not.

A shame it is such a total buggeration to get to and clean the fan in this model. iFixit shows 19 steps just to get the screen off and you need replacement adhesive strips to put it back on. I'd be very upset if I went to all that effort and found little or no dust.

iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display 2019 Fan Replacement

Use this guide to replace a broken or noisy fan in your iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display, or simply remove it for cleaning. Before beginning any...

www.ifixit.com

 

[wilberforce]

I hope it's as simple as that. Please do let us know in a few weeks if the problem returns or not.

A shame it is such a total buggeration to get to and clean the fan in this model. iFixit shows 19 steps just to get the screen off and you need replacement adhesive strips to put it back on. I'd be very upset if I went to all that effort and found little or no dust.

iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display 2019 Fan Replacement

Use this guide to replace a broken or noisy fan in your iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display, or simply remove it for cleaning. Before beginning any...

www.ifixit.com

Attach a flat nozzle or drinking straw to a vacuum cleaner and suck along the bottom vents, with the machine OFF (else the machine fans will suck the loosened dust further into the machine). There is a screen (grid) about an inch above that catches most of the dust. You can see the dust collection on the grid with a bright flashlight. Best one can do without taking the machine apart.

 

[count_ordinary]

I hope it's as simple as that. Please do let us know in a few weeks if the problem returns or not.

A shame it is such a total buggeration to get to and clean the fan in this model. iFixit shows 19 steps just to get the screen off and you need replacement adhesive strips to put it back on. I'd be very upset if I went to all that effort and found little or no dust.

iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display 2019 Fan Replacement

Use this guide to replace a broken or noisy fan in your iMac Intel 27" Retina 5K Display, or simply remove it for cleaning. Before beginning any...

www.ifixit.com

two weeks later, still working great. pretty sure the problem was fully solved by the cleaning.

 

[Tobermann]

I am pretty sure it's something about the iCloud-servers...:
Recently updated to MacOS 12.0.1 and my iMac ran quietly for a while. After the update if the fan went loud at all then only for a short time.
For a few days now, the fan runs more often and longer again.
And what I also noticed a few days ago and what I can reconstruct: When I unlock my iPhone and use e. g. iMessage, then suddenly my iMac (which was until then in the sleep-mode) starts up the fan and runs again at full speed. That happened several times now.
I am sure the fan issue comes from some iCloud synchronization tasks that run in the background....

 

[AJB999]

I started getting the same problem with my 2019 27" iMac Retina 5K almost 2 weeks ago. Had previously barely heard a whisper from the fan then it suddenly intermittently started running flat out.

I did manage to run a diagnostic (hold D during startup) when the fan was running flat out and this gave error codes PPF004 and PPF003. If the fan was running normally the diagnostic tests would come up clear.

Went through 2 visits to the apple store and a telephone help session. The store could not reproduce the fault. Various software things tried including a wipe and clean installation of the OS.

After another visit to the apple store where I showed them a photo of the diagnostic error codes they agreed to try changing the fan (and agreed to do it for free as it was my third visit within a week for the same fault).

So far (about a day and a half) there have been no further fan issues.

Although I didn't have to pay for it I was surprised at the repair costs. £13 for the fan but then labour and vat would have brought the total up to £98. I spent more than £13 on fuel driving to the apple store!

 

[exon]

two weeks later, still working great. pretty sure the problem was fully solved by the cleaning.

Did this permanently fix the problem? I have the same issue with a 2019 i5 27". I took it in once and the tech said they couldn't reproduce the issue, but it constantly comes and goes with no obvious pattern and no obvious relationship to internal temperatures (as measured by Macs Fan Control).

 

[count_ordinary]

Did this permanently fix the problem? I have the same issue with a 2019 i5 27". I took it in once and the tech said they couldn't reproduce the issue, but it constantly comes and goes with no obvious pattern and no obvious relationship to internal temperatures (as measured by Macs Fan Control).

Yes, a cleaning at the Apple Store seems to have permanently fixed the problem. A few stray observations that may help: 1)I'd wrongly assumed it was a software or sensor problem as whenever I ran the diagnostic (command D on startup) it found nothing. Also I have an older 2013 imac that sat on the exact same desk and never had a problem. Also, like you, no relation to internal temperatures. 2)I didn't take it to the Mac Store until about 5 months after the problem started, mostly because the problem was so sporadic initially that I feared they wouldn't be able to replicate it (sometimes it would work fine for a few days without going into overdrive), and I was hoping a software update sometime in the future would fix it. The problem just kept occurring with increasing regularity though, so I decided to take it in, assuming they'd be able to replicate it now that it was happening pretty much every time I started it up. 3) The Apple Store technician said they ran a diagnostic and an issue with the fan came up. I'm not sure if it was the same diagnostic that I ran at home but I assumed they have more thorough diagnostics since whenever I did Command D at home it came up clear. I'm not sure if they ever replicated the problem, but they may not have needed to since their diagnostic caught it anyway.

 

[Long Peter]

Well, the issue just went away for a few months but returned again this week. Pulsing up and down between 700 and 1900RPM at first, then full-blast for most of this morning.

Much like AJB999, I managed to run a diagnostic while the fan was running flat-knacker and got the PPF004 and PPF003 error codes. I guess I'll need to fortify my credit card and head off to the Apple Store.

 

[Long Peter]

Fan replaced at my local Apple Store, free of charge. Hopefully that's it sorted. A few takeaways for anyone else having this issue:

• Try to catch the fans going nuts in a start-up diagnostic (hold D on startup) and take a photo of those error codes. That jumped the the Apple support script straight from "maybe we could clean install the OS…?" to "Oh, yeah, just bring it in. That's a hardware fault.".
• If you are in Australia, repairs will likely be covered under consumer law for 3 years from original purchase, even if you don't have extended Apple Care+ and it is otherwise out of warranty.
• Mine was over 3 years by the time I took it in but they covered it anyway as I had first made contact with support regarding this issue inside of the 3 year window.
• If I'd had to pay it would have been AU$148 for a fan replacement (including AU$24 for the fan, work and GST) or nearly AU$1k if they decided to replace the main board.
• I asked about dust build up and the impression I was given was that there was nothing noteworthy.
• It was 6 days in the Adelaide Apple Store. They said it could have been next day or even same day but the fan had to be ordered in.
• When I inquired with an independent repairer they quoted me AU$100 more than Apple's AU$148 figure and the wait would have been twice as long.
• Even at $148, I would just get them to fix it rather than try to sort it out myself. I've opened up a 2010 iMac before and even that, with no adhesives, was a pain.

 

[Timbob75]

I found this on a discussion forum:
Quote:
"I experienced the same problem on a 2019 iMac Retina 27”: Fans always on at full speed, SMC and NVRAM resets didn’t fix it. Booting with D key pressed into diagnostics tool came up with the message indicating I might have a fan problem (ah really?) and error code PPF003.

Reading your description I realized the connector might be the issue. So I just took my flat hand and tapped several times on the back of the iMac. Problem solved - no more fan noise! Thanks so much, you saved me from having to send it back to an Apple Store !"

SOLVED: Apple Hardware Test - Error Code PPF003 - MacBook Air 11" Mid 2013

Well you’re fan connector was damaged by the previous owner or the person who last serviced the system. Your logic board will need repair someone with the proper skills should be able to replace it. Here’s an image on what the connector should look like Vs your connector The clamp latch is... -...

www.ifixit.com

Superb!! This absolutely worked!
I am on a 5k Retina iMac 2019.
I checked the diagnostics (Booting with D key pressed) let it do it's thing and it returned the error code PPF003.
I actually tapped 3 times (one in the middle, one at the left one at the right on the back with my open, flat hand... rebooted... and voila! No fan.
I had already tried the mac fans control app (free and paid for) which initially seemed to help, but the problem got progressively worse.
Now, I have quiet iMac! Will let you know if the problem returns...

Thanks so much @wilberforce

 

[nikosbar]

Superb!! This absolutely worked!
I am on a 5k Retina iMac 2019.
I checked the diagnostics (Booting with D key pressed) let it do it's thing and it returned the error code PPF003.
I actually tapped 3 times (one in the middle, one at the left one at the right on the back with my open, flat hand... rebooted... and voila! No fan.
I had already tried the mac fans control app (free and paid for) which initially seemed to help, but the problem got progressively worse.
Now, I have quiet iMac! Will let you know if the problem returns...

Thanks so much @wilberforce

That's...not what I was waiting for, but... it worked!!! I cannot believe it!
I'm also on an 27" iMac, 5k, Retina 2019, 6-core intel i5, with Monterey 12.5.1

I simply "smacked" it one time with the palm of my hand, just above the ports (usb, ethernet etc).

The problem started after I installed 2 rams of 16 GB each (Corsair mac memory) and I couldn't figure out what was the problem with the fan. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but it happened after that.
The fan was starting to work in full speed, when I started the mac, after a shut down. I tried to leave the mac open for several days, and the fan was quiet!!
For the last week, it started only one time with the loud fan, but one tap in the ack, just did the work!!
Just like the old TVs our parents (or grandparents) had, when you had to smack them on the side to get a better signal from the antenna!
I tried several applications to just stop the fan and make it work on 1300 rpm, but nothing worked!!
I was about to open it and check the connectors but I was having second thoughts because it is a bit hard removing and re-installing the adhesive strips etc...

One (or maybe two) smacks, just above the usb ports. Just give it a try. Who knows...

I will come back if anything new happens.

Thanks to user wilberforce !

 

[exon]

Yes, a cleaning at the Apple Store seems to have permanently fixed the problem. A few stray observations that may help: 1)I'd wrongly assumed it was a software or sensor problem as whenever I ran the diagnostic (command D on startup) it found nothing. Also I have an older 2013 imac that sat on the exact same desk and never had a problem. Also, like you, no relation to internal temperatures. 2)I didn't take it to the Mac Store until about 5 months after the problem started, mostly because the problem was so sporadic initially that I feared they wouldn't be able to replicate it (sometimes it would work fine for a few days without going into overdrive), and I was hoping a software update sometime in the future would fix it. The problem just kept occurring with increasing regularity though, so I decided to take it in, assuming they'd be able to replicate it now that it was happening pretty much every time I started it up. 3) The Apple Store technician said they ran a diagnostic and an issue with the fan came up. I'm not sure if it was the same diagnostic that I ran at home but I assumed they have more thorough diagnostics since whenever I did Command D at home it came up clear. I'm not sure if they ever replicated the problem, but they may not have needed to since their diagnostic caught it anyway.

I just wanted to follow-up (because XKCD/979 is so real for so many of us) to say that fan replacement worked. Even with Lightroom grinding away and a CPU temp of 80C the fan is a silent 1200rpm. I had to pay since it's well out of warranty but it was only $120CAD and a few days at the Apple Store. I should have done it a year ago but the behaviour was so odd it always seemed to be a software or sensor/motherboard problem. The silence still brings me joy after several months.