Unjob Tech: the ultimate Macbook fan quick fix
August 17, 2008
Written by joey
I’ve been having this fan problem for months already! My macbook’s fan just konks out intermittently, and as of late hasn’t been working since April. I had this sent to our local Apple center, but they didn’t even replace the fan because they said it was working when they opened it up!
So anyway, since today’s a national holiday here in the Philippines I decided that I’d take my macbook back to the Apple center to finally have it replaced. After backing up all my files for The Unjob and other stuff (I was preparing myself for the temporary switch down to the most terrible OS of all time: Vista), I googled for some last minute fan info. Mind you, I surfed for all possible solutions in the past, even checking out some disassembling instructions in case I could do it myself (obviously, I couldn’t). I came across this genius vid from Youtube which was only added last June 18. I know there are other people out there with the same problem as me and who probably haven’t come across it yet, so here it is:
At first I thought it was just plain crazy, what with the instructions that the creator had to clench your fists, but since I was totally desperate and with nothing to lose, I gave it a shot. Surprise surprise, the fan started working after a few seconds of relentless knocking! I found it truly amazing that such a basic (nay, primitive even!) concept can get you past even the most troubling of tech issues (the local Apple didn’t tell me to knock on it to get it working, that’s for sure).
So there you have it! Youtube once again saved me a few bucks and a couple of liters of gas! Now I can just stay home and get working on those restaurant reviews!
p.s. do you writers have laptop tech tips you’d want to share? Feel free to add them through our comments section below!
ok i would just like to say that vista is not the worst OS of all time. i think windows ME holds that distinction. that said, i’ve been ok with vista. no complaints from me so far but let’s see.
this fan issue with the macbook, is it prevalent with all of them or isolated within a production set
@Edu – I think ME was usable. The problem was that it was quite a useless upgrade (can it even be called that?) from Windows 98 =p
I think most first production macbooks had this same fan problem. Remember when you had to hit your NES on top just to make some game cartridges work? Hooray for analogue =D
Hahaha! I had the same problem. It worked. Though I’m going to have to monitor it pretty closely after badgering it like that.
Amazingly, my macbook fan now works without fail after going through this process. It’s a really primitive way to deal with new tech, but it totally works! =D
OK! I just tried this on my macbook. The fan was working but only at 140rpm and it was making a horrible noise. I called the repair shop and they wanted $150 plus $50 for the fan. Just after I got off the phone with them I found this blog. WHAT A BLESSING! This tutorial totally did the trick. The fan is now quite and back to normal. It sounds like the connection of the fan is not secure and as a result you get this issue. But in any case, thanks so much for this!!
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you are a genius , i cant believe that just worked , i was so stressed out for the last few days , i tried all the firmware updates i was worried that i might have to replace the fan , and i;m currently based in africa , so that would have been really really expensive , i was sceptical at first and even a bit worried , but after about 15 good knocks it kicked started the fan back into working , if you where any where near me i would buy you a beer !!!
a big thanks man !! all macusers the world overshould hail you the new low tech genius of cyerspace !!!
THANKS !
yeah the guy who actually discovered this is a genius in the truest sense!
OMG I LOVE YOU!
the weirdest thing about this post is that it’s totally unrelated to my blog topic, but it’s just something all of us macbook users share. haha!
maybe i should start a tech blog instead (hint hint)
Oh gosh, it really works! Thanks James for sharing this solution!
I’ve got the exact same problem you all mentioned and was skeptical at first like some of you have mentioned, but as many of you have reaafirmed the effectiveness of it, so I tried too, and it works and it’s just saved me $200 or whatever it would have been to get it fixed by Apple.
Thank you for sharing the solution, and also for sharing your feedback!