Comments on: How to fix a noisy MacBook Pro fan

By: syg

syg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:55:36 +0000

Thanks! The clean-up worked and now I can hear myself breathing again.

The only doubt I have is that when I checked before he cleanup, SMCFanControl showed me two readings. Now it shows me just one. I hope the fan has not just stopped working.

I checked using Apple Hardware Diagnostics (the quick test) and it said All OK. My temp readings are going up to 92C and the fan spins up to 4600rpm, but it’s stable around there and the noise of the 6200rpm storm is not there.

By: syg

syg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:48:55 +0000

The fan in my MBP 13.3 had a single small screw that needed to be opened.

By: Wimware

Wimware — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:30:30 +0000

Fantastic…. You would not believe the noise my 2008 MBP has been making… It’s been getting worse for months now, always there but will have bouts of silly loud… Followed these instructions and ‘WOW’ no more noise… I used 3 in 1 oil and will wait and see if it stays noise free but for now totally brilliant, Thanks. Ps. before oiling I downloaded smc fan control and the noisy fan was running at half speed of the other one.. Now both running the same speed… This really works, Thanks again…

By: Lio

Lio — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:40:35 +0000

Great post, followed the steps, works great

By: Bob Azhar

Bob Azhar — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:44:30 +0000

lest forget to say. THANKS FOR THE TIP. Now my wife can watch her online movies again…sigh

By: Bob Azhar

Bob Azhar — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:43:15 +0000

Just open up my MBP 4.1 and fixed my fan noise problem. Disaster struck when I snapped one part of the fan (Got big and powerful fingers lol) but thank God, no noise and the MBP temperature stabilized to 50 degrees, instead of 70-80 degrees previously when re-assembled.

By: K3

K3 — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:38:10 +0000

Thanks for very useful solution. In my case, MacBookPro early 2008 model generated terrible noise on right side fan and your cleaning method completely solved problem.

By: Allen

Allen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:56:08 +0000

I went through the steps necessary to disassemble and reassemble my macbook pro but I did run into a few snags. I didnt end up using WD-40, instead went with Dupont’s teflon non-stick dry film lubricant (which leaves no oily film). I applied it to both fans, since both were making a noise. Once I closed everything up and put back all the screws, I couldnt get 2 of the 4 screws for the bottom of the laptop to go completely back in their holes. I might have stripped it in the process of removing it or putting it back in. Starting the computer back up, I ran that program to test out the fans, and the right fan was making a loud buzzing noise. Almost like I used too much lubricant and its spinning like crazy. It tends to make that noise when I close my laptop and pick it up to walk away with. Not sure if that problem will fix itself in the near future or if I just need to replace the fans all together.

By: Jody

Jody — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:56:18 +0000

Fantastic post. Followed the steps and got my MacBook Pro’s noisy fan to pipe down. The computer even runs better now. Sweet.

By: Rein

Rein — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:59:09 +0000

Hey there, I just opened the macbook to clean my fans..however I seemed unable to open the fan itself to oil it..I’m able to get the fan itself to open (so I could blow out a load of dust) but then there are no screws to open the fan further (to actually oil the point on which the fan itself rotates) could anybody help? thanks!

By: milliontracks

milliontracks — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:45:24 +0000

Dude, this post came right on time! I have a 2005 MacBook Pro 17″ and when the fan started making noise, I knew I was going to have to go under the hood and take a look. I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to do any replacements…and sure enough, you’re post helped. Even though it takes a while to get to the fans, after wiping them down, blowing out the dust, and adding the lubricant, my computer is super quiet and is acting brand new. Good job on this post yo!

By: AB

AB — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:43:50 +0000

THANK YOU!!!!!!! Worked perfectly. My fan is back to normal….sounds great! The clear directions made it so easy. Thank you for taking the time to share this. I used 3-in-one oil instead of the WD40. AWESOME!!!!

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:36:37 +0000

Graphite conducts electricity and I wouldn’t want a conductive powder blowing around in or around my conputer.

By: j

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:57:32 +0000

Unfortunately after around 20 minutes of use, when I ramped up the fans the noise came back… Sigh I have to open this thing up AGAIN (such a PITA).

By: j

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:25:46 +0000

Worked like a charm. Thank you!

By: Koo

Koo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:07:19 +0000

Glad to hear it worked!

By: Jimena

Jimena — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:58:02 +0000

Hi! I had never done something like this before, but I decided I was going to try your advice, since at the store they charged me $200 for the fix. I was amazed it worked! One thing, though, I used another video in youtube to explain step by step how to remove the cover of the computer and that was a huge help. Two drops of a silicone lubricant on the fan, a little bit of dusting, and when I closed everything and turned it on, no noise and everything works normally!! Thank you!!!

By: dahook

dahook — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:20:49 +0000

thank you very much for the suggestion…..I followed the instructions in lubricating the fans and used the “needle-tip precision lubricant”. This fixed the noise problem completely. My macbook pro has never been this silent, the SMC fan control works as brand new, and machine is running much cooler.

By: jasarov

jasarov — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:00:33 +0000

worked like a charm. thank you for saving me 80€.

By: RJ

RJ — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:57:30 +0000

Regarding the lubricant issue…

I was remembering back to when I was a kid, and we used to use graphite on our pinewood derby cars to make them go faster. Have called computer stores all around where I live, and all of them sell only silicone-based lubricants. Thought I would give the tiniest bit of graphite a try, and see if it would do the trick…

Anyone advise against this? I figure everyone has a pencil laying around if they have no other option.