How to Fix/Reduce Laptop Fan Noise

by Jennifer Porterfield | Last Updated: March 29, 2021

I used to have this laptop which my parents bought for me when I was in 6th grade. I used to use the same laptop till college because we couldn’t really afford to get a new one. That laptop was making so much fan noise that I was annoyed all the time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to fix or reduce my laptop fan making noise.

I did a lot of research day in and day out and came up with 10 different solutions on How to Reduce Laptop Fan Noise. In the following article, I will provide you with the information I discovered through trial and error and by the end you WILL be able to find a solution that works for you!

Table of Contents

• 10 Solutions to Fix/Reduce Laptop Fan Noise
  • 10 Solutions to Reduce Loud Laptop Fan Noise
  • 1. Clean the Laptop and Get Rid of all the Dust internally and externally.
  • 2. Close all the ongoing processes
  • 3. Clean and Wipeout all the Viruses and Malware
  • 4. Place the laptop on an elevated surface
  • 5. Check the Temperature and Increase the Fan’s RPM.
  • 6.  Defrag your System
  • 7. Apply Thermal Paste to CPU
  • 8. Upgrade Your Operating System
  • 9. Upgrade from HDD to SSD
  • 10. Get a New Laptop
• Conclusion

10 Solutions to Fix/Reduce Laptop Fan Noise

10 Solutions to Reduce Loud Laptop Fan Noise

1. Clean the Laptop and Get Rid of all the Dust internally and externally.
2. Close all the ongoing processes.
3. Clean and Wipeout all the Viruses and Malware.
4. Place the noisy laptop on an elevated surface.
5. Check the Temperature and Increase the Fan’s RPM.
6. Defrag your System.
7. Apply Thermal Paste to CPU.
8. Upgrade Your Operating System.
9. Upgrade from HDD to SSD.
10. Get a New Laptop

1. Clean the Laptop and Get Rid of all the Dust internally and externally.

The firs step to reduce the noise of your laptop fan is getting rid of all the dirt, grime, and dust. Having a lot of dust accumulation in the laptop is one of the main reasons for the laptop fan making noise. So cleaning it both internally and externally intensively will definitely help in reducing the laptop fan making noise issue.

The dust accumulation can hurt your laptop in a lot of ways such as hardware failure, software failure, BIOS failure and more. When you have a lot of dust inside then it is definitely obstructing the fan blades which makes the fan make more noise inside. The dust accumulation is really harmful to your laptop, you definitely need to clean your laptop every now and then.

If you are not good with computers then I don’t suggest you open up your laptop and clean instead get professional help to do this. Take your laptop to the Registered Service center in your city. They will definitely clean the system out and will give you a new quieter laptop fan.

If you want to do this yourself then you can do that too. All you need is a screwdriver and a clean cloth.

Disclaimer: We are not responsive for any damage and please don’t open the laptop if its under warranty. Take it to the Registered Service Center.

Follow these simple steps to open your laptop and clean Externally

1. Turn off your noisy laptop and any charging from an external source.
2. Flip your laptop to the backside.
3. Open the back cover of the laptop using the screwdriver.
4. Remove the battery.
5. Find the air vent (Different for every laptop).
6. Open the air vent enclosure if there is one.
7. You will find the fan, take a clean cloth and clean it closely because the fans could be quite sensitive.
8. Optionally you use a small blower to blow out the dust and clean.
9. After cleaning, screw the air vent enclosure.
10. Close the back cover of the laptop and screw it back.

Read This: How to Build a DIY Soundproof Generator Box

As mentioned above don’t open the laptop if it’s still under warranty or apple care. Doing this will void the warranty and you can’t avail of any other benefits.

TIP: Clean your laptop every now and then, it is a good practice to clean regularly and your laptop will have a long life.

Now you need to clean your laptop internally, I mean on the side of the operating system. There are programs or software that do this well and automatically.

Download CCleaner for Windows and Download CleanMyMac for MacOS

2. Close all the ongoing processes

This is very easy stuff to do. Most of the people who use the laptop doesn’t close all the processes, programs, tabs that they are not using. It’s completely normal I do that too. It’s not a big issue but as they accumulate they will put immense pressure on your RAM (Random Access Memory).

As they are running in the background they will consume a lot of memory and ram, as they consume so much memory the system starts to get heated up which will intern make the fans work harder and run really fast to cool the system down. So it’s really important to close all the ongoing processes and programs.

One big culprit is Google Chrome, so every time you open a tab from Google Chrome they will consume some memory usually more than what is required. So it’s important to optimize Google Chrome.

To change the settings on Google Chrome, follow this

1. Right-click on Google Chrome in the start menu and select “Properties”.
2. Click on Target text box and scroll to the end of the line.
3. Insert this phrase “–process-per-site”  after the end of the test.
4. Click Apply.

One more thing is that you might be running a lot of programs on startup, so you need to disable them.

To disable startup programs

1. Left Click on the Task Bar and select Task Manager.
2. In Task Manager, you will see a tab called “Startup”. Click on it.
3. In startup find the programs that you don’t use and disable them.

You need to do this periodically so that you can keep your laptop clean and fast.

3. Clean and Wipeout all the Viruses and Malware

Viruses and Malware are one such thing that could be making your fan run very fast which directly makes more noise. Malware is a big culprit in this. It is known to slow down the laptop.

To find and clean there viruses and malware you need to good Antivirus Software that will helpfull find and wipe these viruses and malware.

There are a lot of antivirus programs available on the internet which are both paid and free. With paid programs, you will get premium features whereas with Free Programs you will get the basic features only.

I would totally suggest you get a Paid and Premium Antivirus program. The Antivirus that I use is Avast Antivirus. Avast Antivirus is a good one which a lot of features such as Internet Security, Safe Payment, Malware Cleaning, and more.

If you still don’t want an antivirus and want to detect virus or malware on your system then

1. Right-click on the taskbar.
2. Select Task Manager.
3. In Task Manager, under the process tab, if you see any strange application or anything with a strange name or strange characters used then that is a virus and you definitely need to wipe clean that virus. To clean the virus you need an Antivirus software that is where Avast comes to the rescue.

Make sure you don’t download anything from a third party or Torrent, these will definitely carry any type of virus or malware. Also periodically keep scanning your system using Antivirus Software.

Read This: 10 Best Soundproofing Blankets

4. Place the laptop on an elevated surface

When I say to place the laptop on an elevated surface, I meant that you need to place your laptop not a flat surface but on an Elevated Surface. When you place your noisy laptop on an Elevated surface there is more ventilation for the airflow which in turn makes the laptop fans run at a regular rpm (Rotation Per Minute).

You can use a couple of books under the laptop or Buy a Laptop stand that can be elevated. This AmazonBasics Laptop Stand can be elevated and this also has ventilation below so easy airflow.

As you see in the image this stand is made up of metal grills and so ventilated. It’s a very affordable and strong stand, I am using this and recommend to others also the same laptop stand.

5. Check the Temperature and Increase the Fan’s RPM.

The fan would increase its speed and rpm because the laptop is too hot due to the usage. But some laptop fans would still run faster after the laptop is cooled down. You need to use an application that will do this for you.

I am using this application called SMCFanControl in my MacBook Pro. This Software will let me control the fan’s RPM and also let me know the temperature. So it’s highly recommended that you get this for your Macbook. Windows Laptop users can download this SpeedFan Software to do the same thing.

You need to experiment with it and find the perfect temperature and Fan Speed (RPM). This will help reduce the noise.

6. Defrag your System

When was the last time you defragged your system? or do you even know what Defragging is? If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 then don’t worry it is automatically done for you.

If you don’t know what Defragging is then Defragging is a type of Digital Cleanse for your entire system, like how human goes on a fruit juice cleanse for a week to clean their body.

A lot of files that you delete leave out a reside or temp files which over time will accumulate and make your system slower which will make the fans make noise. So its really necessary to defrag your laptop in order to keep your laptop fan quiet.

To Defrag, your Windows Laptop then follow these steps.

1. On Start, Search for Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel go to System and Security.
3. In System and Security, click on Disk Defragmenter.
4. A Dialog box would open
5. Click Analyze Disk Button.
6. After Analyzing ends, click on the Defragment Disk.
7. After Defragment Completes then click on Close.

7. Apply Thermal Paste to CPU

Once your laptop gets older, the thermal paste on the CPU will lose its potential or power making the laptop very hot and at the same time loud and fast fans running. So to fix this you need to Reapply Thermal Paste on the CPU. This will result in a quieter laptop fan.

To Reapply Thermal Paste to CPU follow these steps.

1. Turn off the laptop and remove the charging from the external source.
2. Flip the Laptop and Remove the Back Cover.
3. Look for the CPU or Processor and slowly remove the fan or coolant above it.
4. Now Apply the Thermal Paste above it.
5. Place the fan on top of it slowly.
6. Put the back cover back.

Or, follow this YouTube Tutorial:

8. Upgrade Your Operating System

Using an old and crappy outdated operating system will also cause your laptop fans to run faster and making more noise. So to fix this you need to upgrade your operating system to the latest one. If you are using a Windows Laptop then Upgrade to Windows 10 and If you are using a MacBook Pro or Air then upgrade to macOS Mohave.

This will instantly fix the issue.

9. Upgrade from HDD to SSD

If you are using an old HDD (Hard Disk Drive) then you need to move on SSD (Solid State Drive). This is 2019 and you need to update to the latest trend. If your laptop has an expandable SSD storage then please do that first thing. You will totally love it and will see a complete difference between HDD and SSD.

If your laptop is not upgradable then throw that out and buy an SSD Laptop.

This is because SSD is 20 times faster than HDD and has more benefits. HDD is outdated right now and is only making your laptop slower and the fans loud. If you are looking for an SSD Recommendation this I would suggest this Samsung 970 Pro Series. This is currently the best SSD in the market right now and I am also using this one. Totally Worth it.

Read This: 10 ways to soundproof a window

10. Get a New Laptop

This is harsh but trust me this is the reality. The laptop is very portable but not long-lasting. If your laptop is more than three years old then you definitely need to upgrade it. Laptop gets weaker really fast and you need to keep upgrading to keep up with the technology.

So, just sell the one you have and upgrade to the top of the line. Sometimes laptops cannot be fixed and the fans will make more noise only. If it’s a Desktop PC, it can be fixed easily but with laptops, it’s a different story.

Conclusion

A loud laptop fan can make it frustrating to use, and even worse to try to use it for work or entertainment. I feel your pain, I do. I experienced it for YEARS and finally had enough. After learning several solutions I decided I’d compile my top ten favorites on the subject of how to reduce laptop fan noise.

I know many others like me will eventually look for solutions and if you’ve made it this far I’m positive you will have found a solution or multiple solutions to this problem.

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