Comments on: How to fix a noisy MacBook Pro fan

By: Kris .

Kris . — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:05:40 +0000

Thanks for posting this.. I learned how to take my computer apart in the process, but the fan is still busted! I’ve had the quieter ‘whirring’ in the past, but this noise that started a few days ago is much much louder and is not intermittent, and the right fan does not respond to the SMC, as it is spinning well under 1k rpms.

Today I took my right fan out, cleaned, lubed with graphite, put back in (done this twice now) and tried speeding it up with the SMC, but my right fan still won’t get up to speed… its still stuck between 500 and 800rpms and very noisy. Maybe the thing really is just broken? First I tried a moderate amount of the graphite powder, and then a healthy amount, and the fins are not touching, but unfortunately no improvement.. :(

I haven’t read any mention of the loud AND slow fan’s yet in my search– Does this have any significance to anyone out there reading this? Any info would be appreciated.. worst case I’ll just replace the fan, I’m just hoping that there isn’t some larger issue related to this. I just had the I/O board replaced by Apple (out of warranty) a few months ago..

By: Blob

Blob — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:49:09 +0000

Thanks a lot. You really made my day. I did’nt know what to do with that disturbing noise until i read your post. With the help of one of my friend, i fixed the problem and the silence has come back.
Thanks again.

By: some guy

some guy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:40:05 +0000

this worked! …for about only 2 weeks. im just going to purchase a new fan and replace it myself.

By: Drew

Drew — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:07:38 +0000

Put 1 drop of silicone oil on each fan spindle and re-assembled. Power on, FAN NOISE GONE!!!

I had already reset the SMC, zapped ran the Apple Hardware (extended) Test and still had the noise even at idle.

Using you instructions, I opened up my 15″ unibody thinking I would find dust as the culprit but it was SPOTLESS. I still hit it with canned air and then took apart the fans. They were spotless too- wiped the insides with q-tips and had very very minor residual dust.

NOTE (slight build variation from your description): The left side fan required a torx 7 bit on the upper left screw. All other topside screws were torx 6 Also both fans only had 1 Philips screw on underside to remove.

THANKS! You saved me from unnecessary downtime.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:01:14 +0000

Thanks. Your instructions were very helpful and I now have a quiet fan! However, I needed a little more help with disassembling the laptop. These instructions were helpful for that: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Model-A1150-Keyboard/484/1

By: Gabe

Gabe — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:48:36 +0000

i had the exact same problem, i was about to order two new fans just to make sure the other fan didnt do the same in the future. i luckily stumbled onto this page and i did exactly what it says and it worked! my fans are quiet! this is amazing! thanks a million.

By: keith

keith — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:55:53 +0000

Thanks for the post! Saved me money and headache… However, WD-40 has not worked for me as a long-term solution. 4 months later, i’ve got a noisy mac again. I’m about to open up the macbook again and try using Silicone Lubricant. Maybe that will last a lot longer.

By: Jared

Jared — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:40:21 +0000

I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. I’ve been dealing with this noise for months. Don’t torture yourself. I did this all with an eyeglass repair flat-head screwdriver and WD-40.

I used a toothpick to scrape off some tiny bits of dust off the base of the spindle. That might have been what was throwing the fan off-kilter.

Easy fix if you’ve got steady hands.

By: Jeff Boulter’s Blog » Giving my MacBook a Lube and Oil Change

Jeff Boulter’s Blog » Giving my MacBook a Lube and Oil Change — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:24:04 +0000

[...] I’m not the first person to have this problem. I found a nice blog post with instructions on how to take apart the computer, get to the fan, take it apart and lubricate it [...]

By: Carson Coots

Carson Coots — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:06:44 +0000

This was a big help, thanks a lot.