Phone Speaker Cleaner
Got water in your phone speaker? Turn the volume all the way up, point the speaker down and tap play. A low tone shakes the water out.
Turn your volume to max first. Take off headphones and Bluetooth speakers.
How to get water out of a phone speaker
1. Turn the volume all the way up and disconnect headphones or Bluetooth so the sound plays through the phone's own speaker.
2. Hold the phone with the speaker pointing down, usually the bottom edge, so water can drip out instead of running further in.
3. Tap play. Water eject plays a steady 165 Hz tone that makes the speaker cone vibrate hard, pushing droplets out of the grille. You may see tiny drops appear. Repeat 2–3 times if the sound is still muffled.
Dust clean sweeps from 100 to 600 Hz to shake loose lint and dust. Custom tone lets you pick any frequency between 50 and 1,000 Hz.
What not to do
Don't put the phone in rice (it can leave dust and starch in the ports), don't use a hair dryer on high heat, and don't poke cotton buds into the grille. Let the phone air-dry with the ports facing down. If the phone stopped working after getting wet, switch it off and take it to a repair shop.
This is the same idea as Apple Watch's built-in Water Lock. It works best on fresh splashes; it can't fix a speaker that's already damaged.
More tools
Questions
Does a speaker cleaner tone really remove water?
Yes, for small amounts. A low, loud tone makes the speaker membrane vibrate and pushes droplets out of the grille. It won't fix water inside the phone's circuits.
What frequency removes water from a speaker?
Around 165 Hz is the most widely used water-eject frequency, which is what Water eject mode plays.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It plays through any phone's speaker in Safari or Chrome. Turn the volume up and make sure silent mode doesn't block media sound.
Can the tone damage my speaker?
No. It's a normal sine tone at a volume your phone is designed to play. Stop if you hear rattling and let the phone dry before trying again.
How many times should I run it?
Run it 2–3 times, 30 seconds each, with the speaker pointing down.