Your laptop packs impressive processing power and storage in vanishingly little space. This level of efficiency comes at a cost: excess heat. The greatest threat to your laptop, save for your coffee, is overheating. It can cause hardware failure and permanent damage.

Let's look at how to prevent or fix an overheating laptop to improve its performance and extend its lifespan.

The Basics of Overheating Computers

Just because your laptop seems hot doesn't mean it's overheating.

How Do You Know Your Laptop Is Overheating?

A sure sign that your computer is overheating is when you can hear your fan running at maximum speed all the time. Laptop fans can make a lot of noise, so that alone should make you want to fix it. As a result of insufficient cooling, laptops can get so hot that touching the chassis becomes unsafe.

At that point, you may even experience reduced performance because modern CPUs can cut back on clock speed to reduce heat stress. Moreover, the fail-safe software may trigger a sudden shutdown to prevent hardware damage.

CPUID HWMonitor showing Intel Core i7 core and GPU temperatures.

If you want to measure the actual temperature inside your laptop, you can use a tool like HWMonitor (shown above). This might also reveal which part of your laptop is getting too hot. Typically, you'll find that the central processing unit (CPU) or the graphics processing unit (GPU) is overheating the most. Laptops with onboard graphics may not display separate GPU temperatures.

Why Is Your Laptop Overheating?

Your laptop keeps overheating because of insufficient cooling.

Potential reasons include dust blocking intake grills or exhaust ports, a clogged-up fan, or degenerating thermal paste or pad. A thermal pad or thermal paste is a heat-conductive material that connects the CPU or GPU with the metal heat sink that directs heat away from the processing units, usually to a cooling fan.

You can fix a laptop that's overheating yourself, though some jobs, such as applying fresh thermal paste to the CPU, are tougher than others. If you need a quick fix and don't have the skills to de-lid your CPU or GPU and apply fresh thermal compound, try our easy solutions first.

Can a Fanless Laptop With Passive Cooling Overheat?

Fanless laptops use passive cooling techniques like spreading the heat across the entire metal body, or throttling CPU clock speeds to regulate heat.

Your laptop probably runs on passive cooling if you can't hear a fan or find intake grills or exhaust ports. This means your computer won't overheat, but you might notice decreasing performance in response to increasing heat stress.

Since laptops with passive cooling don't have fans, there's little you can fix. You can, however, recover processing power lost to CPU throttling by addressing the excess heat with external cooling. If you have a fanless laptop, skip to the cooling pad section below.

How to Stop Your Laptop From Overheating

Several simple hardware fixes can cure overheating.

1. Fix Internal Cooling

Laptop  Air Intake Grill Exhaust Ports Bottom
Image Credit: Tina Sieber

When your laptop is overheating, the first and most important thing you need to do is clean the fan(s) that provide(s) cooling to the CPU and graphics card. Over time, they build up layers of grime and dust that slow them down and block airflow. Consult your laptop's manual or the manufacturer to find out how to open the computer to access and clean these parts.

Before you attempt to do any cleaning, however, follow these steps:

  1. While the laptop is running, locate its exhaust ports; they should release hot air.
  2. Shut down the computer
  3. Unplug all cables
  4. Remove the battery (if possible)
  5. Ground yourself to avoid electrostatic discharge.
Laptop Bottom Cover Removed Exposing Internal Fans
Image Credit: Tina Sieber

When you're ready, have a close look at your laptop, outside and inside, and clean the following parts:

  • If you can open your laptop, carefully clean the fan(s) with a cotton swab dipped in a drop of isopropyl alcohol. Make sure the alcohol has completely evaporated before you reconnect the laptop to the power.
  • You can also use a vacuum cleaner to remove dust and dirt that clocks up the fan(s). To prevent damage to a fan, do not let it spin when blowing air at it. If you want to use canned air to clean a fan, stop it from spinning by holding it down.
  • Next, you can clean the exhaust port with a vacuum cleaner. It usually sits on the side of the laptop, but you can also find it on the back. Unlike intake grills, exhaust ports release warm or hot air, making them easy to find.
    Laptop Internal Cooling Fan
    Image Credit: Tina Sieber
  • External intake grills cover fans that suck cooler air into the laptop. They can sit on the sides or at the bottom of your notebook. To clear the intake grills, spray them with canned air.
  • Finally, you can apply fresh thermal grease to the interface between the CPU and GPU and its heat sink. Again, please consult the laptop's manual or manufacturer for instructions on disassembling these components.

2. Keep the Laptop on a Hard and Flat Surface

Bamboo Laptop Stand Lap Desk
Image Credit: Tina Sieber

If your laptop's intake grills are at the bottom, then uneven surfaces, like a blanket, pillow, or your lap, will obstruct its airflow. Subsequently, cooling is impaired, heat builds up, your laptop surfaces get hot, the internal temperature increases, and eventually, the laptop will overheat.

You can easily avoid this scenario by keeping the laptop on a hard, flat surface. You can use something as simple as a tray or get a special laptop holder or lap stand. Personally, I use a portable bamboo laptop desk.

3. Invest in a Laptop Cooler or Cooling Pad

a black aluminum laptop cooling pad
Image Credit: Yortw/flickr

Laptop coolers are meant to provide additional cooling. However, getting the wrong cooler can make the problem worse. Therefore, before purchasing a cooler, you need to understand the airflow into and out of your laptop.

As mentioned above, most laptops suck in cooling air from the bottom. This makes sense because warm air rises upwards. However, a cooler that sits underneath the laptop and sucks air away from it doesn't contribute to laptop cooling and instead accelerates overheating.

If your laptop has intake grills at its bottom, purchase a cooler that blows cool air upwards, i.e., into the computer. You can also use a passive cooler, like the Hagibis ergonomic laptop stand, that raises your laptop for increased airflow.

If you're handy, you can build your own laptop cooler or cooling pad. We even found a solution that will cost you under five bucks!

Can You Fix an Overheating Laptop With Software?

gpu-undervolt-guide-10

If none of the hardware fixes result in lasting improvements, you can revert to software fixes that address your laptop's performance and power usage. However, addressing excessive heat with a software fix means you give up performance in favor of preserving the hardware.

You can either reduce your screen's brightness or the CPU clock speed. In Windows, underclocking or undervolting is done in the BIOS but can also be controlled through software tools. If your laptop has an Intel chip, you can likely undervolt it with Intel XTU. You can also undervolt graphics cards or underclock your GPU. And in case you were wondering, undervolting and underclocking are not the same.

Protect Your Laptop From Overheating

Even if you have a new laptop that doesn't exhibit any clear evidence of overheating, cleaning its vents and fans is a good idea to prevent dust buildup regularly. And if you want to be extra careful, always place your laptop on a firm and even surface.

If you use a laptop desk while surfing on the sofa, you'll ensure good airflow and reduce the dust that enters and blocks vents and fans. And if you believe you need a new cooling system for your PC, check out our list of the best ones.