Is your laptop fan sounding all weird and making rattling, grinding, or squeaky noises? Not sure of what you can do to fix your laptop fan? Would you like to try a few solutions at home before going out to a repair shop or professional?
Then, you are at the right place. We present to you a bunch of solutions that can help you out! So, let’s get straight to it!
Understanding The Problem
The laptop fan is a piece of hardware that is placed inside the laptop to help cool down heated parts. This fan should not make weird, squeaky, or rattling noises at any point in time. The fan should run smoothly and quietly even when spinning at maximum speed.
Some people believe that a squeaky laptop fan may be a result of possible malware or software changes. This is entirely incorrect. Laptop fan noise arises from malfunctioning hardware parts, which is in no way related to the software on your system.
The Solution to Grinding Laptop Fan Noise
Once you find that your laptop fan noise sounds like something is grinding, you will immediately know something is not right with the hardware. Most people will immediately get down to cleaning as dust and debris often clogs the machinery inside. This is the most common cause behind the grinding sound.
To clean your laptop, get a variety of brushes, compressed air cans, and maybe even a blower. Simply open up your laptop and get down to business. Make sure to be as gentle as possible to avoid damaging delicate parts.
In most cases, gently rubbing the fan with a small brush will fix the problem. So, fingers crossed!
The Solution to Weird Laptop Fan Noises
This solution is not as straightforward or effective as the first one but it might actually solve the problem for a few people. If you do not wish to open up your laptop like in the first solution, then it is time to try out this other cleaning method.
Go ahead with the cleaning process by following the steps mentioned below:
- Completely power off your laptop and unplug it.
- Keep a compressed air can or blower and a small brush ready.
- Use air pressure to blast air towards the region where the fan is placed inside the laptop.
- Make use of the tiny brush to get into crevices, nooks, and crannies.
- Thoroughly follow the process until you can see no more dirt (at least on what is visible).
- Plug your laptop into the outlet and turn it on to see if the laptop fan noise has stopped.
- If this fails, you will have to go ahead with solution one for a thorough clean.
The Solution to Rattling Laptop Fan Noise
If both of the solutions mentioned above fail to work, you will have to go on with this third one, and we are pretty sure you will not feel particularly enthusiastic about it.
Whether you have cleaned all you could or whether you are scared about taking your laptop apart, the laptop fan noise can only be stopped now by a professional. You can contact a laptop repair shop and ask them to clean up your laptop for you. If you find that your fan has been damaged, you may have to get a new one installed.
If cleaning the fan fixes the problem, then that’s good news. However, the laptop fan noises may start to reappear once dirt and debris build up again.
It is best to get your laptop serviced a couple of times each year to prevent build-up. Make sure to do the same with both old and new fans. The new fan will live longer if you take good care of it.
The Solution to Squeaky Laptop Fan Noise
This is an optional solution, but the fix will be permanent. You can simply say goodbye to laptop fan noise for a lifetime. There will be no need to clean, service, or get your laptop fan repaired.
To achieve this, you need to invest in laptops that don’t feature a fan at all. Yes, such models of laptops do exist. A laptop without a fan will get rid of all the fan noise-related issues.
This particular tip is a tried and tested laptop fan noise solution and definitely works 100%. However, we do understand that investing in a new laptop straight away can be too drastic and dramatic. But hey! At least, you won’t have to worry about annoying fan noises anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the fan on my laptop so loud?
Your laptop fan noise may sound squeaky or noisy. You may also find that it may be creating rattling or grinding sounds. Laptop fan noise usually arises from a fan that gets covered in dust and debris. In other cases, the fan may have completely worn itself out, and you might have to get a new one. Unnecessary friction is what causes the fan to create weird noises.
Laptop users who don’t take good care of their laptops tend to experience issues with their laptop fans more often. So, try and clean your laptop at least a couple of times a year to avoid permanent damage.
How can I clean my laptop fan without opening it?
If you aren’t into opening your laptop (we can understand the hesitation), you can go ahead and simply follow the protocol as one would when cleaning the laptop from the inside. Get compressed air cans or a blower and small brushes to blow air and to clean from the outside. This may not be as effective, though.
If you don’t want to open the laptop yourself, you can simply take your device to a professional who can open it up and clean it for you instead.
Can you vacuum laptop fans?
Vacuum cleaners should not be used for laptop fan noise. Take note; vacuums will fail to remove dust and debris from your laptop. Moreover, there is also a risk that static electricity might get built up around your laptop, which can be dangerous. It is best to use compressed air cans or blowers instead. A vacuum usually sucks stuff while cans or blowers blow the dust away.
Blowing dust and debris build-up is better when cleaning a laptop as there are delicate parts on the inside that can get messed up by vacuuming.
Key takeaways
We hope that you found our article on fixing laptop fan noise useful. We wish you all the best when trying to fix annoying laptop fan noises. The squeaks and rattling can distract you while doing work on your laptop or trying to enjoy a movie. It is highly recommended to try going for self-cleaning as doing so generally solves laptop fan noise issues.
However, if you are afraid of damaging your equipment or simply cannot get the fan to quiet down after a thorough cleanse, then it is time to visit a repair shop. If you get a new fan for your laptop, make sure to take care of it to ensure longevity.
