Be Careful When Cleaning Your MacBook’s (Mostly Fake) Speaker Grille.
Have you ever noticed something like dust getting stuck in the speaker grill of your MacBook? Your instinct may be to brush it, but that’s actually the opposite of what you should do. That’s because, as this excellent BarTech TV video shows, the two rows of symmetrical dots on either side of the MacBook’s keyboard are almost entirely for aesthetics. If your MacBook’s speaker grille gets dirty, you should be very careful when cleaning it because if you handle it too aggressively, you could damage the grille further or possibly even damage your laptop. Here’s how to properly maintain it.
Understanding the speaker grille
On either side of your MacBook’s keyboard there is a set of dots. While they may appear to be speaker vents, the vast majority of them are just tiny dents in the aluminum, each containing a speck of paint. This is for aesthetic reasons. Over time, some of the paint in these dents may begin to peel off, and you will notice that the speaker grille appears shinier than before. This is because the aluminum underneath is no longer coated and using a brush or vacuum cleaner is the last thing you want to do to it. The more you try to dust it off, the more paint can come off the grille, leaving your laptop looking quite dirty.
How to Clean MacBook Speaker Grille
If your MacBook’s speaker grille is a little dirty, instead of using a brush or vacuum cleaner, simply wipe it down. This is because you are not trying to wipe off the dust, but rather cleaning the damaged paint as best you can.Apple recommends turning off your MacBook, unplugging it, and then using a soft cloth dampened with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol to clean the device. You can use this tip to clean both the speaker grilles and the MacBook itself, but keep the cloth away from open ports. You should also keep brushes, vacuum cleaners, compressed air, and other harsh cleaning methods away from the speaker grille—they can remove even more paint from the device, leaving it even more damaged.
What to do if the speaker grill is damaged
Some people have a MacBook with a speaker grill that already looks badly damaged. Unfortunately, if you notice a lot of extra shiny dents in the grille, I highly recommend doing nothing. The damage is purely cosmetic and any attempt to repair it may result in functional damage to your device. You may see advice that suggests filling in dents with a mechanical pencil or liner, but this comes with some risks.
For example, you may accidentally damage other components of your MacBook. If a mechanical pencil’s lead breaks and gets stuck around the speaker grill, it could damage your MacBook’s display when you close the lid. Some people have had success using these methods to repair speaker grilles, but I’d rather play it safe and use an expensive device that I depend on to get the job done. To keep your MacBook in good condition, follow my colleague Khamosh Pathak’s excellent advice on cleaning your laptop safely .