XPS 9370 Fan Noise

Hi, I have the exact same issue. The fan is extremely loud and distracting. I can hear it from across my condo. I'm embarrassed to bring it to a coffee shop, to be honest.

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@BigOT wrote:

Hi, I have the exact same issue. The fan is extremely loud and distracting. I can hear it from across my condo. I'm embarrassed to bring it to a coffee shop, to be honest.

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Hi @BigOT, 

There are 2 separate fan issues here that I have alluded to on this thread, one is for a mechanical grinding/growling noise being emitted by the fan, the other is for a fan noise that is considered louder than normal. The first requires a service call to replace the dual fans, the second can be addressed by updating the BIOS to the latest revision - 1.3.3 

Which issue are you experiencing and do you still have the problem after updating the BIOS to the latest revision?

Alan

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@Jerry_dzy wrote:

Hi Alan, I got a XPS 9560 and I have the similar problem. However there is no such update for 9560. Could you please also make one for this model?

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Hi Jerry, 

The reason that no update has been provided for the 9560 is that there is not currently a fan noise/speed issue that needs to be addressed. Can you provide more information about exactly what is happening with the system please. 

Is it definitely the fan is causing the noise the noise?
Can you describe the noise that the system is making?
Does it ever change pitch or tone as the system is under load?
Is there any difference to the noise if you have the ac adaptor disconnected?
Are you running the latest BIOS on the system - version 1.9.4

I should be able to advise further once I have a greater understanding of the exact nature of the fault.

Alan

Hi Alan,

Thank you for your reply. Yes it is the same symptom as 9370 described here for my 9560.

Basically, my laptop stays quiet when doing normal light works like web surfing and using Office. However, when plugged in the power adaptor, the fan will generate some noise. I'm pretty sure the noise comes from the fan. When under load, the fan noise will become louder. For the light work, if I unplugged the AC adaptor noise will disappear and the whole system will become quiet again.

To confirm this, I installed Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and I saw that with AC adaptor plugged in, when temperature goes higher than ~ 47 C, fan noise will come, whereas if unplugged, the fan won't generate any noise even when the temperature goes to ~ 52 C. Clearly there is a difference. I use the same power mode (selected in task bar) for both case.

I tried to edit the power plan as described here by setting the passive cooling for the case when AC adaptor plugged in: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/7hwyjf/xps_15_9560_fan_noise/ and I also tried using the "Quiet" profile in Dell Power Manager but they don't work.

There are some other users also complained this issue: https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/Dell-XPS-15-9560-Fan-Always-On-and-Always-Loud/td-p/6056537 https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General/Dell-XPS-15-9560-fan-noise-when-charging/td-p/5096456

All of the drivers including BIOS and Windows system are up-to-date.

Best, Jerry

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@Jerry_dzy wrote:

Hi Alan,

Thank you for your reply. Yes it is the same symptom as 9370 described here for my 9560.

Basically, my laptop stays quiet when doing normal light works like web surfing and using Office. However, when plugged in the power adaptor, the fan will generate some noise. I'm pretty sure the noise comes from the fan. When under load, the fan noise will become louder. For the light work, if I unplugged the AC adaptor noise will disappear and the whole system will become quiet again.

To confirm this, I installed Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and I saw that with AC adaptor plugged in, when temperature goes higher than ~ 47 C, fan noise will come, whereas if unplugged, the fan won't generate any noise even when the temperature goes to ~ 52 C. Clearly there is a difference. I use the same power mode (selected in task bar) for both case.

I tried to edit the power plan as described here by setting the passive cooling for the case when AC adaptor plugged in: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/7hwyjf/xps_15_9560_fan_noise/ and I also tried using the "Quiet" profile in Dell Power Manager but they don't work.

There are some other users also complained this issue: https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/Dell-XPS-15-9560-Fan-Always-On-and-Always-Loud/td-p/6056537 https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General/Dell-XPS-15-9560-fan-noise-when-charging/td-p/5096456

All of the drivers including BIOS and Windows system are up-to-date.

Best, Jerry

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Hi Jerry, 

Are you sure it's the fan causing this noise? Is it a squealing high pitched noise that you may be hearing from the system?

Alan

Hi Alan,

Yes I'm pretty sure it comes from the fan because I can hear the fan start and stop. It's definitely the sound of wind.

Actually when the system is quiet, I also heard some high frequency sound. Maybe that's the sound you said.

Best,

Jerry

Hi Alan,

I appreciate your response, but I won't pretend that I know how to do anything that you mention in your reply. I'd like to file an official customer service complaint, but all of the support links I follow lead me to self-service articles or this community. Can you send me a link to the right place where I can file a case?  I'm in Canada if that changes anything.

Thank you

I'm having this same problem - a loud rattle like noise when one of the fans turns on. Returning the laptop after using it for a short time, so the fan can be repaired, is going to be very inconvenient. 

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@Jerry_dzy wrote:

Hi Alan,

Yes I'm pretty sure it comes from the fan because I can hear the fan start and stop. It's definitely the sound of wind.

Actually when the system is quiet, I also heard some high frequency sound. Maybe that's the sound you said.

Best,

Jerry

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Hi Jerry, 

I'll follow up via private message.

Alan

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@jaywp wrote:

I'm having this same problem - a loud rattle like noise when one of the fans turns on. Returning the laptop after using it for a short time, so the fan can be repaired, is going to be very inconvenient. 

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Hi @jaywp, if a service call is required it all depends on the warranty you have and what country you are located in. The fan issue isn't going to affect the performance of the laptop as it's making a noise rather than spinning incorrectly. You could wait until a more convenient time to get the system repaired if that helps. I'll drop you a private message for your service tag and I can let you know what your options are unless you have already organised a service call on the system.

Alan

Hi Alan,

             How can dell produce so many pieces of laptop with defective fans? I mean almost laptop comes with grinding noise,what you Quality check team doing ?

            Please get a service tag then i can ask your guy to come to replace the fan . I am located in singapore.

            You can goolge 9370 noise, you can see how many users are there waiting for this issue.

Regard,

Tommy

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@TommyInDell wrote:

Hi Alan,

             How can dell produce so many pieces of laptop with defective fans? I mean almost laptop comes with grinding noise,what you Quality check team doing ?

            Please get a service tag then i can ask your guy to come to replace the fan . I am located in singapore.

            You can goolge 9370 noise, you can see how many users are there waiting for this issue.

 

Regard,

Tommy

 

 

 

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Hi Tommy, 

Thanks for raising your concerns. With regards to the fan failures, Dell doesn't manufacture parts for the laptops, they are subcontracted out to various parts manufacturers who design and supply the parts to us. If our vendor has a manufacturing issue or a sub-component not designed to specification that is missed at their quality control end, this is then passed on to ourselves.

With regards to numbers, not every system comes with a grinding fan. A few dozen posts on a forum complaining of noisy fan is a tiny percentage of the total volume of these systems sold globally. 

I'll drop you a private message for your service tag details.

Alan

What do you mean by power profile?  It is on the optimized setting if thats what youre asking.  My laptop is on a flat desk when using.  None to very little fan noise when not plugged in and there is no growling or grinding noise.  Just power plug cases it to still have lou feed fan noise.

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@mckim1003 wrote:

What do you mean by power profile?  It is on the optimized setting if thats what youre asking.  My laptop is on a flat desk when using.  None to very little fan noise when not plugged in and there is no growling or grinding noise.  Just power plug cases it to still have lou feed fan noise.

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Thanks for the clarification. As the fan noise is increasing only when the ac adaptor is plugged in and there is no mechanical noises from the fan, that would suggest the system is working as designed and within the acceptable tolerances for noise.

Alan