I'm curious about this button that you cleaned with the hose. Can you highlight that in the picture?
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This is how dirty a regular MBP can get inside... (Graphic images)
- Thread starter R.T.J.
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That would violate building codes.
Code over the years required that we switch from vinyl tubing to metal, either pipe or flexible metal tubing. Requirements also that the tubing be cleaned every two years. Our town building codes add stuff on a regular basis and the Fire Department Inspector does do inspections every several years.
That's why I wonder how that Florida Condo thing happened. Building and fire inspectors should be working all year around inspecting residences, buildings, and retail.
All the dust you’re cleaning off the floor to keep it spotless is still airborne at some point before it falls on the floor.
Your laptop has been sucking it in for 7 years.
The photos look normal to me, and it’s not an apple thing all computers should be regularly dusted to avoid buildup.
My desktop has a spring-loaded dust filter on the front grille where the intake fans are and it does require cleaning from time to time but it's easy to see when they need to be cleaned. Air filters aren't practical on laptops as most people would never clean or replace them. I put in HEPA filters around the house because I have bad allergies in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
Exactly.
I can’t think of any filtered laptops. But even with filters you’re going to get dust inside unless the case is totally air tight and otherwise sealed.
I wish air conditioning was a thing in the UK as all I can do is open windows with allergies
Just took the bottom off of my 2013 13" rMBP for the first time ever.... it was almost spotless. Went ahead and blew out the fan which had some gunk built up that I couldn't really see with my eyes. My house gets a lot of dust too.
Pro tip: The two inner screws on the bottom hinge side are slightly shorter than the other screws. Set those aside by themselves or you're going to wind up spending some time troubleshooting why screws aren't sitting flush when reinstalled.
Pro tip: The two inner screws on the bottom hinge side are slightly shorter than the other screws. Set those aside by themselves or you're going to wind up spending some time troubleshooting why screws aren't sitting flush when reinstalled.
Have you found it worth the money replacing the battery? I'm thinking of doing it for my 2015 rMBP 13 inch.
It depends on how much utility you get out of it. If you're going to use it for five years, whether everyday or as a spare or as an extra system, then it's worth it. I always have at least one backup system and I would keep one of them when I get an M1X MacBook. You may or may not feel the same way about your 13. There is a big difference in CPU power between the 2015 13 and 15 and the M1 is a very nice upgrade. It's easier for you as you wouldn't have a screen size change.
On changing the battery - you could try it yourself for about $114 less than what Apple charges. But Apple gives you a new top case including trackpad and key caps. It also depends on how good you are working on electronics. I've taken apart MacBook Pros before - it can be a fair amount of time. I've worked on vacuum tube radios a long time ago. I'm somewhat lazier to do this kind of work in my old age so I had Apple do it for me.
You can tell that there are lots of people that do it themselves on these forums.
Ah...6 years. That's not so bad then. Finding wasps nest inside a PowerMac 9100 back in the 90's was when I thought a career change was an option.🙃
Thank you for the helpful advice. If I go for it I'll certainly get Apple to replace it through an official store. As you say they should replace the top case, trackpad and key caps and after five years of ownership it'll be a pleasing to have them refreshed.
This rMBP will likely become my secondary computer whenever I decide to buy a M1X or M2 laptop. However, I've been getting the Service Battery alert which has just changed to Condition: Replace Soon.
With the age of this Mac I can't imagine I'm going to get as much cash as the value it brings me so I might as well replace the battery and keep it as an excellent back up or secondary computer.
So, the computer sucked in a lot of stuff. My question is whether there is something Apple could have done better to prevent that stuff from building up inside and causing problems.
There is no way that the solution is to seal the case, since airflow is one way Apple used to cool the components. It's pretty clear this is the situation, since you can block the exhaust vents and see the result. The subsequent lack of a pressure gradient will stop air from entering the case. You'll hear your fans complain, which means things inside are getting pretty hot.
Adding a filter to the case is not the solution. It would stop particles from entering the case, but the filter would block pretty quickly without user intervention. More computers would have heating problems than they do with the unfiltered airflow that is implemented now.
We all have tons of particles entering our cases all the time. Almost all travel through and leave through the vents. If you really overload the computer with larger particles (like those you would find on a bed), you would expect some of them to get trapped by the internal surfaces. After that, it might be like a snowball effect; the stuck particles act as surfaces to trap new particles.
I suppose the solution is a subtle one, to carefully craft the airflow and surfaces to reduce the chance that particles are captured. But, there is a limit to what can be handled. I know I raised the issue of the bed as a red flag and keep harping on about it, but I do think keeping a computer next to a soft surface like a blanket or carpet is beyond what you can expect a laptop to handle gracefully. When I looked up house dust mites on Wikipedia, I chuckled when I read
So, assuming you're sitting on the bed and moving some, I would expect the constant disturbance of the surface to result in a continuous fog of particles hovering above the surface of the bed.
Anyone have a better opinion which is actually backed by facts (rather than my flawed intuition)?
There is no way that the solution is to seal the case, since airflow is one way Apple used to cool the components. It's pretty clear this is the situation, since you can block the exhaust vents and see the result. The subsequent lack of a pressure gradient will stop air from entering the case. You'll hear your fans complain, which means things inside are getting pretty hot.
Adding a filter to the case is not the solution. It would stop particles from entering the case, but the filter would block pretty quickly without user intervention. More computers would have heating problems than they do with the unfiltered airflow that is implemented now.
We all have tons of particles entering our cases all the time. Almost all travel through and leave through the vents. If you really overload the computer with larger particles (like those you would find on a bed), you would expect some of them to get trapped by the internal surfaces. After that, it might be like a snowball effect; the stuck particles act as surfaces to trap new particles.
I suppose the solution is a subtle one, to carefully craft the airflow and surfaces to reduce the chance that particles are captured. But, there is a limit to what can be handled. I know I raised the issue of the bed as a red flag and keep harping on about it, but I do think keeping a computer next to a soft surface like a blanket or carpet is beyond what you can expect a laptop to handle gracefully. When I looked up house dust mites on Wikipedia, I chuckled when I read
So, assuming you're sitting on the bed and moving some, I would expect the constant disturbance of the surface to result in a continuous fog of particles hovering above the surface of the bed.
Anyone have a better opinion which is actually backed by facts (rather than my flawed intuition)?
I did the fixing last year when replacing the battery, the computer used to run hot and the fans were noisy. Since the clean-up, no more fan noise and no overheating. The computer really flies. I do VJing (visuals for events and parties) and I spend the night punching videos in HD in the live shows and the computer like a charm, does not overheat and keeps the frame rate just fine.
I am sure there should be an internal clean-up every two years at least for laptops, a service for clean up and changing the thermal paste and you will see they will last forever.
Years ago, I took apart my black polycarbonite MacBook because it was running even hotter than normal (and that was saying something, as that was a real lap-scorcher of a machine even brand new). I had a feeling dust was an issue and I was not wrong! I had two cats and the time and it looked every bit as bad as the OP's picture, but with more cat hair 🤮
On the bright side, the machine ran MUCH cooler after I blew all that out.
On the bright side, the machine ran MUCH cooler after I blew all that out.
I find it interesting there are some reporting dirt and debris going into their MBP's. When I opened up my Early 2013 15-inch Retina MBP I did not see any dust/debris buildup when I took off my bottom cover to upgrade my storage drive.
As you can see in the pictures above this is how my laptop looked and still looks today.... from my experience it all depends on where you use your laptop. If you have pets you will most likely have a dirtier laptop inside as opposed to people who don't have any pets. How clean the area where you use your laptop plays into just how dirty your laptop will get inside over time and usage.
As you can see in the pictures above this is how my laptop looked and still looks today.... from my experience it all depends on where you use your laptop. If you have pets you will most likely have a dirtier laptop inside as opposed to people who don't have any pets. How clean the area where you use your laptop plays into just how dirty your laptop will get inside over time and usage.
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That is one clean machine. I admit that mine had more dust build up -- especially in the fans -- after about four or five years than yours. It was not nearly as bad as the buildup in the OP's device though. I guess it is wise to check every so often.I find it interesting there are some reporting dirt and debris going into their MBP's. When I opened up my Early 2013 15-inch Retina MBP I did not see any dust/debris buildup when I took off my bottom cover to upgrade my storage drive.
As you can see in the pictures above this is how my laptop looked and still looks today.... from my experience it all depends on where you use your laptop. If you have pets you will most likely have a dirtier laptop inside as opposed to people who don't have any pets. How clean the area where you use your laptop plays into just how dirty your laptop will get inside over time and usage.
If you're starting to notice performance issues with your laptop then it is a good idea to open up the bottom cover and see just how dirty the laptop is inside. when cleaning my laptop I always use compressed air to blow out the dust and debris. I will also refresh the thermal paste as this will also help cool the processor/gpu more efficiently. Another thing you can do is change out your storage drive for something much faster if you have not done this already. The storage drive that comes with your computer is around 400mb/sec transfer rate at best and if you get a Sintech adapter and M.2 NVMe storage drive (I prefer using Samsung 960PRO or 970 EVO/PRO storage drives) you will see data transfer rates as fast at 1400mb/sec. This is what I have in my Early 2015 MBP laptops.
I just found that my desktop has a slot for a HEPA filter. There's an outside grill with a thin filter on it and a slot to hold a 1/2 inch filter. The particles inside the case are fine particles so a HEPA filter would help. I suppose I could just cut a furnace filter to fit as custom HEPA filter replacements tend to be very expensive.