for the past few months I’ve noticed my laptop over heating and crashing which it didn’t used to do. I think it’s something to do with the fans not kicking in as when installing fan-control-gui I can see them constantly around 4k rpm which seems low as when they crash they run at max.
I’ve never played with these settings before and only really use cpupower-gui to change the cpu performance a bit.
What could be causing this and how best to fix?
How old is the laptop? May need a good internal clean and a re-paste of the CPU.
It’s less than 1 year old. It feels like some update perhaps impacted the thermal behaviour of the laptop as the fans don’t seem to kick in.
Which revision of the T14 is it exactly ?
inxi -M should contain a bit more than the model number. And would reveal the version and date of the current Bios.
Are you running EnOS out of the box - without machine specific configurations that are listed within the Arch wiki ?
It returns
❯ inxi -M
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 21MC0058GE v: ThinkPad T14 Gen 5
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: LENOVO model: 21MC0058GE v: SDK0T76530 WIN
serial: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: R2LET30W (1.11 )
date: 11/11/2024
Running out of the box.
I was looking at your configuration listed here:
There is a system bios update as of May 2025 you should do:
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ca/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-t-series-laptops/thinkpad-t14-gen-5-type-21mc-21md/downloads/driver-list/component?name=BIOS%2FUEFI&id=5AC6A815-321D-440E-8833-B07A93E0428C
Unfortunately the T14 I have access to is a Gen 1 Intel. I don’t suggest using any kind of 3rd party fan control. Please run the command ‘sensors’ from terminal and share the output.
I would suggest you install something like ‘btop’ so we can see what your laptop is doing when it is getting hot. Here is an example of the output:
Thanks for the advice.
Here’s the output from running sensors, Some of the output seems weird, whya re the fans reporting 65k rpm, they def are not running at that speed.
❯ sensors
spd5118-i2c-2-50
Adapter: SMBus PIIX4 adapter port 0 at 0b00
temp1: +41.2°C (low = +0.0°C, high = +55.0°C)
(crit low = +0.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
amdgpu-pci-c400
Adapter: PCI adapter
vddgfx: 1.29 V
vddnb: 869.00 mV
edge: +50.0°C
PPT: 17.09 W (avg = 6.06 W)
sclk: 800 MHz
ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:002-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0: 0.00 V (min = +0.00 V, max = +0.00 V)
curr1: 0.00 A (max = +0.00 A)
thinkpad-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
fan1: 1592 RPM
fan2: 1592 RPM
CPU: +52.0°C
GPU: N/A
temp3: +52.0°C
temp4: +0.0°C
temp5: N/A
temp6: +52.0°C
temp7: +52.0°C
temp8: N/A
pwm1: 128%
nvme-pci-0300
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite: +38.9°C (low = -20.1°C, high = +77.8°C)
(crit = +81.8°C)
Sensor 1: +38.9°C (low = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1: +52.0°C
spd5118-i2c-2-51
Adapter: SMBus PIIX4 adapter port 0 at 0b00
temp1: +43.5°C (low = +0.0°C, high = +55.0°C)
(crit low = +0.0°C, crit = +85.0°C)
k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
Tctl: +52.0°C
ath11k_hwmon-pci-0200
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1: +53.0°C
ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:001-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0: 5.00 V (min = +5.00 V, max = +20.00 V)
curr1: 3.00 A (max = +3.25 A)
BAT0-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
in0: 17.36 V
power1: 0.00 W
acpi_fan-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
fan1: 0 RPM
I’m usually doing pretty intensive things like compiling libraries and other things.
One thing I did notice is my setup uses an external monitor with a different resolution the laptop. 4k with 150% scaling. Changing this to 1080 and 100% I feel a noticeable difference with input lag etc.
I’m running cinnamon with x11. I’ll let know if this resolution changes helps improve things, still doesn’t solve the fact the fans are not kicking in.
When running btop with something intensive running I do notice it scaling down the CPU to cater for the heat. But fans are reporting only 3.2k RPM 
thinkpad-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
fan1: 3235 RPM
fan2: 3235 RPM
CPU: +93.0°C
GPU: N/A
temp3: +93.0°C
temp4: +0.0°C
temp5: N/A
temp6: +93.0°C
temp7: +93.0°C
temp8: N/A
pwm1: 128%
Is your computer dual booted with Windows so we can compare temperature management?
Can you run ‘inxi -b’ so we can see your full configuration?
It bothers me that there are are several temperature settings at 93 degrees celcius where fans are at 3235.
I found this on search.brave.com:
ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Fan Test
To test the fans in a ThinkPad T14 Gen 5, you can use the sensors-detect and pwmconfig tools from the lm-sensors package. This process allows you to check and configure fan control settings.
Here's a step-by-step guide:
Install lm-sensors: If not already installed, you can install it using your package manager. For example, on Arch Linux, you can use sudo pacman -S lm-sensors.
Run sensors-detect: This tool helps detect the sensors on your system. Run the following command:
sudo sensors-detect
Follow the prompts to accept the default settings and complete the detection process.
Run pwmconfig: This tool helps configure the fan control settings. Run the following command:
sudo pwmconfig
This will test the fan control capabilities and help you set up the appropriate configurations.
Regarding the fan noise issue reported by some users, there have been instances where the fan makes a brief sharp "RUCKK" sound when plugged in. This could be related to the fan's operation, but it is not clear if it is a common issue or a specific problem with certain units.
If you experience unusual fan behavior, it may be worth checking the system's thermal management settings or contacting Lenovo support for further assistance.
Source: