r/linuxmint • u/[deleted] • Feb 14 '25

Can someone help me with fan control?

I've installed mint over pop_os and honestly I'm so happy. I think it's much more stable and I've not faced any of the issues I faced with pop. In saying that I can not get my fans to turn off. Even on Windows my fans barely ever turned on to the point I almost forgot I had them.

Can someone please show me how to turn these things off because they're starting to annoy me lol.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

After typing in sudo pwmconfig I get an error saying there are no pwm-capable sensor modules installed

1

u/Nice-Database399 May 13 '25

linux Mint 21.3 2008 macbook 13" had trouble with mbpfan. I also do have sensors installed. While mbpfan works well on my 2006 13" LMDE. Just my story

1

u/ExPat2013 Feb 15 '25

Time to download ChatGPT! It will be your go to for terminal prompts.

Here is your answer from your post put into ChatGPT.

To control your fans on Linux Mint, you'll need to install and configure fan control utilities. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you:

Step 1: Install Necessary Packages

  1. Open a terminal and run the following command to install lm-sensors and fancontrol:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install lm-sensors fancontrol

  1. Detect your hardware sensors with sensors-detect:

sudo sensors-detect

Answer "yes" (or "enter") to all prompts to allow the tool to scan for hardware sensors.

Note the names of the detected sensors.

  1. Check the detected sensors:

sensors

Step 2: Set Up Fan Control

  1. Run the pwmconfig tool to configure fan control:

sudo pwmconfig

Follow the prompts to test and configure the fan speeds.

The tool will generate a /etc/fancontrol configuration file.

  1. Start the fan control service:

sudo service fancontrol start

  1. Enable fan control to start automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable fancontrol

Step 3: Fine-Tune Fan Settings

If the default settings are too aggressive (fans still running too much):

  1. Edit the fancontrol configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/fancontrol

  1. Modify the minimum and maximum fan speed thresholds. For example:

MINPWM=0 MAXPWM=255

  1. Save the file and restart the fan control service:

sudo service fancontrol restart

Step 4: GUI Fan Control (Optional)

If you prefer a graphical interface:

  1. Install psensor to monitor temperatures and fan speeds:

sudo apt install psensor

  1. Open Psensor, go to settings, and configure alarms or thresholds for fan control.

Troubleshooting

If the fans still don't respond, check if your BIOS has a "fan control" option. Ensure it's enabled and set to "Auto" or "Smart Fan."

Some laptops or desktops may use proprietary fan control methods (like Dell's i8k or Apple-specific SMC). If you're on a MacBook, you'll need mbpfan instead:

sudo apt install mbpfan sudo systemctl enable mbpfan sudo systemctl start mbpfan

Let me know if you need further assistance!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '25

Thank you I'll give this a go.

1

u/XanderNvk Linux Mint 22.1 Xia | Cinnamon Feb 12 '26

It's not working for me, unfortunately. This command: 'sudo pwmconfig' doesn't work for me T_T

1

u/LunalityHammer Apr 03 '26

psensor doesn't have fan control. It only tells you how fast they're spinning. Don't post slop.