Hands-On Report--MacBook Air Firmware Update 1.0--Excessive Fan Issue

[4/9] [Updated 4/10] Hands-On Report--MacBook Air Firmware Update 1.0--Excessive Fan Issue

Apple released MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 1.0 and it is available via Software Update or as a stand-alone updater from this Apple Web page. According to Apple,

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Air computers.

Despite Apple's note, I have not been having any "stability" problems with my MacBook Air. Still, in the interest of science, I downloaded the firmware update via Software Update and installed it. After a shutdown and startup, a progress bar indicated the installation of the firmware update and when it completed my MacBook Air restarted again.

Now, I wish I had not done so. Prior to installing the firmware update, my MacBook Air ran much cooler than the MacBook Pro that it replaced and the fan rarely came on. The fan now runs at 5000-6000rpm during any and all use. An originally really nice and quiet computer is now irritatingly noisy.

I do not know what prompted Apple to provide a firmware update that causes such excessive and noisy fan activity. My advice is that if you are not having stability issues on your MacBook Air, you may want to think about installing this firmware update.

[Update: Curiously, after sleeping the MacBook Air all night, the fan no longer turns on for temperatures up to at least 58C as it did right after installation and after several restarts. I will monitor the situation and provide another report if the excessive fan operation returns.]

[Update 4/10: I have now used my MacBook Air for another full day and two nights with several restarts and the excessive fan operation has not returned.] [Bill Fox]