Faint click/tick sounds near the trackpad area

Nope. Adding RAM is user-serviceable, which requires removing the bottom. just make sure to keep a hold of those screws, and remember which holes they belong in! (they're tiny, and some are different).

I wanted to bump this to the top. I am hearing this noise on my i5 15" MBP. Anybody else resolve it by removing and replacing the cover? I find it hard to believe that the bottom cover is just too tight!

no_jazz, I agree with you…it seems unlikely to be overly tight screws. After doing some research, I'm nearly convinced that it's the Sudden Motion Sensor (see http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=906536)

I don't know. I've been back and forth on this.

I messed around with the computer with it turned off and I can get the sound to repeat (with the computer off) when I click around on the trackpad, particularly clicking in the upper right. Would seem to align with the bracket discussion.

I think I will take the bottom off at some point if I can find a screwdriver small enough.

I've been looking at this all afternoon. I think the bracket idea is likely right. I meant to update my response before you responded.

I've turned the SMS off and the sounds still persists. I believe that the center of the unibody frame sags ever so slightly because of the laptop's rubber feet (as described by the others above).

I imagine that this slight bend has caused two components to rub against one another. Given the very low volume of the sound and that it only happens when I move the laptop, I'm not inclined to open the laptop or mess with it. I guess my biggest issues was to simply know what it was.

I only hear the noise when I'm working with the laptop in my lap and it's supported between my knees and stomach (with my feet up on an ottoman). When it's static on my desk I don't hear the noise so it's like the laptop bends and flexes a bit in my lap causing the noise.

It is pretty annoying to me and while I want it to go away, I'm not too keen on opening the laptop up and retightening the screws as others have done. Taking it up to the Apple Store would probably be a lost cause as I'm sure they'll be clueless about the issue or how to fix it.

I guess I will just have to get over it like I did with my "clicky" mouse button on my old macbook but dang, I was hoping for a bit more quality and not this type of little issues...

Yeah, I hear you. But, the unibody construction can only be so rigid. I was thinking to myself that they could have put a cross support inside the body to prevent the 2 or 3 mm sag, but I'd like to think they thought of that and decided against because it meant having to give-up something else. Well, we live in a physical world where things happen. If I was hearing it all the time, even on a desk, I'd have to get in there and pad the thing, but short of that I'm okay…as long as I know what it is.

For years I've used a lap-desk for my laptops. Primarily I started using one because my old Dell was ventilated from the bottom, so directly laying it on my lap was not an option. Now I can't imagine using my laptop without it because it provides so much more stability. And, of course, it would likely solve your problem too. ( http://www.lapdesk.com/)

Enjoy!

Darren

Just wanted to post an update. I took the time this afternoon to remove the back cover of my Macbook Pro to see if the proposed fix mentioned here would do any good.

I used a Philips #00 screwdriver, removed all of the screws, lifted off the backplate, looked around, wiggled the loose brackets that were mentioned earlier in the post and put the cover back on, tightening the screws back up until they were just tight. I didn't notice any scuff marks on the inside of the back cover.

After about three hours of use, I can say for sure that the frequency of occurrence of the clicking noise has definitely been reduced...by about 80%. I do, on occasion, get the clicking noise but not as often which makes it much less bothersome. Hopefully the improvement will stick around.

I just got a Mac Pro 13 inch today and you can't "click" with the track pad. You can push on the bottom right corner of the track pad and it feels like pushing a button on a PC and you hear a loud clicking noise. If you just tap in the corner it clicks but nothing happens.

Hi mobdoctor,
Thanks for your instruction. A couple of screws that hold the underneath panel were extremely tight. However, after a few days the clanking sound in my mbp returned. Any idea where else could this sound be coming from?
Cheers!

I'm sure that the problem is not in the brackets, they're used to fix the back case. So, when you insert the back case in place, the brackets won't move anymore.

Yeah it's not the brackets. It's those tiny retracting pegs that moves whenever movement or pressure is applied.

I found the source of this noise in my new 15" i7. It was a grounding connector inside. I've removed this connector (it was a very simple process), and now finally have peace!

The repair is detailed here:
http://tenonedesign.com/blog/fix-your-macbook-pro-like-a-champ/

Hope this helps others achieve the same. Good luck!

Thank you for figuring out the problem and posting it here!

The part also makes contact with a metal structure underneath. That has a rough surface, like a file. I suspect the sound may be caused by the metal arms of the part rubbing on this rough metal surface.

I am having the same issue, I'll try the fix this weekend