Everyone knows that’s silly, loaded like that the Mac will stop the dishwasher sprinkler from spinning 😂
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How often do you clean the interior of your MacBook Pro for dust?
- Thread starter DeepSix
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I keep my MacBooks longer than most people, and I've never opened one up to clean it. I did open a 2006 MBP, probably sometime in 2009, because it had Pregnant Battery Syndrome. It was not dirty/dusty at that time. I don't perceive any of my MBPs since then to have much dust, certainly nothing like my non-Apple desktops. The M1 Max MBP doesn't even spin the fans up much unless I do something really heavy duty, such as export 1000 45mp images, or recompute a complex CAD model.
My M4 Studio has no accumulation of dust on its grilles either - far less than, say, the HDD enclosures that it uses.
My M4 Studio has no accumulation of dust on its grilles either - far less than, say, the HDD enclosures that it uses.
New MacBook Pro M4 pro user here. The fans do barely spin up too, even when I use my Mac on my bed instead of my desk. But I use a laptop stand to hold it up while I use a external keyboard and mice
i strongly suspect that Apple would consider opening an MBP to void the warranty so it seems odd they'd advise anything like this.
Re "can of air", remember that these aren't cans of air, they're cans of chloro/fluorocarbons. Expansion cools the gas and fluid when it comes out, so shooting that into your vents risks contraction cracks. I wouldn't do it.
Now years ago Sun's pizza boxes stupidly had the air intake on the bottom, and it would get rather dusty. The resultant cooling impact would fry the motherboards. I took to placing the chassis under users' desks, leaning against the wall so that the intake was facing out, and advised them to brush it off once a week. Our repair rate plummeted.
No, opening the MBP does not void the warranty. It's literally the first step in like 99% of their self service instructions. If you break something while you have it open, then yeah, the warranty for defects won't apply to that problem.
So the general consensus is that MacBooks dont get dust buildup compared to PC laptops with fans that run constantly. That is good to hear. I figured if the fans dont run often, then how would dust get sucked inside.
Instead of opening up the laptop, would sticking an industrial strength vacuum inside the vents be effective in sucking out dust?
Apple should make their next MacBooks fully dust proof with 1P68 rating. Just like with phones, it should be dust and waterproof.
Instead of opening up the laptop, would sticking an industrial strength vacuum inside the vents be effective in sucking out dust?
Apple should make their next MacBooks fully dust proof with 1P68 rating. Just like with phones, it should be dust and waterproof.
Yup. It should also be in the top rack, since the heating/drying element is in the bottom of the dishwasher, and it would fry the Macbook.
Maybe that tech was thinking of Intel-based Macbook Pros, whose fan(s) do spin up far more often than Apple Silicon-based Macbooks, and thus they pull in far more dust. I ran a business fixing Macs for about 23 years, and opened up a number of Intel-based Macbooks, and found varying amounts of dust in each. Most didn't have much, but some had enough dust that it was blocking the air intake vents and clogging the fins on the heat sinks to the point where I'm sure it was causing some overheating.
I removed the dust using cans of "compressed air" plus one of those commonly available, cheap one-inch paint brushes called a "chip" brush, though it has nothing to do with computer chips. Unlike brushes with polyester bristles, the brushes I used (and still sometimes do) were mostly static-free since they're made of pig's bristles, which are somewhat conductive, and so you can run them across electronic circuits without frying the circuitry as long as you don't brush too vigorously, though you can get true non-ESD brushes for this purpose.
Users shouldn’t be opening their laptop up for any reason. That’s why Apple has no user serviceable parts.
I guess a quick dust around the keyboard / vents? But even then.
I wouldn’t take action unless fans were audible constantly.
M2 Max user here and I open and clean the dust out of the fans and around the side vents. I'm a heavy After Effects and Ableton Live user for work so maxing out the CPU daily.
It does get pretty dusty on the blades of the fan and clearly reduces airflow - I know it's time to "dust" if I'm close to maxing out the CPU on an Ableton project and then I cant play back the same project at a later date. This happens maybe twice a year. Macbook is always on a stand with an external monitor and good airflow.
It does get pretty dusty on the blades of the fan and clearly reduces airflow - I know it's time to "dust" if I'm close to maxing out the CPU on an Ableton project and then I cant play back the same project at a later date. This happens maybe twice a year. Macbook is always on a stand with an external monitor and good airflow.
The laptop stand in bed is smart and likely prevents dust from getting in through your vents. I don't understand why so many use their laptops in bed or on carpet and heavy 12 inch thick rugs. Not just Mac's but any laptop period. Then they complain when their laptop fries itself in 1 year or less because they suffocated their laptop of air
Laptop stands are best money ever spent. I have several of them in different sizes. I promise that you will live longer just by using these. I'm not sure I'd want to use the Pro in bed though. I'm worried all the dust from the bed sheets, blanket, etc will rise and go directly into the vents on the MBP. This is where having a MBA for this use case benefits you.
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As in actually opening up the body? Never, that's absurd! I do clean the screen, keyboard and touchpad once a week though.
If what you’re saying is true, you should report it to Apple, because the company would never recommend — not only doing that but even touching a single screw on any MacBook. In fact, as they’ve pointed out before, it could even cause issues with your warranty.
Nobody working for Apple should be giving that kind of preposterous advice.
Nobody working for Apple should be giving that kind of preposterous advice.
Just use your regular vacuum cleaner and run it over your keyboard a few times. That should suck up all these pesky dusts and dead skins inside. /sarc jk
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Wow, this laptop stand is a total lifesaver! I’ve had it for a year, and it’s been a game-changer since last summer when I was rocking the school Windows ThinkPad X1 and P15 laptops . Now, I’m using it with my new MacBook Pro 💻.
It’s super versatile, letting me use my Mac on the bed 🛏️, on my desk while sitting or standing, and even angled to type comfortably while keeping my posture in check. Plus, I’m using a wireless keyboard and mouse with my MBP. Seriously, it’s a fantastic addition, especially since I spend a ton of time using my Mac for AutoCAD, light gaming with Roblox, virtual machines to run Siemens NX for work, and other apps like Xcode and Fusion 360, you know? Many experienced Mac users from Apple Store employees, a few friends of mine and y’all on MR if you remember the thread have told me the MacBook Air wouldn’t handle all these applications for work and university, mainly because I need the fans, haha! But I’ve got a little cleaning tool and a fine makeup brush to keep the ports and cooling vents on my MacBook Pro clean if anything ever gets stuck.
I switch up where I use my Mac, but when I travel, I don’t use the laptop stand because it’s too bulky for my backpack 🎒. I like to pack light, so I use an all-in-one backpack that can hold 2-4 days’ worth of clothes, personal essentials, and even my entire MacBook Pro setup in one bag. 💼
I have a 2015 15” rMBP that I have opened up twice, once to simply clean it and just last week to install a 1TB SSD in place of the 256GB OEM and then install Sequoia via OCLP. So twice in 10 years and it’s got a ton of mileage on it.