Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.

[bobcomer]

This is well above Apple’s specs. In my opinion, your Studio is faulty and should be returned.

I'm pretty tolerant of sound normally, so just it isn't enough to return it, but I had a really odd occurrence last night that might make me change my mind if it happens again.

I got a message that the "data" volume had been taken offline without ejecting it. Well, the only "data" volume I have is the internal SSD, and there's no way it should have been taken offline, ever, and I know I didn't do anything as I was asleep. However, it was running just fine so it must have come back online. Very weird, I've never had any Macs that did that before. Running first aid on the data volume took a long time but didn't find anything to fix.

 

[StudioMacs]

I'm pretty tolerant of sound normally, so just it isn't enough to return it, but I had a really odd occurrence last night that might make me change my mind if it happens again.

I got a message that the "data" volume had been taken offline without ejecting it. Well, the only "data" volume I have is the internal SSD, and there's no way it should have been taken offline, ever, and I know I didn't do anything as I was asleep. However, it was running just fine so it must have come back online. Very weird, I've never had any Macs that did that before. Running first aid on the data volume took a long time but didn't find anything to fix.

I've seen similar complaints in the Monterey forum: "Disk Not Ejected Properly" messages after waking up computer

However, these seem to be external drives, so I would double check for network drives or even thumb drives if your internal SSD doesn't have a volume actually named "data."

 

[Jrshelby]

On my 4th unit I’m a mess about this and I’m not new to technology or Mac’s in general as I’ve averaged a new one I’d say every 1.25 years especially in the days of powerPC as a processor bump actually resulted in huge speed increases back then. I feel like I’ve done something wrong as my first unit I called apple and they were no help after 4 phone calls. My second unit was great up until about day 8-10 then I went on a trip called Apple and agreed a return capture was in order. I returned through FedEx on that one Not at a physical Apple store. I then just returned my third unit yesterday for my forth unit. There were from the start or after a few days to a week a high pitch noise to all of the first 3. My forth unit and the fans are more pronounced then the first 3 and may be cover up the noise right now. I’ve had all mounted under my desk. I’ve experimented with different placements such as on desk further away on desk and various places up under my desk. The high frequency cuts through my air purifier in my bedroom across the hall about 20’ away which is not annoying but it’s always on and can always be heard. When my wife watches tv in said bedroom I still hear the high pitch noise from the Mac studio. Nothing drowns that noise out. I feel like a complete loser for all the returns and completed beat and exhausted to the point of not giving a dam anymore. I would still recommend the base max for its value and performance. I’ll try to tolerate. Again wiped out on this one. And please understand I’m not complaining just had a different expectation from Apple and that’s obviously not reality. I can’t speak to if others have my experience or not, only can speak for myself. This next time I’ll call Apple again as I did not on my third unit snd maybe I should have. I did request for notes to be made that it’s bot simply a return and hopefully that unit gets captured for evaluatio.

 

[Jrshelby]

I've seen similar complaints in the Monterey forum: "Disk Not Ejected Properly" messages after waking up computer

However, these seem to be external drives, so I would double check for network drives or even thumb drives if your internal SSD doesn't have a volume actually named "data."

The data portion is the portion on the SSD that’s an actually partition on the boot drive and can’t be altered even if erasing the disk in recovery mode. Monterey has the most bus I’ve seen in recent years.

 

[bobcomer]

I've seen similar complaints in the Monterey forum: "Disk Not Ejected Properly" messages after waking up computer

However, these seem to be external drives, so I would double check for network drives or even thumb drives if your internal SSD doesn't have a volume actually named "data."

No other volumes named data, but I do have an external SSD (with a very different volume name), and first aid wont run on it. I wonder if something got confused. The drive seems to work but it's slow. First Aid gives a error 6 which I can't find a description of anywhere. I'm backing it up now and I'm going to try formatting it.

 

[StudioMacs]

The data portion is the portion on the SSD that’s an actually partition on the boot drive

Good point! I'm still getting used to APFS after all this time.

 

[johnnymcc]

I've been using a base model Mac Studio for a few days and can hear it also. It's not terribly bothersome to me. Honestly, it sounds like a cheaper hardware fan, as if they cut corners on the Max lineup (not the Ultra)

 

[Viking225]

I have the base model Studio(about a month old), and I can't hear ANY fan noise at all. I sit about 24" from it in a one man office with nothing else running. Since I couldn't hear any noise, I took a piece of Kleenex (about 2" wide x 7" long) and lowered it slowly over the rear holes and sure enough there was air coming thru the holes.The unit was at idle.

I read an early review of the studio, and the fan noise was discussed. When I started to use it, I was surprised at the low noise level.

Conclusion: At idle, no cpu load, you shouldn't hear the fan....my experience

 

[Jrshelby]

I have the base model Studio(about a month old), and I can't hear ANY fan noise at all. I sit about 24" from it in a one man office with nothing else running. Since I couldn't hear any noise, I took a piece of Kleenex (about 2" wide x 7" long) and lowered it slowly over the rear holes and sure enough there was air coming thru the holes.The unit was at idle.

I read an early review of the studio, and the fan noise was discussed. When I started to use it, I was surprised at the low noise level.

Conclusion: At idle, no cpu load, you shouldn't hear the fan....my experience

That’s everyone’s experience. No one is complaint about fan noise at least that’s what I get out of following from the begining. It’s the high pitch noise people are displeased with. And trust me you would know if you had it.

 

[F-Train]

No one is complaint about fan noise

They certainly are. Look at the title of this thread

 

[Jrshelby]

They certainly are. Look at the title of this thread

That’s the title but if you’ve read and followed every post you’d see what peoples angst are derived from. We would not be almost 50 pages on either out the high pitch squeal peeps and chirps. when people say they got 40 DB at idle and others say they can’t hear a peep I think 🤔 people just read the title and respond but don’t see how we got from point A-B. I for one am on my fourth unit and I’ve never complains once of loud fans and I’ve posted alot. For people who can’t hear it or genuinely have units the are whisper quiet 🤫 I extremely happy for them and even more annoyed 😑 at my own experience.

 

[F-Train]

That’s the title but if you’ve read and followed every post you’d see what peoples angst are derived from. We would not be almost 50 pages on either out the high pitch squeal peeps and chirps. when people say they got 40 DB at idle and others say they can’t hear a peep I think 🤔 people just read the title and respond but don’t see how we got from point A-B. I for one am on my fourth unit and I’ve never complains once of loud fans and I’ve posted alot. For people who can’t hear it or genuinely have units the are whisper quiet 🤫 I extremely happy for them and even more annoyed 😑 at my own experience.

I can't take this seriously anymore. I've actually been told by a participant in this thread that the problem isn't the alleged, but rare, whine, but the fans at idle. To demonstrate that I was missing the point, he referred me to the thread title. Then there's the guy who alleged that Apple gave especially quiet units to reviewers in order to hide the scandal of the fan noise.

Sorry, but I started willing to listen, but we're now at 48 pages, just in this thread, of the same stuff, by the same people, over and over and over

 

[Jrshelby]

I can't take this seriously anymore. I've actually been told by a participant in this thread that the problem isn't the alleged, but rare, whine, but the fans at idle. He pointed out the title to me. Then there's the guy who alleged that Apple gave especially quiet units to reviewers in order to hide the scandal of the fan noise.

Sorry, but I started willing to listen, but we're now at 48 pages, just in this thread, of the same stuff, by the same people, over and over and over

They please don’t listen. If me reporting snd updating to one or 2 threads because I feel I have a legitimate problem and others don’t have said problem. They simply are not in tune with my particular problem as they cannot filter or understand the problem. I’m not re hashing. If you don’t like my post or even if you do, my problem still exist. It will exist apparently until apple makes a statement or quietly fixes it. Sorry 😢 not trying to offend anyone by simple typing my experiences.

 

[AlphaCentauri]

If you Studio is more than 25dB at idle and/or has high pitch/whine, it means it’s not as specified by Apple = faulty.

instead of torturing themselves, people should return their Studios, simple as that.

if one cannot stand 25dB of fan noise at idle, on the other hand, one should have read the official specs before buying.

 

[bobcomer]

That’s the title but if you’ve read and followed every post you’d see what peoples angst are derived from. We would not be almost 50 pages on either out the high pitch squeal peeps and chirps. when people say they got 40 DB at idle and others say they can’t hear a peep I think 🤔 people just read the title and respond but don’t see how we got from point A-B. I for one am on my fourth unit and I’ve never complains once of loud fans and I’ve posted alot. For people who can’t hear it or genuinely have units the are whisper quiet 🤫 I extremely happy for them and even more annoyed 😑 at my own experience.

I've posted a lot too and I've complained about fan noise only.

 

[Jrshelby]

If you Studio is more than 25dB at idle and/or has high pitch/whine, it means it’s not as specified by Apple = faulty.

instead of torturing themselves, people should return their Studios, simple as that.

if one cannot stand 25dB of fan noise at idle, on the other hand, one should have read the official specs before buying.

Exactly so I’ve returned 3 on my fourth and snything else would be either more expensive or going backwards

 

[longterm]

I've worked in dozens of recording studios in my career; I don't think I've EVER worked in one where the computer was within a few feet of a microphone. In every professional studio I worked in, there was a small room where the computer was housed, in my home studio in the past, I had a Mac Pro in a rack that had a door on it, so that I kept it closed and its sound (what little there was) never got out into the room.

If you have a home studio, as I do, and you plan to use Mac Studio--I get my Mac Studio Ultra tomorrow--then put the CPU in a spot that's not right next to a microphone. How hard can that be, unless your room is 6 feet square?

Worst case, build a 3-sided box out of studio isolating foam, leaving the back side open; the sound gets captured inside the iso box, but it's open for ventilation. In my home studio, I have a grand piano near where the computer will be, and if I find that noise is an issue, I'll simply put it inside a box like that, which will take an hour at most to build. I'll construct it out of slabs of foam isolation material, using Gorilla glue or Gorilla tape (amazing stuff) to make a nice box open on one side, and that should take care of it.

 

[dunanos]

On my 4th unit I’m a mess about this and I’m not new to technology or Mac’s in general as I’ve averaged a new one I’d say every 1.25 years especially in the days of powerPC as a processor bump actually resulted in huge speed increases back then. I feel like I’ve done something wrong as my first unit I called apple and they were no help after 4 phone calls. My second unit was great up until about day 8-10 then I went on a trip called Apple and agreed a return capture was in order. I returned through FedEx on that one Not at a physical Apple store. I then just returned my third unit yesterday for my forth unit. There were from the start or after a few days to a week a high pitch noise to all of the first 3. My forth unit and the fans are more pronounced then the first 3 and may be cover up the noise right now. I’ve had all mounted under my desk. I’ve experimented with different placements such as on desk further away on desk and various places up under my desk. The high frequency cuts through my air purifier in my bedroom across the hall about 20’ away which is not annoying but it’s always on and can always be heard. When my wife watches tv in said bedroom I still hear the high pitch noise from the Mac studio. Nothing drowns that noise out. I feel like a complete loser for all the returns and completed beat and exhausted to the point of not giving a dam anymore. I would still recommend the base max for its value and performance. I’ll try to tolerate. Again wiped out on this one. And please understand I’m not complaining just had a different expectation from Apple and that’s obviously not reality. I can’t speak to if others have my experience or not, only can speak for myself. This next time I’ll call Apple again as I did not on my third unit snd maybe I should have. I did request for notes to be made that it’s bot simply a return and hopefully that unit gets captured for evaluatio.

So many units and all noisy. Are the serial numbers similar? I don't want to trace, but is it the base model, i.e. the one that is normally stocked? Just looking for a common problem.

 

[Jrshelby]

So many units and all noisy. Are the serial numbers similar? I don't want to trace, but is it the base model, i.e. the one that is normally stocked? Just looking for a common problem.

Base model and late 2020 apple went to a truly randomized serial system so there is no way to know build dates or decoding

 

[bobcomer]

So many units and all noisy. Are the serial numbers similar? I don't want to trace, but is it the base model, i.e. the one that is normally stocked? Just looking for a common problem.

Mine's not the base, it's an M1 Max, 64GB RAM, and 1TB ssd.

 

[dunanos]

Base model and late 2020 apple went to a truly randomized serial system so there is no way to know build dates or decoding

But still a basic model, so the one they have the most stock of, more chance of it being made in the same batch. 😕

 

[Jrshelby]

But still a basic model, so the one they have the most stock of, more chance of it being made in the same batch. 😕

Ya I would think so. If it was CTO maybe it would/could have hardware revisions of some sort.

 

[Jrshelby]

On the front page now but I’m still thinking apple won’t notice but we can only hope.

Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise

Some Mac Studio owners have noticed that their machines are making a high-pitched "whining" sound that appears to be coming from the fan....

www.macrumors.com

 

[Crispe]

On my 4th unit I’m a mess about this and I’m not new to technology or Mac’s in general as I’ve averaged a new one I’d say every 1.25 years especially in the days of powerPC as a processor bump actually resulted in huge speed increases back then. I feel like I’ve done something wrong as my first unit I called apple and they were no help after 4 phone calls. My second unit was great up until about day 8-10 then I went on a trip called Apple and agreed a return capture was in order. I returned through FedEx on that one Not at a physical Apple store. I then just returned my third unit yesterday for my forth unit. There were from the start or after a few days to a week a high pitch noise to all of the first 3. My forth unit and the fans are more pronounced then the first 3 and may be cover up the noise right now. I’ve had all mounted under my desk. I’ve experimented with different placements such as on desk further away on desk and various places up under my desk. The high frequency cuts through my air purifier in my bedroom across the hall about 20’ away which is not annoying but it’s always on and can always be heard. When my wife watches tv in said bedroom I still hear the high pitch noise from the Mac studio. Nothing drowns that noise out. I feel like a complete loser for all the returns and completed beat and exhausted to the point of not giving a dam anymore. I would still recommend the base max for its value and performance. I’ll try to tolerate. Again wiped out on this one. And please understand I’m not complaining just had a different expectation from Apple and that’s obviously not reality. I can’t speak to if others have my experience or not, only can speak for myself. This next time I’ll call Apple again as I did not on my third unit snd maybe I should have. I did request for notes to be made that it’s bot simply a return and hopefully that unit gets captured for evaluatio.

Bloody hell, that's rough.

I'm regretting buying mine from a retailer instead of Apple (it's the only one I could find) in case I have to return mine. Currently still running fine though. Well besides the wifi in it getting a weaker signal than my iMac did, which is not ideal.

 

[dunanos]

On the front page now but I’m still thinking apple won’t notice but we can only hope.

Mac Studio Owners Complain of Irritating High-Pitched Noise

Some Mac Studio owners have noticed that their machines are making a high-pitched "whining" sound that appears to be coming from the fan....

www.macrumors.com

I have an Ultra... so it's not just Max's problem. I'm sure there are the same fans.