Choose a Smart Breeze cooling mode: Smart Boost, Manual, or timed Max

The four modes differ in more than fan speed

Choose a curve for a changing workload

An automatic curve is useful when the workload repeatedly moves through warm-up, sustained work, and cool-down. The sensor becomes the input; the curve determines the requested percentage. Smart Breeze can respond earlier than macOS without holding one RPM after the thermal reason has ended, because the session has an explicit release threshold and cooldown.

• The first point decides when Smart Boost may engage.
• The slope between points decides how quickly the request rises with temperature.
• The selected sensor decides which thermal signal drives the request.
• Hysteresis and cooldown decide how convincingly the workload must cool before returning to System.
• Separate adapter and battery curves keep power context explicit.

Choose fixed RPM for a narrow diagnostic question

Manual removes temperature from the target calculation. That makes it useful for a bounded question such as whether each fan approaches a substantial commanded RPM, whether left and right fan readback behave consistently, or whether a noise begins in a reproducible speed band. It is a poor default policy because it cannot adapt when the workload changes.

1. Begin in System and record the fan-reported minimum/maximum plus current actual RPM.
2. Set a deliberate in-range target for one short diagnostic interval.
3. Compare target and actual for every fan; do not infer success from a button state.
4. Return to System and verify macOS ownership immediately after the observation.
5. Copy Diagnostics if actual RPM persistently fails to approach a substantial target.

Choose timed Max when the question is full airflow

Max asks each discovered fan for its firmware-reported maximum for a fixed 5-, 15-, or 30-minute interval. It is the clearest way to run a short full-airflow observation without inventing absolute RPM values. The timer makes the intended end visible; it is not a substitute for diagnosis or a recommendation to run maximum cooling continuously.

The helper’s 95 °C protective Max is different from user-selected timed Max. The safety path samples temperature independently and remains in force regardless of the selected curve or manual target.

Compare failure behavior before convenience

The important question is not only “What RPM will I get?” but “What happens when readings disappear, the app quits, a command expires, the Mac wakes, or the helper reconnects?” Build 22 makes System the fallback for missing data and control failures. After wake, Smart Boost and an unexpired Max timer can resume after fresh checks; arbitrary Manual targets do not. After a helper or control failure, only Smart Boost may re-arm automatically. Max and Manual require deliberate user action.

• App exit and loss of the last helper connection request System.
• A missed heartbeat during manual control restores System without relying on the UI process.
• Missing temperature during manual control also causes the helper to restore System.
• Target and mode writes are read back; a failed write triggers a verified all-fan rollback request.
• After wake, arbitrary Manual targets are not silently restored.

A defensible decision in five steps

1. Use System first and define the observation you cannot make under normal macOS policy.
2. Confirm Mac16,7 and verified System ownership before enabling any control mode.
3. Choose the least persistent mode that answers the question: curve for temperature response, Manual for one fixed-target check, Max for one timed full-airflow check.
4. Check actual RPM and controller rather than treating the requested target as proof.
5. Return to and verify System when the experiment ends; preserve diagnostics for any unexplained mismatch.

For a curve-shaped response, start with the custom-curve procedure. To select the input before the mode, read which Mac temperature sensor should control a fan curve.