- 1. Disable Studio Effects and Background Filters
- 2. Avoid Chrome and Edge for video calls
- 3. Lock video calls to 720p instead of 1080p or higher
- 4. Close heavy tabs and background apps before the call
- 5. Optimise macOS power mode for cooler operation
- 6. Improve physical cooling: stands, airflow and vents
- 7. Be smart with external monitors and docks
- 8. Tweak hardware acceleration in video apps
- 9. Use Activity Monitor to hunt down rogue processes
- 10. Reset thermal and network state when things feel “stuck”
- 11. Related issues: Bluetooth headsets and audio glitches
- 12. Quick checklist: keep your Mac cool on calls
macOS Sequoia brings better performance, smarter background process management and new AI video tricks – but it still hasn’t solved one problem every Mac user eventually hits: overheating during video calls. Zoom, Teams, Meet, FaceTime – it doesn’t matter. After 10–20 minutes the laptop fans ramp up, the chassis gets hot and the system starts to throttle.
In 2026, overheating during meetings is caused by four main pressure points:
- AI-based camera processing (Studio Effects, noise reduction, eye contact, background blur)
- Hardware video encoder/decoder saturation
- Browser-based video (Chrome/Edge are still heavy)
- Poor ventilation, dust build-up or external displays pushing the GPU too hard
This guide focuses on practical fixes that actually work, not vague tips like “close some apps”. Follow the steps in order and you’ll stabilise temperatures on macOS Sequoia during long video calls.
1. Disable Studio Effects and Background Filters
macOS Sequoia leans heavily on machine learning for video effects: background blur or replacement, Studio Light, eye contact, auto-framing and advanced noise isolation. All of these run on a mix of CPU, GPU and Neural Engine and can easily push an M1/M2/M3 MacBook into thermal trouble – especially thin fanless models like the Air.
During a call, turn all effects off:
- Open Control Centre.
- Click Video Effects.
- Disable Studio Light, Portrait, Background Blur and any other active effects.
The visual difference for the other participants is tiny, but the thermal impact is big. On MacBook Air models it’s common to see a 10–20°C drop in sustained temperature once the AI filters are disabled.
2. Avoid Chrome and Edge for video calls
In 2026, Chrome and Edge still use their own WebRTC implementation and remain noticeably heavier than Safari or the native apps. Running a 1080p call with a few screen shares in Chrome can keep CPU utilisation 20–40% higher compared to Safari, which translates directly into more heat.
Use this order of preference for calls:
- Safari for Google Meet and most browser-based meetings.
- Zoom native app if your organisation relies on Zoom.
- Teams native app for Microsoft-heavy environments.
Only fall back to Chrome or Edge if a service simply doesn’t work properly in Safari. For most users, switching away from Chrome for calls is the single easiest way to reduce fan noise and temperature.
3. Lock video calls to 720p instead of 1080p or higher
Higher resolution means more pixels for the encoder to process. On paper “HD” video looks nice, but in practice most conferencing tools heavily compress the feed anyway. The visual gain is minimal while the thermal and battery cost is significant.
Force 720p in your apps where possible:
- Zoom: Settings → Video → turn off HD, and avoid “Original ratio” or 1080p options.
- Google Meet: Settings → Video → set send resolution to 720p.
- Microsoft Teams: Settings → Devices → disable HD video if available.
On MacBook Air models, dropping from 1080p to 720p can cut CPU and media-engine load enough to keep the machine almost silent for the whole call.
4. Close heavy tabs and background apps before the call
Browser tabs and background utilities can quietly eat CPU cycles while you are on a call. Web apps such as Figma, Canva, Notion and multi-tab analytics dashboards keep JavaScript engines running constantly. Add cloud sync apps (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive) and the system is already warm before the first person joins the meeting.
Before important calls:
- Consolidate windows in Safari and close anything unrelated to the call.
- Pause large downloads and cloud sync processes for the duration of the meeting.
- Quit Adobe Creative Cloud desktop, Steam and other always-on launchers.
Use Activity Monitor → CPU and sort by usage. Anything non-essential above 20% CPU is a candidate to quit while you are on a call.
5. Optimise macOS power mode for cooler operation
macOS Sequoia sometimes switches power mode after system updates or when you connect/disconnect a dock. The result can be a MacBook running in a higher-performance power profile when you’re only using video calls.
Check and tune your modes:
- Open System Settings → Battery → Options.
- On battery, choose Low Power or Default.
- On power adapter, leave it on Automatic unless you need High Power Mode on a MacBook Pro.
For long meetings on MacBook Air, enabling Low Power Mode before the call is one of the most effective thermal tweaks. macOS slightly caps performance, but 720p video conferencing still runs smoothly while temperatures remain much lower.
6. Improve physical cooling: stands, airflow and vents
Thermal design matters. Placing a MacBook Air on a soft bed or blanket blocks the underside and traps heat. Even on a desk, the back edge can be partially blocked by clutter, reducing airflow.
Basic physical cooling rules:
- Use a simple angled laptop stand to raise the rear of the MacBook.
- Keep the area behind the hinge clear so warm air can escape.
- On MacBook Pro models with fans, clean the exhaust vents regularly with compressed air.
If you’re doing hours of calls every day, a passive aluminium stand or active cooling pad can make a noticeable difference. On Amazon UK, look for:
7. Be smart with external monitors and docks
External displays dramatically increase GPU and media-engine usage, especially 4K and high-refresh screens. Combine a 4K monitor, virtual background, screen sharing and HD video and even an M-series MacBook Pro will warm up fast.
To reduce heat while using monitors:
- Lower display resolution to 2560×1440 or similar during calls.
- Set refresh rate to 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz or higher.
- If possible, close the MacBook lid and run in clamshell mode with good ventilation.
Choose USB-C or Thunderbolt docks that explicitly support high-bandwidth external displays and provide sufficient power delivery. Cheap hubs can force inefficient encoding paths, adding more load and heat. When shopping, search for:
8. Tweak hardware acceleration in video apps
Hardware acceleration is usually helpful, but depending on your GPU and driver stack it can either lower or increase overall thermal load. It’s worth testing both modes in your favourite meeting apps.
Zoom:
- Settings → Video → Advanced.
- Toggle hardware acceleration for sending and receiving video; keep the configuration that results in the lowest CPU usage in Activity Monitor.
Teams:
- Settings → General.
- Turn GPU acceleration off if your Mac runs unusually hot in Teams meetings.
Safari manages hardware acceleration automatically for WebRTC, so in most cases you don’t need to adjust anything there.
9. Use Activity Monitor to hunt down rogue processes
If your Mac is overheating even outside of calls, something else may be misbehaving. Background menu bar apps, one runaway tab or a stuck sync process can keep the CPU busy constantly.
Open Activity Monitor → CPU and look at:
- Processes over 100% CPU (or 50% on fanless Macs).
- Background updaters such as Microsoft AutoUpdate, Creative Cloud and game launchers.
- Cloud sync tools running heavy indexing.
Quit or pause heavy offenders, then start your call. If temperatures stay under control, you’ve found a big part of the problem.
10. Reset thermal and network state when things feel “stuck”
Occasionally, a MacBook will continue to run hot even with very light workloads. This can be the result of a bugged background process, a stuck sensor or corrupted preferences.
Simple but effective resets:
- Perform a full shutdown (not just restart), wait 10 seconds, then power on again.
- Install pending macOS Sequoia point updates and reboot afterwards.
- On Intel Macs, run the traditional SMC reset; on Apple Silicon, a full shutdown replaces that behaviour.
If fan noise stays high even at idle, or your Mac becomes too hot to touch during short video calls, it’s worth booking a hardware check. Failing fans, degraded thermal paste or swollen batteries can all cause persistent overheating.
11. Related issues: Bluetooth headsets and audio glitches
Overheating and high CPU load often go hand in hand with unstable Bluetooth audio – crackling headsets, delayed microphone audio or dropouts when multiple devices are connected. If that sounds familiar, it’s worth tackling Bluetooth stability directly as well.
For a detailed guide, follow: Fix Bluetooth Headphones Disconnecting on iPhone / Android (2026). Many of the radio and interference fixes there also help stabilise wireless audio on your Mac during video calls.
12. Quick checklist: keep your Mac cool on calls
- Turn Video Effects and virtual backgrounds off or keep them minimal.
- Use Safari or native apps instead of Chrome for calls.
- Lock meetings to 720p resolution, not 1080p or higher.
- Close heavy browser tabs and background apps before the call.
- Enable Low Power Mode on MacBook Air during long sessions.
- Improve airflow with a stand and keep vents clean.
- Be conservative with external monitors and docks.
- Use Activity Monitor to kill rogue processes that spike CPU.
Follow those steps and most macOS Sequoia systems will stay comfortably cool and quiet, even during back-to-back video calls. You’ll protect your hardware, avoid thermal throttling and make your daily meetings much less annoying.
