What can I do about fan rattle in 2020 OMEN Laptop 15-ek0xxx?

[samland1116]

Hello all,

I am the owner of a 2020 OMEN Laptop 15-ek0xxx. I purchased this produced in January of 2021. Now that i am outside of the 1-year extended warranty -- one of the cooling fans (the left side, presumably the CPU fan) is rattling loudly and seems to have decreased cooling performance. I've tried cleaning/dusting/the works, so i'm left to assume it is a failed bearing. Whenever I try to use HP's apps/site to contact a service professional and see if this is something they would/could repair -- I'm sent to an AI agent or instructed to pay for a phone call? Is there something I am missing? How would I go about talking to a real person that might help me get my laptop sent in for repairs? It seems absurd I should be fixing a cooling fan after one year and some odd months AND can't seem to talk to a support agent without paying for the phone call, let alone the repairs. Any directions from someone who is familiar with HP support would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

[NonSequitur777 · Accepted solution]

@samland1116,

You are absolutely correct.  Your processor cooling fan (HP p/n: L98737-001 as per: HP PartSurfer) should not have failed after just one year and change.  In a perfect world, you should get a replacement fan -in my personal opinion.

Since we don't live in a perfect world, chances are you would have no alternative but to purchase a replacement fan yourself. 

That proves to be problematic, by the way.

HP doesn't carry it ("The following part(s) you entered were not found or not orderable:<BR>L98737-001&nbsp;&nbsp;(Part is not orderable in the HP Parts Store.)", and I looked for it elsewhere on the worldwide web -to no avail. Multiple "This item is currently out of stock and it may or may not be restocked" statements. Actually, I take that back. A company by the name of "Impact Computers" does sell this part for the jaw-dropping "Sale Price" (my hell) of $174.99: L98737-001 - Hewlett-packard (HP) - Fans N18E 12V | Impact Computers -in other words, you may have to call your banker.

Anyway, the point is that even if HP were to have a stroke of consumer-compassion, they don't have the part to give to you.

I will look some more, and if I find something (including a substitute non-OEM part), I will update this message.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[NonSequitur777]

@samland1116,

[EDIT:] It appears that Amazon caries various HP Omen 15-EK series cooling fans -see if any of them look what you need: Amazon.com : CPU Cooling Fan for HP OMEN 15-EK.

And please take a look here: 12V CPU GPU Cooling Fan For HP OMEN 15 EK TPN Q236 Fans Cooler Radiator M04216 001 ND8CC02 19j22 19j....

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[pbroussard]

In addition to the helpful reply from NS above, your service Guide here- http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06638089.pdf  calls on page 19 for 2 different sets of fans, depending on which NVidia discreet graphics you have. Make sure you select the correct one.

If you can't find a set of fans at a reasonable price, I have done bearing lubing in the past with good success. It's not terribly hard to do and I'll guide you if you want to go this path.

[samland1116]

WOW! Thank you both so much. As a graduate student with encroaching work deadlines and final exams -- I really appreciate the speedy (and detailed) responses. The degree of fan rattle varies from session to session but I have decided to go forward with repairs without HP's assistance. Thankfully I am able to source a loaner notebook from my work and I've resigned to outsourcing the repairs to a local professional. Your replies have even helped me skirt around their diagnostics fee. It is also reassuring to know I am not alone in the opinion that this part failure seems extremely unlikely given the age of the machine. Major marks against HP in my book. 

Thanks again for everything,

samland1116