Laptop fan squeaking

Is your laptop making weird, grinding, or rattling noise, too?

Mine was. I fixed it!

Let me share how I did it, and how you can fix your laptop making noise.

Theory

Its a fan thats making noise. Even if the fans too fast, it shouldnt make any weird, grinding, or rattling noise- no matter how fast it spins.

Im saying this because Ive seen people saying that you need to clean your PC from malware, and other software-related solutions like this.

Which didnt make sense to me, because its the hardware thats making noise. And its making noise; how can a software tweak fix that hardware making noise?

Anyway, this was the theory that I thought you should know. Because no matter how corrupt your software becomes [with a virus or with corrupt OS installation], it will never cause your laptop or computer fan to make any grinding or rattling or any weird noise that wasnt there already.

If anything, its a hardware issue thats making your hardware noisy.

Laptop Fan Making Grinding Noise Solution #1

The first and the most obvious solution is to open your laptop, get your brushes or compressed air cans ready, and clean that laptop fan.

This is exactly what Ive been doing for years whenever my laptop fan starts making noises [which is very common and happens regularly].

Immediately after cleaning my laptops internals, especially the fan [rubbing it with a small brush], the fan noise goes away once I put it together and turn it on.

Heres how a laptop fan [generally] looks like when opened.

You dont have to take it out as I have, I just wanted to show you how they look, in case you havent taken apart your laptop before.

How to Clean a Laptop Fan?

Watch this video to clean your laptop fan. Its pretty straightforward, but if you still need to watch a video before doing it to your laptop, watch this one.

Also, before taking your laptop apart, Id recommend you watch a disassembly video on YouTube about your specific laptop. This way, you wont break anything, and itll be a lot easier for you to open your laptop and close it back up.

Laptop Fan Making Weird Noise Solution #2

This may not work as well as Solution #1, which was to open your laptop and clean it with a brush or compressed air [use both to get the best results], but its still better than doing nothing.

1. Turn off your laptop.
2. Get a compressed air can and a small brush.
3. Use the compressed air to blow the area where your laptop fan is located.
4. Use the brush where compressed air wont do much.
5. Keep repeating until you feel all the dust [or most of it] has been cleaned.
6. Turn on your laptop and see if it still makes fan noise.

Laptop Fan Making Rattling Noise Solution #3

This probably would be your least favorite solution.

If you cant open your laptop or dont want to as you may break something, and you tried Solution #2 and it didnt work, take your laptop to your nearest computer repair shop and get it repaired there.

If they suggest you get your laptop fan replaced with a new one, ask them to simply clean the old one and see if it stops the noise.

Im 100% sure that it will, but Im also sure that itll come back soon enough [once the dust builds up again].

If you get tired of cleaning your laptop fan repeatedly, multiple times a year, then you can get it replaced with a new one. However, that new fan will also have to be cleaned once every 2-3 months, otherwise, itll also start making this weird, grinding, and rattling noise.

Laptop Fan Making Noise Solution #4 [Optional]

Finally, heres my favorite solution to this problem permanently where you wont even have to clean your laptop ever again.

It is that you buy the new M1-powered MacBook Air.

You probably already know that it doesnt have a fan, which means youll never have to clean it, and it wont make any noise, even the spinning noise every laptop fan makes.

Its dead silent!

I own it and I cant hear anything, other than my typing noise which Im hearing right now, writing this article for you.

Dont buy a MacBook Air M1 right now just because you want to get rid of this laptop fan noise, buy it when you need a laptop upgrade.

It may be that theres an even better MacBook Air available with a better, larger screen and an M2 processor by then, so youll have an even more powerful laptop thats portable and makes no noise.

Unless they decide to put a fan in their next MacBook Air M1.

Read my full MacBook Air M1 review.