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I’m getting constant kernel panics on my MacBook Air 2020. I have the reports saved so I can post them. I reinstalled the OS from scratch, reset SMC and NVRAM and also performed Apple Diagnostics, MemTest, Cinebench and a hard drive tester to check for any hardware faults, but everything checked out fine.

The OS crashes even when it’s bare so no additional software is causing the issue. I haven’t gotten a crash in safe mode to be honest though, but I haven’t stressed tested it either. The OS has been updated to the latest as of this message and it still crashes.

I opened the back cover and realised that the cpu fan does not spin freely when I manually spin it. The fan does not continue to spin like other fans I’ve used in the past, it just sticks. Is this normal should the fan continue to spin for a while when you manually spin it? I’m wondering if this may be the cause, a stuck fan, damaged bearings or overheating issue because the MacBook at times does run hot. I have a video with the spinning action that I can post as well.

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  • “Is this normal should the fan continue to spin for a while when you manually spin it?” - No; It’s not normal
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 15:36
  • The problem here is that a system will usually throttle or shutdown when the CPU gets too hot without causing damage. It’s not usually the system would just crash. But, that fan may also cool other components like the GPU. The fan and overheating might be the issue, but it is also possible that the motherboard or other components are already damaged from excessive heat. The fan should spin freely with NO resistance, but what happens when the system is on? Check your system temps and monitor the fan. Does it run when the system is hot and cool it down?
    – Appleoddity
    Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 16:39
  • It can be just dirt. Have you looked?
    – harrymc
    Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 17:16
  • Replace the fan with a new one.
    – Moab
    Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 22:34
  • The fans in most Mac notebooks I've tinkered with for the last few years have always stopped themselves when spun while powered off, I assumed that was normal. If I push on the blades they move while I'm pushing them but catch pretty quick when I stop pushing them. Same with the "meglev" fans installed in my TV cabinet. Apple's built in diagnostics tests if it can maintain stable fan speed at a low rpm, and again at about 90% rpm, so if you got no cooling or fan related error codes, then fan is probably fine.
    – FreelancerJ
    Commented Mar 6, 2022 at 11:38

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