Low level noise upon opening mba....

[Chairman.Jobbie]

I heard very low level noise coming from the power connector side of my MBA 13 i7 this morning. It went away after a minute or so but I could definitely hear something... a sort of slow low whirling noise. Never heard it before. I put it to my ear so its 100% from there.

I can only think its the fan as that's the only moving part right....?

The MBA is about 10 months old - brought just when the latest models came out in 2011. And its been used extensively... we are talking about an average of 14-16 hours a day every day - either just on or being used. More recently im streaming tv much more and the fan comes on alot more than it used too.

Anyone had any odd noise experience with the new mba's?
Warranty expires mid Aug....

 

[oscolivar1]

Buy apple care...

 

[Chairman.Jobbie]

Buy apple care...

Maybe.

But RIGHT NOW my question is about THE NOISE and tapping into people experience - which may or may not be useful.

 

[flatfoot]

@OP: You are right, that's the fan around there. I can hear the fan on my MBA late 2010 (bought then; no used extensively) when I put my head next to the keyboard where the fan is located, but there's no whirring noise.

My guess is that the bearing has worn out a bit over time. Now when it heats up a bit and expands, the slackness goes away, as does the noise. Replacing the fan would solve this issue.

Another possibility is that the fan has sucked in too much dust.
With the right screwdriver it's easy to open up the MBA (search "pentalobe 1.2" on eBay). After taking off the bottom cover, you can look right at the fan and clean it.

Since our MBA is still under warranty, just visit an Apple store or a certified repair shop and have them replace the fan.