What is SMC and how to reset? Guide for all Macs

We often read on the net that to solve some problems of the Mac it is necessary to reset the SMC but it is difficult to explain what it is and what are the symptoms related to the wrong functioning of this component. We become experts on the Mac and try to be more technical!

In a recent post to the problems with the battery and the fan of the MacBook we could verify that the solution can be easily obtained by resetting the SMC of the Mac but …

What is SMC?

The acronym SMC stands for System Management Controller and indicates an internal controller present in all Macs capable of managing the correct functioning of the power supply and of some important hardware components of the computer. When a Mac has been used extensively for a couple of years or if the battery or power supply has been replaced, it may be necessary to reset the SMC.

What are the problems related to a malfunction of the SMC?

Mac is not able to start, does not wake up from the STOP, does not turn off, has problems with USB power and integrated keyboard, backlighting of the screen, reduced overall performance, highlights problems with the management of the cooling fan and recognition and recharging of the battery probably will not have any hardware defects but it will be enough to restore the SMC.

Obviously, attempts to reset the SMC can be carried out even if only one of the conditions described in the above list occurs.

It is directly the Apple support to suggest the procedure described below every time a user reports problems with a Mac that could be linked to conflicts between hardware and software; in fact, it is frequent that some dramatic situations are easily resolved by resetting this component or by resetting the NVRAM.

How to reset the SMC?

The procedure to restore this controller is different depending on the model of Ma]c in use, in any case all the information you need can be found in the paragraph How to reset the Mac SMC article dedicated to problems in MacBooks.

Read the recommended page carefully and write feedback in the comments to let everyone know if you have had a good response after resetting the SMC.

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