My laptop fan sounded like a jet engine — here's how I fixed it

1. Clean your laptop's vents and fan

Dust accumulation is the most common cause of loud fan noise. When dust clogs air vents and settles on fan blades, airflow becomes restricted. Your laptop compensates by spinning the fan faster and harder, creating the loud noise you're hearing.

Power off your laptop completely and unplug it from any power source. Locate the air vents —usually on the sides, back, or bottom of the laptop. Use compressed air or an electric duster to blow dust out of these vents. Hold the can upright and use short bursts rather than continuous spraying to avoid moisture buildup.

Angle the compressed air or electric duster into vents from different directions to dislodge dust effectively. You should see dust particles escaping from the vents as you work. Pay particular attention to intake vents where cool air enters and exhaust vents where hot air exits.

Cleaning vents and fans every few months prevents dust from building up to problematic levels. If your laptop sits in a dusty environment or near floor level, clean it more frequently.

2. Close resource-heavy programs

Your laptop fan speeds up when the processor works hard. Running multiple demanding programs simultaneously generates heat that forces the fan into overdrive. Identifying and closing unnecessary programs reduces the workload and quiets the fan.

Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc on Windows, or Activity Monitor on Mac (found in Applications and Utilities) and double-click Activity Monitor. Look at the CPU column to see which programs consume the most processing power.

Web browsers with dozens of open tabs, video editing software, games, and background applications you forgot about often top the list. Close programs you're not actively using. For browsers, close tabs you don't need or use browser extensions that suspend inactive tabs to free up resources.

Some programs run in the background even after you think you've closed them. Check your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) for icons indicating running applications. Right-click these icons and select Quit or Exit to close them properly.

After closing heavy programs, monitor your fan noise. It should decrease noticeably within a minute or two as your laptop cools down and the fan slows. If fan noise remains high with minimal programs running, move to the next fix.

3. Adjust your power settings to reduce heat

Power settings control how hard your laptop's processor works, which directly affects heat generation and fan activity. Default settings often prioritize performance over quietness, pushing your processor harder than necessary for everyday tasks.

On Windows, open Settings, System, Power & Battery, then click Power Mode. Switch from Best Performance to Balanced or Best Power Efficiency. These modes limit maximum processor speed, reducing heat output and fan noise for tasks that don't require full power.

On Mac, open System Settings, battery (or Energy Saver on older macOS versions). Enable "Low power mode" or adjust settings to prevent performance-intensive tasks from running unnecessarily. Macs handle power management automatically, but reducing screen brightness and disabling unnecessary features like Bluetooth when not in use helps minimize heat.

Changing power settings means slightly reduced performance for demanding tasks like video editing or gaming. For everyday use like browsing, email, and document work, the difference is imperceptible while fan noise drops significantly.