Filed under: Hardware, Software Update, Apple, MacBook Air
Apple issues update for MacBook Air, warns against processor-speed tools
Last night, Apple issued an update for the MacBook Air. With the oh-so creative title of "MacBook Air Update," this update is recommended for all users and fixes "issues with video playback and processor core idling."
According to Apple, this update should not be installed until applications that modify processor operating characteristics (i.e. frequency and voltage), like CoolBook, are removed from the system. Apple says that these applications are not supported.
You can download this update by visiting the Apple support download website or by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update). Apple has published a support note with extra information about this update.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pete said 10:52AM on 8-23-2008
This has worked great on my MBA. It's performing even better.
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John said 11:05AM on 8-23-2008
I'm running Coolbook and i'm quite happy about it. Should i just disable it before updating.
@Pete: Do you really notice a preformance increase?
Does it run cooler?
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Nancy said 6:30PM on 8-23-2008
This update will be fantastic if actually works!
But I have a bitter taste in my mouth even though I'm grateful that Apple has finally offered a possible solution. Apple "PR spin" deserves to be called what it is: lying.
Apple calls this update an "issue with video playback and processor core idling". There is a much more accurate description that thousands of Macbook Air owners can attest to:
"The MacBook Air was shipped with a serious engineering design flaw. If you use an Air for any kind of video in a room that's much over 80 degrees the Air will overheat. When it overheats one of its processor cores shuts down and the other core goes crazy. This renders your brand new Air almost totally useless. You can't even control the cursor."
If you have a second monitor plugged in and view the video in a larger window the meltdown typically occurs all the way down to normal room temperatures of 72-74 F.
And what did Apple have to say about this? Right up until last week they have been absolutely and outrageously denying that there was a problem. When we took our Airs into an Apple Store, demonstrated the totally repeatable problem and hammered on the Geniuses we were told:
- There is no known issue. No one else has reported a problem.
- The problem you are demonstrating is not really a problem, it's normal.
- If you don't like the fact that one processor shuts down and you can't use your computer you should not watch videos and you should not connect an external monitor.
- If you want to watch videos you should buy a MacBook Pro. (I was so frustrated at that point I offered to return my pristine Air on the spot and pay the difference for a Pro--they refused.)
So now they have a "fix" for the "nonexistent problem"? Gee, thanks Apple. You guys are swell.
Oh, and by the way Apple, how about fixing the nonexistent problem with my iPhone 3G? You know, all those "normal" things like dropping calls in 5 bar 3G zones, the lockups, the flashing screen, the crashing apps, the keys and buttons that stop working. I'm sure all those things are "normal", but I really don't like it when my expensive Apple stuff is USELESS. And when the lies we are fed are so insulting.
-NB
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RickB said 10:34PM on 8-23-2008
Yep, I'm sure that will happen.
Over the past several years, every first-gen Mac has needed a couple of updates to handle issues. This -among techies- is known as the cost of being an early adopter.
Is Apple close-mouthed about issues? Sure. Moreso than most other companies perhaps - but this is pretty much SOP for all companies these days.
So did they handle it poorly? Sure. Could it have been handled better? Well, maybe - acknowledgment of the issue would have been nice, but realistically, what would it have accomplished (other than potentially diminished sales)? Not much.
If the patch helps - and in limited testing, it seems to - then they will have addressed the issue to some extent, which will have to be good enough.
By the way, ~limited testing~ in this case means I ran a handful of flash video from a couple of sites, with the following results: Temperature ran pretty steady between 58 and 72 (according to iStat) and the fan ran at a steady 3100 RPM to maintain the temperatures. Previously I would have been pegged at 6200 RPM.
Kelmon said 4:12AM on 8-24-2008
I don't own an Air so I can't fully appreciate how frustrating this experience must have been for you, but I can appreciate how annoying it must be to buy a premium product and receive less than premium service. I am so surprised that it has taken Apple 6-months to address this issue and that nothing has been said publicly about it. Given that this issue appears to impact everyone, you'd have thought a product recall would not have been a bad idea.
Mind you, I don't think Microsoft has ever commented much on the infamous "Red Ring Of Death" issue with the Xbox 360. Again, this is disgraceful behavior.
J said 9:07AM on 8-24-2008
Applied the update and it is a significant improvement on my macbook air.
Running wo the update watching a specific youtube video the MA would run very hot and fans go nuts in a couple of minutes. e.g. 79C 6000+RPM w youtube.
Before the update and w coolbook it has been acceptable for me, but youtube video would still activate the fan later but to a lesser extend (lower RPM)
With the update mentioned above the development of heat is significantly reduced compared to mentioned setups and it is kept much less hot on the surface. e.g. 61C 4800RPM w youtube.
Having uninstalled coolbook before updating and re-applying coolbook after the update i can now generally run youtube videos in standard window without running hot and without the fan being noticeable! e.g. 51C 2600RPM
Having tried different tasks (Zatto, SlingPlayer ...), it seems clear that graphics is handled with way less heat generated.
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mvo said 12:37PM on 8-24-2008
Installed the update, don't have 3rd party cooling software installed. First test I did was that iChat worked, and yesterday this performed nice.
Today I was playing the whole morning streaming audio. My room temperature is warm, I wouldn't say hot, and tried running a you tube video in Firefox 2.x and the cpu bars (Activity Monitor) went all the way up in my Dock and system was beach balling. After I killed Firefox the cpu went down and system performed back normal. The Macbook Air felt very hot on the left top side.
Still not perfect even after the update.
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tciguy said 5:44PM on 8-24-2008
i have had several issues with my macbook pro and the response i get from apple makes me want to change companies. " you should have purchased the protection plan" never anything about fixing the defective hard drive, cd drive, or battery that were all replaced within 6 months of purchase. no offer of free shipping or anything else. just basically, you should have known better even though i purchased a 3k computer. one tech told me he did not have a supervisor so there is no one else i could talk to.
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Chris Hill said 8:21PM on 8-24-2008
For those of you who may be gauging performance/heat off of sites like hulu and youtube:
There has been an update to the flash player which dramatically improves CPU usage by using a hardware scaling technique in full-screen. If you view video on sites that use this technique, your MBA will play back without overheating, where once it may have.
Sites like youtube, hulu, etc. have started rolling out new versions of their players which utilize this technique. So this is no longer a good yardstick by which to judge overheating issues.
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Chris Hill said 9:30PM on 8-28-2008
Ok, well, after almost a week with this update, I became throwing-things frustrated with the performance of my MBA. I had uninstalled coolbook and worked away diligently on my MBA, which I was thinking about renaming Beachball. I re-installed coolbook without installing the processor-speed mod so I could monitor my cpu. For some reason it was pegged at 800mhz, which was driving me crazy.
After re-installing the processor speed mod, I watched my computer speed increase dramatically, along with the heat. I'd recommend renaming Coolbook to HotBook, but I'm not complaining. My MBA is great again!
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