Strange overheating + battery issue on 2017 MacBook Pro (probably related to Chrome)

[chris4565]

Hey guys,

On my work MacBook Pro (2017 model) I encounter a very strange and severe overheating + battery issue that's been really tough to troubleshoot so far. I'll explain it below:

The issue:

• Sometimes, while I'm browsing the web with Chrome, the fans suddenly turn on (they soon reach max speed) and the MacBook gets crazy hot within seconds (around 100 °C!). At the same time, the battery starts draining ridiculously fast (around 2 percent every minute!)
• It seems like this gets TRIGGERED somehow while I'm browsing the web because on some days, when I'm using Chrome just for Gmail and calendar, my MacBook is completely fine
• Sometimes this also happens when I have Chrome already closed (not completely quit!). Today, it even suddenly happened several minutes after I put my MacBook to sleep (probably because I triggered the issue some time before while I was browsing the web)
• The only way to fix this issue is to cmd+Q Chrome and to restart it

The weird:

• When this issue happens and I have a look at the Activity Monitor NO process shows excessive CPU usage and NO process shows excessive RAM usage, this is so weird. In fact, the CPU usage is only around 10% or so when the issue happens, so it looks completely normal

Some more notes:

• I always keep everything up-to-date
• Clearing cache and cookies didn't help

I would really appreciate if one of you guys could help me there. Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[Bigwaff]

I always keep everything up-to-date

2017 MBP running which version of macOS and which version of Chrome? Disable / uninstall any Chrome extensions.

 

[chris4565]

2017 MBP running which version of macOS and which version of Chrome? Disable / uninstall any Chrome extensions.

Thanks for your answer. I'm on the most recent versions for my machine: macOS Ventura 13.6.6 and Chrome 124.0.6367.119. But I have this issue since a few months already (so also on older versions). I now deleted all extensions (there were only 2 and they were related to Google but I don't need them).

 

[chris4565]

So I made a new discovery: It seems like the issue gets triggered by ads. As long as I just browse through my mails on Gmail or have a look at my calendar, etc., there are zero issues. As soon as I, e.g., browse theverge.com, the issue gets suddenly triggered.

There was even a message on an ad that said that Chrome blocked the ad because it was using too much resources (I didn't even know that this feature exists). Even when I then exit theverge.com, the issue continues (temperatures rising, etc.). As mentioned in my first post, the only solution then is to cmd+Q Chrome and to restart it. As soon as I visit theverge.com again, the issue immediately comes back.

 

[Grumpus]

So I made a new discovery: It seems like the issue gets triggered by ads. As long as I just browse through my mails on Gmail or have a look at my calendar, etc., there are zero issues. As soon as I, e.g., browse theverge.com, the issue gets suddenly triggered.

Try adding the uBlock Origin extension to Chrome.