How to get water out of your phone speaker

Water in the speaker is the most common reason a phone suddenly sounds like it is talking from the bottom of a pool. The good news: in most cases it is only sitting in the grille, and it comes out.

The first two minutes

1. Take the phone out of the water and wipe it. Use a soft, dry cloth on the screen, the edges and the ports.
2. Remove the case. Water hides between the case and the phone, right next to the speaker.
3. Unplug everything. Do not charge a wet phone. Many phones show a moisture warning on the port: it is there for a reason.
4. If it was a long dunk, turn it off. A few seconds in the sink is fine. Several minutes in a pool or the sea is a different story.

Eject the water with sound

Phone speakers sit behind a fine mesh. Surface tension holds water across the tiny holes, which is why shaking the phone is often not enough.

A low tone between 150 and 220 Hz makes the speaker membrane move a long way, hundreds of times per second. The air it pushes breaks the surface tension and the drops come out. You will often see them appear on the grille.

• Turn the phone volume all the way up.
• Hold the phone with the speaker grille facing down, so gravity helps.
• Start the Water mode above. It lasts 60 seconds.
• Wipe the grille, then run it again. Two or three runs is normal.

If the sound gets louder and clearer between runs, you are on the right track.

Then let it dry

Once the grille is clear, the last bit of moisture dries on its own. Leave the phone face up, somewhere dry with a bit of airflow, for an hour or so. A fan on cool is perfect.

What not to do

• No rice. It does not dry the inside faster than open air, and it leaves starch and dust in the ports. Apple itself now advises against it.
• No heat. Hair dryers, radiators and ovens can damage the seals and the battery.
• No cotton buds or pins in the grille. You push water and dirt further in and can tear the mesh.
• No compressed air at close range. It can force water deeper into the phone.

Sea water, pool, drinks: run Deep clean

Rain and tap water are fairly clean. After the sea or a pool, salt and chlorine dry into a thin film on the mesh; tea, soda and juice leave a sticky layer. In those cases:

1. Rinse the outside briefly with a little clean tap water if your phone is water resistant (IP67 or IP68).
2. Run Deep clean, which chains the water sweep and the dust bursts.
3. Brush the grille gently with a dry, soft toothbrush.

When sound will not fix it

A speaker cleaner moves water and loose particles. It does not repair hardware. See a repair shop if:

• there is no sound at all, even after a restart;
• the speaker crackles at every volume, even very low;
• the screen flickers, the phone gets hot or the battery drains fast after the dunk;
• the phone stayed under water much longer than its rating allows.