Experimenting Radio Frequency

Hacking my Dad's Car

As a tech enthusiast, one of the memorable hands-on experiences I’ve had was back in 2022 sometime, when my MacBook Pro 2018 touchpad model started overheating. Rather than taking it to a service center, I had decided to tackle the problem myself; my dad was fine with it.

I thought it was time for a thorough cleanup and perhaps change the processor’s thermal paste that perhaps would fix the issue. The MacBook Pro, known for its compact design, isn’t the easiest machine to open up, but I was determined to fix it myself. With the right tools and plenty of patience, I carefully disassembled almost every part of the laptop under my dad’s supervision.

The primary goal was to clean out any dust buildup on the internal heat sink fans and to replace the heat sink paste which might have likely dried up over time, contributing to the heating problem. The process was very interesting, detaching the logic board, removing fans and accessing the CPU to clean and apply fresh thermal paste compound. I was very exciting to see the delicate inner workings of the MacBook Pro up close.

After reassembling everything, I powered it on and the results were fantastic! The overheating issue was resolved and the MacBook ran smoothly without the fan constantly spinning noise at high speeds and I could see a performance improvement too; I was super happy! This experience not only deepened my understanding of hardware maintenance but also fuelled my passion for DIY tech repairs. Through this process, I learned the value of patience, precision and the satisfaction of fixing things with my own hands, all of which continue to drive my interest in technology today.