IMPORTANT Fan Control and Fan Speed Monitoring on Notebooks

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Martin

HWiNFO Author
Staff member
Fan Control is not an official HWiNFO feature and there are currently only very few specific machines supported:
- Alienware - all current models should be supported, but there are limitations based on model and fan control mode (EC support disabled/enabled)
- DELL - many (older) models supported, but fan control limited to 3 levels only. Some DELL machines might have problems using fan control
- Only very few specific HP models (8530w, 8740w) featuring SMSC EMC2103/EMC2113 controllers, some older ENVY 15/17)

There are currently no plans to extend fan control support to other machines.
The main reason for such limited fan control support is that almost all notebooks use proprietary methods (closed Embedded Controller firmware), that are kept secret by manufacturers.
In most cases it's very difficult to determine how to control fans on such machines and sometimes it might not be possible at all. Also the huge amount of different fan control imlpementations (EC firmwares) and no universal methods possible make it even more difficult.
Also please note that using the Embedded Controller interface (to monitor and control fans) can cause problems on some machines.
So please, if fan control on your machine is not supported by HWiNFO do not ask for support - it will not be answered. The only exception are new Alienware models that might be added, but only in case it's deemed feasible.

Similar limitation applies to fan speed monitoring on notebooks. Here, the list of supported models (for monitoring, not control) is a bit larger but it depends on manufacturer (or ODM) and model.
Fan speed monitoring is possible on some of the following notebooks:
- DELL older models
- MSI - relatively good coverage
- Clevo - limited coverage, possible to extend
- ASUS - limited coverage, possible to extend
- Intel NUC - full coverage
- HP ENVY15, ENVY17, 8740w, some 42xxs/43xxs/44xxs/45xxs/47xxs/8460p only
- Valve Steam Deck
For some brands (MSI, Clevo, ASUS) it might be possible to add support for more models. Search for respective threads on this forum to check what information is required to check/add support.
 
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