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Replacing a Nintendo Switch fan

Feb 2025

Before cleaning
Before cleaning
Dirty fan
Dirty fan
Cleaned fan
Cleaned fan
Old thermal paste
Old thermal paste
Fan noise before
Fan noise after

This was the first project I received due to somebody finding this site! This Nintendo Switch fan made a grinding noise immediately upon booting up a game. The console wasn’t getting hot, but it was clear that the fan was not working as intended. Initially, I just took it apart with the intention of cleaning it and replacing the thermal paste, since sometimes that can fix excessive fan noise. However, when this did not fix the issue, I recommended that a new fan should be installed. After receiving the new fan from iFixit (one of my favorite companies!) I swapped it out with the old one. This fixed the issue, and now the Switch is good as new!