Silencing the Ubiquiti US-16XG 10G switch

 I recently got a Unifi US-16-XG to create a 10G backbone in my Lab/Home Infra.

I love the switch but the 30mm fans make too much noise for my taste and I decided to mod the switch. This was one of the easiest mods I had ever done.

Here's the shopping list:

- Two unique 30mm to 40mm 3D printed from a friend or a 3D shop in your neighborhood. I placed a copy of the 3D models I used <here>. The official link is here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4143421

- Two Noctua 40mm PWM fans (Model: NF-A4x20 FLX)

- Two Noctua Ultra-Low-Noise adapters (NA-RC-12)

- a Philipps screwdriver :)

Here are a few pictures from the Build:

US-16-XG with the original Fans:

These are standard 3-pin connectors, no soldering required.

Positioning the air ducts:

Assembling the anti-vibration fan mounts:

Final fan position after cutting the anti-vibration mounts.

I tried using the US-16-XG without low noise adapters. I didn't quite like it (still too noisy).

I tried the low-noise adapters from Noctua (NA RC-10 ), the noise was lower but I still didn't like it.

In the end, I settled on the Ultra-Low-Noise adapters ( NA RC-12 ) and camouflaged the wiring underneath the motherboard.

I could hear myself think -again-.

With that setup in place, the fan speeds, temperatures, and everything was perfect (even during summertime):

us16-0-US.v4.3.20# swctrl env show
General Temperature (C): 41
Temp Sensor      Temp (C)     State            Max Temp (C)  Alert Temp (C)
===============  ===========  ===============  ============  ==============
PHY              39           Normal           45            75            
REAR             39           Normal           45            75            
CPU              41           Normal           47            75            
Fan Duty Level: 47
Fan              Speed       Duty level  State
===============  ==========  ==========  ===============
FAN-1            3422        47          Operational    
FAN-2            3210        47          Operational    

The US-16-XG in its natural habitat (Yes, I did put the cover back):