FauxCooling

Fan control for your gaming handheld

FauxCooling watches how hot the chip is, turns the fan up as the heat builds, and turns it back down when things cool off. You pick the temperature it aims for.

Coming soon to Google Play

Free. No ads, no account, no paid features.

The FauxCooling status page on a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro under load: chip temperature 70.0 degrees Celsius, fan at 38 percent, keeping the chip at your target, speed full, target temperature 70.

What it does

One page shows the temperature, the fan, and the speed, updated every second.

You choose the target

Set a target temperature with one slider. A lower target means a cooler chip and a louder fan.

Settings per app

Give a game its own target. It applies by itself while that game is on screen.

Easy to undo

Switch it off and your device takes its fan back at once. The same happens if FauxCooling ever stops by itself.

A safety limit

If the chip passes a fixed safety temperature, the fan goes to full speed.

Starts with the device

Leave it switched on and it starts again after a restart.

Stays on your device

The app cannot connect to the internet. Nothing is collected or sent anywhere.

The status page at rest: chip temperature 37.5 degrees Celsius, fan at 38 percent, speed full, target temperature 70.
At rest. The fan holds the chip at your target.
The status page with the switch off. It reads: FauxCooling is off. Your device is running its fan the usual way.
Switched off. Your device runs its fan the usual way.

Supported devices

On two handhelds it works as installed. On the others the device has to be rooted.

DeviceNeeds root?Notes
AYN Odin 3NoAlso slows the chip one step at a time if the fan is at full speed and the chip is still too hot.
Retroid Pocket 4 ProNoNever runs the fan faster than the top setting in the maker's own settings app.
Anbernic RG556YesStops the fan when the chip is at or below 40 °C, as the device does by itself.
GameForce AceYesWorks. Not yet compared against the device's own fan control.

Rooted means Magisk, KernelSU, or APatch. On a device where the app cannot get the access it needs, it tells you it is not compatible and changes nothing.

What was measured

One unit of each device, a few runs each. Your game, your unit, and your room will differ.

  • AYN Odin 3, a 3D platformer in an emulator, one still scene for 5 minutes: 75.4 frames per second with the hottest part of the chip averaging 88.5 °C, against 73.6 at 104.7 °C with the maker's Smart fan mode.
  • AYN Odin 3, an open-world action game in an emulator: 23.5 frames per second at 91.6 °C, against 23.6 at 102.4 °C with the maker's Smart fan mode.
  • Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, a 5-minute stress test that keeps every processor core busy, two pairs of runs: 4% and 17% more work completed than with the maker's Smart fan mode. In the second pair, the run with the maker's mode started with the device 3 °C warmer.
  • Anbernic RG556, the same stress test, two pairs of runs: the same amount of work (within 1%) with the fan at 42% to 49% on average, against 74% to 78% with the maker's fan mode. The chip ran 2 to 4 °C warmer.

Free, with an optional Supporter purchase

Every feature is free. If the app is useful to you, you can become a supporter inside the app: a one-time purchase through Google Play, at a price you pick. It stops the app's occasional support reminder and adds a Supporter badge. It unlocks nothing else.