Be Careful When Cleaning Your MacBook’s (Mostly Fake) Speaker Grille

Have you ever noticed what looks like dust getting stuck in your MacBook’s speaker grille? Your instinct might be to use a brush to clean it, but that’s actually the opposite of what you should do. That’s because, as outlined in this excellent video by BarTech TV, 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 becomes dirty, you should be very careful while cleaning it, because if you get too aggressive with it, you could damage the grille further, or maybe even hurt your laptop. Here’s how to maintain it properly.

Understanding the speaker grille

On either side of the keyboard, your MacBook has a set of dots. While these might seem like vents for the speaker, the vast majority are just tiny dents punched into the aluminum, each containing a speck of paint. This is for aesthetic reasons. Over time, some of the paint in these dents may start to come off and you’ll notice that the speaker grille appears shinier than before. This is because the aluminum underneath is no longer covered, and using a brush or vacuum is the last thing you want to do to it. The more you try to dust it, the more paint could get dislodged from the grille, leaving you with a rather messy looking laptop.

How to clean the MacBook’s speaker grille

If your MacBook’s speaker grille is just a little dirty, instead of using a brush or vacuum, just wipe it off. That’s because you’re not trying to get dust out, but clean up the damaged paint as best you can. Apple recommends shutting down your MacBook, unplugging it, and then using a soft cloth moistened with a 70-percent isopropyl alcohol solution to clean the device. You can use this advice to clean both the speaker grilles and the MacBook itself, but keep the cloth away from any open ports. You should also keep brushes, vacuum cleaners, compressed air, and other harsh cleaning methods away from the speaker grille—they can strip even more paint off the unit, making it look even more damaged.

What you should do if the speaker grille is damaged

Some people have MacBooks with a speaker grille that already looks heavily damaged. Unfortunately, if you’re noticing a lot of extra shiny dents in the grille, I highly recommend doing nothing. The damage is purely cosmetic and any attempts at fixing it may lead to functional damage to your device. You may see advice that suggests using a mechanical pencil or a fineliner to paint those dents, but doing so presents some risk. 

For instance, you could end up accidentally damaging other components of your MacBook. If your mechanical pencil’s lead breaks and gets stuck around the speaker grille, it could damage the MacBook’s display when you close the lid. Some people have successfully used these methods to fix the speaker grille, but I’d rather play it safe with an expensive device that I depend on to get work done. To keep your MacBook in good condition, instead follow my colleague Khamosh Pathak’s excellent advice on safely cleaning your laptop.