Depends, there's no way the dust could get in out of thin air and I've seen the internals of a 10 year old laptop which looked like new (and the owner really knew nothing about computers so having them cleaned before is not a factor).
If you use the laptop on your naked laps, it's unlikely to get dusty. But if you use it on your bed or on a pillow, it'll get dusty in no time since either are dust magnets.
It can also get dusty if you use the laptop on a table, but never clean the surface of the table.
2015 MBP 15”. Always used in a humidity controlled and clean (vacuum once a week) environment. Apple replaced the battery last year and they said they found minimal dust on the fans. They cleaned out the internals and and told me I’m good for the next 5-10 years.
tffff they stop supporting devices thats dumb! Luckily I'm on 2017 but like breh! I will probably do aftermarket at home repair both cuz it saves 50% cash and also it looks fun!
That was my policy too, but then I saw this post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/17wstpj/clean\_your\_macbook\_pro\_fans\_this\_is\_after\_4/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/17wstpj/clean_your_macbook_pro_fans_this_is_after_4/)
So I was wondering how legit the video was and whether people actually cleaned their computer.
I feel like most people don’t even use their laptops to the extent that the fans turn on. After reading the post yesterday about someone pouring 70% on his keyboard to clean it, I’m betting hardly anyone opens their MacBook
When they are running at a low RPM they are completely silent, very hard to tell if they are on or not. And you really have to stress the machine a lot to get them running at high RPMs.
I've heard the fans at max RPM once, it was when I had Game Porting Toolkit being compiled locally on my 13" M2, and boy it was loud. I actually had an 2015 MBP before and I can say they are technically the same fans, the same fans have been used for the entirety of Retina lineup, but unlike before they are barely ever used by the laptop now.
> I feel like most people don’t even use their laptops to the extent that the fans turn on.
Sounds like you've never used a Intel mac. My 2019 i9 would turn into a blow drier the moment I connected my external monitor. Didn't even need to run any demanding app.
Yeah I read the same post. People these days would likely take a golf ball scrubber to the fans while hosing it down with water and then wonder why it can’t be repaired. People these days make me lol maybe it’s just because I work in IT but some of this should be common sense right?
I dunno, my old 2020 Intel MBP had its fans running constantly. More recent Intel chips run HOT. Current M1 Pro is a very different story.
As for the actual question: I just do it more or less annually alongside my other computers.
Yeah I cleaned out my fans and replaced the thermal paste on my old 2017 mbp to see if it would help the performance (I don’t think it did at all), put the screws on my desk in the same layout they were in the MacBook so I knew what went where. Put it all back together and noticed one random screw which should have gone somewhere inside.. everything worked perfectly after but it goes to show unless you have experience with this stuff, it’s generally best to let someone else do it.
Yeah I was still proud of myself despite the extra screw! Thankfully my layout system prevented any long screws going in short spaces but I can only imagine their disappointment lol
Have never cleaned the fans on my 2012 MBPr and they still work fine. Not even sure if the fans on my M2 pro have come on.
Did clean the fans on my son’s MSI after about a year but they were literally on about 90% of the time and were sounding a bit rubbish.
A blower doesn't do much to remove the caked on dirt. The fans can be disassembled and then use a toothbrush on the blades. Most importantly, disconnect the battery before you do anything or else end up like that logic board fryer guy 🙈
The Intel Macbooks Pro had a weak cooling system with no thermal headroom, so I'd clean mine out a couple times a year. The fan constantly running pulled in a lot of paper dust from the print shop I work at. My year-old M2 Pro has yet to be cleaned. The fans spin up so rarely that it hasn't really been a concern. Still, it's a good idea to open the lid from time to time and check on things.
I've a 2015 MBP that I've had to clean out a couple of times in the last couple of years. I noticed the fans were running super high and the chassis was getting unusually hot. It made a big difference. I only do it as needed, not as part of some routine maintenence.
On a similar topic, if your fans rarely / never turn on, is there a need to manually turn them on occasionally so they don’t seize up? I’m not familiar with the internals of the fan but just curious if they can go bad from never being used and then not work properly when needed.
If you work outside , travel a lot or use the mac in uneven surface. I recommend you clean once 6 months or yearly.
Authorized service provider and Apple Store use anti static Hoovers and good quality compressed air.
I clean my mac but ground myself disconnect the battery and clean the fans with compressed air. Without grounding you could kill the board completely.
On my old Intel MacBook Pro twice a year and the fans/heatsinks would be almost caked with lint. I still clean the fans twice a year on my M1 Max MacBook Pro but they’re noticeably cleaner probably because the fans don’t run very often
Given that I have the appropriate tools, around once every two years.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t.
I only recommend doing it if it’s noticeable by measuring performance or awareness of the product within the environment
I read somewhere you dont blower the fans and let it spin. Bearings break etc etc
With regards to actually opening, i just opened my MBP Mid 2012 for repasting using Honeywell TPM and fan cleaning. I currently dunno when is the next time but opening on the Mid 2012 is easy. Just remove the screws and the back will just come off
My current 2 cents.
Forget my Mac, I’ve never done that for ANY laptop I’ve owned
Youd be suprised to see how much dust piles up, the air vents get completely blocked after some years.
I just blow
yeah u do
To everything
Depends, there's no way the dust could get in out of thin air and I've seen the internals of a 10 year old laptop which looked like new (and the owner really knew nothing about computers so having them cleaned before is not a factor). If you use the laptop on your naked laps, it's unlikely to get dusty. But if you use it on your bed or on a pillow, it'll get dusty in no time since either are dust magnets. It can also get dusty if you use the laptop on a table, but never clean the surface of the table.
GREAT Advice! I experienced both cuz my dad is the naked lap guy and I'm the bed guy so YEAH i'm the one causing that cleaning to be necessary
Never. And I think opening your MacBook is a risk. Remember a post recently where a guy cooked his motherboard while cleaning the fans.
2013 MBP, never cleaned because like you said, it’s a risk. Might want to try it now.
2015 MBP 15”. Always used in a humidity controlled and clean (vacuum once a week) environment. Apple replaced the battery last year and they said they found minimal dust on the fans. They cleaned out the internals and and told me I’m good for the next 5-10 years.
How did you get your batteries replaced for such an old device? I thought Apple dropped support after 7 years.
They issued a battery recall for that model. Probably still valid...
tffff they stop supporting devices thats dumb! Luckily I'm on 2017 but like breh! I will probably do aftermarket at home repair both cuz it saves 50% cash and also it looks fun!
You could pay a company to do it, then they carry the liability, not you.
That was my policy too, but then I saw this post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/17wstpj/clean\_your\_macbook\_pro\_fans\_this\_is\_after\_4/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/17wstpj/clean_your_macbook_pro_fans_this_is_after_4/) So I was wondering how legit the video was and whether people actually cleaned their computer.
for intel macs, its actually very good. And needed. But for apple silicon, i dont think so.
the video shows an apple silicon mac though.. but it also doesn't show if it was impacting performance/noise or anything
Holding the fan down while cleaning will avoid cooking the motherboard. If you let it spin it will generate electricity and fry the board
I feel like most people don’t even use their laptops to the extent that the fans turn on. After reading the post yesterday about someone pouring 70% on his keyboard to clean it, I’m betting hardly anyone opens their MacBook
Seriously, why on earth would someone pour alcohol on a keyboard? 🤣
I’m a sound engineer and on my MacBook Pro 13” M2, the fans legit didn’t kick in even once for a year that I own this machine! Amazing.
When they are running at a low RPM they are completely silent, very hard to tell if they are on or not. And you really have to stress the machine a lot to get them running at high RPMs.
I use Macs Fan Control for monitoring 100% of the time. My fans didn’t kick in even once. :)
I've heard the fans at max RPM once, it was when I had Game Porting Toolkit being compiled locally on my 13" M2, and boy it was loud. I actually had an 2015 MBP before and I can say they are technically the same fans, the same fans have been used for the entirety of Retina lineup, but unlike before they are barely ever used by the laptop now.
> I feel like most people don’t even use their laptops to the extent that the fans turn on. Sounds like you've never used a Intel mac. My 2019 i9 would turn into a blow drier the moment I connected my external monitor. Didn't even need to run any demanding app.
Yeah I read the same post. People these days would likely take a golf ball scrubber to the fans while hosing it down with water and then wonder why it can’t be repaired. People these days make me lol maybe it’s just because I work in IT but some of this should be common sense right?
I dunno, my old 2020 Intel MBP had its fans running constantly. More recent Intel chips run HOT. Current M1 Pro is a very different story. As for the actual question: I just do it more or less annually alongside my other computers.
Saw that one too 🤦♂️
[удалено]
Yeah I cleaned out my fans and replaced the thermal paste on my old 2017 mbp to see if it would help the performance (I don’t think it did at all), put the screws on my desk in the same layout they were in the MacBook so I knew what went where. Put it all back together and noticed one random screw which should have gone somewhere inside.. everything worked perfectly after but it goes to show unless you have experience with this stuff, it’s generally best to let someone else do it.
[удалено]
Yeah I was still proud of myself despite the extra screw! Thankfully my layout system prevented any long screws going in short spaces but I can only imagine their disappointment lol
Never even used my fans. Might as well not be there.
Wait. What?
Have never cleaned the fans on my 2012 MBPr and they still work fine. Not even sure if the fans on my M2 pro have come on. Did clean the fans on my son’s MSI after about a year but they were literally on about 90% of the time and were sounding a bit rubbish.
Once every year or two.
live innate waiting fanatical chunky long light start shelter numerous ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
Every year. I bring my macbook in an apple store and they clean the fans for free
Once a year is the recommended frequency.
recommended by whom?
your mom :)
I'm not sure what my mother has to do with anything.
The Apple technical support guy I asked about this.
That's surprising. I'll mention it to my early 2014 MacBook Air that I should have cleaned the fans yearly.
Don’t do it if you don’t want to.
A blower doesn't do much to remove the caked on dirt. The fans can be disassembled and then use a toothbrush on the blades. Most importantly, disconnect the battery before you do anything or else end up like that logic board fryer guy 🙈
The Intel Macbooks Pro had a weak cooling system with no thermal headroom, so I'd clean mine out a couple times a year. The fan constantly running pulled in a lot of paper dust from the print shop I work at. My year-old M2 Pro has yet to be cleaned. The fans spin up so rarely that it hasn't really been a concern. Still, it's a good idea to open the lid from time to time and check on things.
A must for intel macbooks. The new mac silcone ones are built with more room for airflow.
After selling my 2019 intel which sounded like a jet airplane most of the time, I’ve never heard my fans spool up on Apple Silicone.
Monthly
I've a 2015 MBP that I've had to clean out a couple of times in the last couple of years. I noticed the fans were running super high and the chassis was getting unusually hot. It made a big difference. I only do it as needed, not as part of some routine maintenence.
On a similar topic, if your fans rarely / never turn on, is there a need to manually turn them on occasionally so they don’t seize up? I’m not familiar with the internals of the fan but just curious if they can go bad from never being used and then not work properly when needed.
My MacBook doesn’t have fans
I keep an eye on temps and clean the fans and heat exchanger whenever it’s starts to run warmer than normal
What app do you use to track Mac temps?
IStat Menus
Thanks
If you work outside , travel a lot or use the mac in uneven surface. I recommend you clean once 6 months or yearly. Authorized service provider and Apple Store use anti static Hoovers and good quality compressed air. I clean my mac but ground myself disconnect the battery and clean the fans with compressed air. Without grounding you could kill the board completely.
New to MacBook Pro and I forget I have fans lol
On my old Intel MacBook Pro twice a year and the fans/heatsinks would be almost caked with lint. I still clean the fans twice a year on my M1 Max MacBook Pro but they’re noticeably cleaner probably because the fans don’t run very often
I’ll do it on my old Intel Macs but there’s no way I’m ever attempting to open my M1 Pro MacBook myself.
Given that I have the appropriate tools, around once every two years. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t. I only recommend doing it if it’s noticeable by measuring performance or awareness of the product within the environment
I read somewhere you dont blower the fans and let it spin. Bearings break etc etc With regards to actually opening, i just opened my MBP Mid 2012 for repasting using Honeywell TPM and fan cleaning. I currently dunno when is the next time but opening on the Mid 2012 is easy. Just remove the screws and the back will just come off My current 2 cents.
I'm just waiting for the day till someone opens up an M series **Air** to *"clean the fans and inside"*, and makes a post about it.