Speaker cleaner frequency: why 165 Hz?
Updated ·2 min read
Which frequency ejects water from a speaker, why low tones work better than high ones, and how Gigi combines sweeps and pulses. Plain physics, no hype.
165HzPick any frequency, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Before you start
- Turn the phone volume to max
- Take the case off
- Hold the speaker facing down
Ready
iPhone: switch off Silent mode first, or the browser plays nothing.
Every speaker cleaner talks about 165 Hz. Here is what that number means, why low tones work, and why Gigi does not stick to a single note.
How sound pushes water out
A speaker is a thin membrane driven back and forth by a small coil. Each movement pushes air through the grille in front of it.
When water sits in the grille, surface tension holds the drops across the tiny holes of the mesh. To break it, you need to push a lot of air, quickly and repeatedly.
At the same volume, a speaker membrane moves much further at low frequencies than at high ones. A 165 Hz tone pumps air in and out of the grille 165 times per second with big strokes. That is what dislodges the drops.
Why not lower, then?
Phone speakers are tiny. Below about 100 Hz they produce very little sound, and the membrane can hit its limits and distort. Between roughly 150 and 220 Hz, a phone speaker is still efficient and the movement is large. That is the sweet spot.
Why Gigi sweeps instead of playing one note
Every phone is different: speaker size, grille shape, mesh, the cavity behind it. No single frequency works best on all of them. So the Water mode:
- sweeps up and down between 150 and 220 Hz, to cover different phones;
- holds 165 Hz, the classic reference, for a few seconds at a time;
- adds pulses (the sound switching on and off two or three times per second), which work like small repeated shoves on the drops.
The Dust mode does the same a little higher, between 180 and 250 Hz, with faster bursts that shake loose particles.
Sine, square, triangle, sawtooth
The waveform is the shape of the vibration.
| Wave | Sound | For cleaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sine | Pure, smooth | Best choice |
| Triangle | Slightly brighter | Fine |
| Square | Buzzy, sounds louder | Avoid at full volume |
| Sawtooth | Harsh, buzzy | Avoid at full volume |
The cleaning modes always use sine waves. If you experiment in the tone generator, turn the volume down before switching to square or sawtooth.
What sound can and cannot do
Sound is good at moving water and loose dust in the grille. It cannot dry the inside of the phone, remove dried salt or sugar, or fix a torn membrane. If the sound does not improve after a few runs, read why a phone speaker sounds muffled to find the real cause.
Questions people ask
Is 165 Hz the only frequency that works?
No. Anything from roughly 120 to 250 Hz moves water. 165 Hz became the reference because it is low enough to move the membrane a lot and still loud on a small phone speaker.
Do high frequencies clean better?
No. A high tone moves the membrane only a tiny distance, so it pushes very little air. It can also be unpleasant to hear.
Is a square wave better than a sine wave?
Not for cleaning. A square wave sounds louder because of its harmonics, but it is harsher on the speaker and on your ears. Sine waves are the safe choice.