Laptops

Laptop fans are so loud all of sudden. Why?

The most conventional cooling system used in laptops are cooling fans though there are other methods as well, but they are rather expensive and complex. Fans usually operate when the temperature increases beyond a specific threshold and their speed also depends on the temperature.

As the sound produced by the laptop is only due to its fans so sometimes when the speed of the fan is HIGH it produces more sound, but it is acceptable if this happens occasionally. However, if you observe that now the fans are acting weird as they suddenly turn on more often and run at a higher speed making noise then there might be a problem with your laptop. So, we have given the most possible causes of fans getting loud suddenly.

Reasons why fans get loud all sudden

Worried about the frequent sudden increase in the fan speed we got covered let’s see what the possible reasons for this behavior of your laptop are:

  1. Clogged cooling vent of laptop
  2. Dirty cooling fan of laptop
  3. Continuous Overheating of laptop
  4. Playing games on laptop frequently

1 : Clogged cooling vent of laptop

One of the most common reasons for fans becoming loud suddenly can be due to clogged vents as there might be dirt in them which makes it difficult for the fan to dissipate the heat of the fan, so it runs faster. These vents are present at the fan outlet of your laptop.

2 : Dirty cooling fan of laptop

Fans are the one of the most important components of a laptop as it keeps the laptop cool and prevents its chips from frying. Also, it maintains a suitable temperature for the processor at which its efficiency is maximum.

So, with the passage of time your fan might get dirty as it sucks air from one side and throws it out from the other side and in this way, dirt can get around its motor and fins causing it to struggle to run. Thus, to cool the processor it tries to maintain its speed making a lot of noise.

3 : Continuous Overheating of laptop

There might be an issue with your applications or there can be any malware that takes a major part of your laptop resources causing it to overheat. Sometimes your laptop has some crucial updates in pending that can cause your laptop to struggle in running some applications causing it to overheat. As a result, the fans run at higher speed most of the time trying to keep your laptop cool and due to this they might be making a lot of noise.

4 : Playing games on laptop frequently

If you are playing games and observing such behavior of your laptop, then there is nothing to worry about as games now-a-days need more space and use a big chunk of your GPU. Also, most of the resources of the processor are used to run the game smoothly to give you a better gaming experience and this can increase your laptop temperature causing the fans to run at higher speed.

Tips to keep your fan noise low

  • Do a proper service of your laptop
  • Scan your laptop for any virus or any malware
  • Keep unwanted applications close
  • Use a cooling pad when playing games

Conclusion

To make a laptop work efficiently its temperature needs to be in safe range and for that cooling system is required. For cooling mostly fans are used as they blow air which cools down the laptop and thus a safe temperature is maintained. However, sometimes you might experience the sudden increase in the fan speed of your laptop thus making it loud. This can be due to multiple reasons but we have explained the most common causes of it in a very detailed way.

About the author

Aaliyan Javaid

I am an electrical engineer and a technical blogger. My keen interest in embedded systems has led me to write and share my knowledge about them.