Running Ubuntu on Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro computers?
Well, you may already know that there’s a fan control daemon which reads the temperature sensors in an Apple Macbook (or Macbook Pro) computer and throttles the fans accordingly to keep the temperature within configurable limits.
I don’t have an Apple MacBook. But I think this daemon will work good on Ubuntu because Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty has made this into its universe repository.
Install macfanctld via PPA:
You can easily get this daemon from the developer’s PPA. So far, it supports Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal, Ubuntu 12.04 Precise, and Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid.
Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mactel-support/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install macfanctld
For Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, install it from an unofficial repository:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:detly/mactel-utils sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install macfanctld
For Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty, search for and install macfanctld package in Ubuntu Software Center after checking for updates.
Thanks for this! Nice to know macfanctld will be supported in Trusty.
Nice, thank you very much!
I would love to know also how to get screen backlight working properly. :]
Thanks for the tip. I’m running the Ubuntu 14.04 on my Macbook Pro Mid-2009, and it’s indispensable!
Awsome!
I’m running Elementary Luna on my 2010 Core I5 MBP, and the fan has barely been audible despite a very warm laptop. As soon as I ran the install, the fan ramped-up to full speed and then settled down to a nice purr. The laptop case is now noticeably cooler.
Great job, thanks!
Hi, thanks for this guide. Maybe I’ve messed up a little my Macbook Pro 9.1 (mid 2012): I’ve attempted to install the “fancontrol” and “lmsensors” packages before I could remember there’s also “macfanctld”. Now Ubuntu Studio is still working normally, but the problem is when I type macfanctld in the terminal emulator nothing happens. No problem has been detected during the installation of macfanctld, so I don’t know what to do (of course I’ve thought I should remove the other two packages, which seem to be unnecessary on Mac computers, but I haven’t done it yet, because I’m not completely sure). Thanks to anybody that will answer.
ps I tried to start the program with root privileges too, but no differences
thank for this. running well on macbook pro 2011, my lap is colder now!!! thank you!
THANKS! This saved my macbook air 2014 from roasting alive ;_;
Thanks so much, this package is absolutely necessary in Seville, Spain! thanks!
Package is absolutely necessary on macbook pro 2006 with ubuntu 14.04
Running linux mint 18 on my 2014 macbook pro. This package immediately increased fan speed and returned CPU temp to optimal temperatures. I would also suggest the psensor package, a real time graph for all hardware temperatures.