Mac Gets Hot on Zoom? Here’s Why and How to Fix It

1. Mac Gets Hot on Zoom? You’re Not Alone 🔥

If your Mac gets hot on Zoom, especially during long meetings or webinars, you’re part of a growing group of users dealing with thermal stress from video conferencing. Fan noise, lag, and a hot keyboard are signs your Mac is being pushed hard by Zoom—and potentially background apps as well.

Let’s break down why this happens and how you can cool things down fast.

2. Why Zoom Is So Demanding on macOS

Zoom isn’t just a video call—it’s also real-time encoding, decoding, screen sharing, and background processing. Add a virtual background or gallery view, and your Mac’s CPU/GPU are both under pressure. This leads to excess heat generation and rapid battery drain.

Mac Gets Hot on Zoom CPU usage

3. Background Apps Make It Worse

If you’re running Spotify, Slack, Chrome, or Dropbox during your Zoom call, your system might be juggling too much. That’s why your Mac gets hot on Zoom—it’s multitasking beyond what it can handle thermally.

Reducing these apps before launching Zoom can make a big difference.

4. Try These Quick Fixes During Zoom Calls

  • Close unused browser tabs and apps before joining the meeting
  • Use “Speaker View” instead of “Gallery View”
  • Disable your virtual background
  • Lower screen brightness and unplug if fully charged

5. Use AppHalt to Optimize Zoom Calls in Real Time 🛠️

If your Mac gets hot on Zoom, AppHalt can help instantly. It allows you to pause non-essential apps with one click—without quitting them—so you preserve memory, lower CPU load, and reduce heat during your call.

Perfect if you need to keep other tools ready (like Photoshop or Xcode), but don’t want them draining your battery during meetings.

Mac Gets Hot on Zoom fix AppHalt

6. Bonus Tip: Test Zoom in Safari (Not Chrome)

Zoom in Chrome tends to use more resources than in Safari, thanks to WebKit optimization. If you’re using the web version, prefer Safari for better efficiency on Mac.

Want More Tips from Zoom?

Check Zoom’s official optimization guide: Optimizing Your Zoom Performance


🚀 Stay Cool on Zoom with AppHalt

Mac Gets Hot on Zoom solution

AppHalt helps your Mac stay cool, focused, and responsive—especially during intense video calls.

  • ✅ Pause heavy apps during meetings
  • ✅ Prevent overheating and lag on Zoom
  • ✅ Focus on your call, not on fan noise

📥 Download AppHalt now and make every Zoom call smoother and quieter.

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