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Write to me.

Fan Pilot is made by one developer, Andrey Fanyagin. Bug reports, questions and ideas all reach me directly, and I read every message.

For a bug, please include your Mac model, the macOS version and what the fans were doing.

Common questions

Why does Fan Pilot ask for an administrator password?

Reading fan speeds and temperatures needs no special rights, but setting them does. The first time you pick Smart, Balanced or Max, Fan Pilot installs a small helper, ru.fanyagin.fanpilot.helper, that sets the fan speeds. An update that changes the helper asks for the password once more.

It takes a few seconds before the fans react.

On Macs whose fans stop at idle, macOS has to spin them up to their minimum speed before it hands over control. That takes about eight seconds; after that, changes are immediate.

What happens when I quit?

The fans go back to macOS. The same happens when you pick Auto, and if the app ever stops unexpectedly, the helper returns the fans to Auto on its own.

Where is the notch mode?

It is available only while a display with a notch is on, for example a MacBook with the lid open. With the lid closed, Fan Pilot moves to the menu bar and returns to the notch when the display comes back.

How do I uninstall it?

Quit Fan Pilot, delete it from Applications, then remove the helper and settings:

sudo launchctl bootout system/ru.fanyagin.fanpilot.helper
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/ru.fanyagin.fanpilot.helper.plist \
        /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/ru.fanyagin.fanpilot.helper
defaults delete ru.fanyagin.fanpilot

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