How to get water out of your phone speaker
Short answer
If the phone went fully under salt water or a sugary drink, or stayed under for a long time, turn it off and get it checked. For a splash or rain, unplug earbuds and wipe the outside dry. Hold the phone with the speaker facing down and tap it gently on your palm. Then play a low tone of around 140 to 300 Hz at full volume for about a minute so the speaker cone pushes drops out of the grille. Repeat once, then let it air dry.
Step by step
You need:
- Your Android phone
- A soft, lint-free cloth
- A low-frequency tone (an app, or a tone video you already trust)
- Check how wet the phone got. A splash or rain on the speaker is a grille problem you can usually fix yourself. If the phone was submerged in salt water, sugary drinks or for a long time, power it off and skip to the section on when to get it checked.
- Unplug and wipe the outside. Remove earbuds, the case and any cable. Wipe the screen, the edges and the speaker holes with a dry cloth so new drops do not run back in.
- Hold the speaker facing down. Gravity does part of the work. Hold the phone with the bottom speaker pointing at the floor and tap the side gently against your palm a few times.
- Turn the media volume to maximum. The speaker needs to move as far as it can. Use the volume buttons while something is playing so you raise the media volume, not the ringtone.
- Play a low tone for about 60 seconds. A tone between roughly 140 and 300 Hz makes the speaker cone move in big, slow strokes that shake drops out of the mesh. Keep the speaker facing down so the drops fall away instead of back in.
- Wipe the grille and test the sound. Wipe away any drops that came out, then play speech or music. If it still sounds muffled, run the tone once more and leave the phone to air dry for a few hours.
- Do the earpiece too. If calls sound muffled, the earpiece at the top has water in it as well. Repeat the tone through the earpiece with that end facing down.
Watch it on YouTube
Why a low tone pushes water out
Phone speakers sit behind a fine mesh. A water drop stretches across the holes and stays there because of surface tension, which is why the sound becomes quiet and fuzzy.
When the speaker plays a low note at high volume, its cone moves in and out with long strokes. That pushes air through the mesh in short bursts and breaks the drop free. Higher notes move the cone less, so they are less useful for this. The often quoted 165 Hz is a convention, not a magic number: phones differ, so a slow sweep across the low range covers more models.
What not to do
- Do not put the phone in rice. It does not dry the inside faster than open air, and rice dust and starch can end up in the ports.
- Do not use a hair dryer, oven or radiator. Heat can soften the glue and seals that keep water out next time, and blowing air can push water further in.
- Do not poke the grille with a cotton swab, pin or toothpick. The mesh and the water seal behind it are easy to tear.
- Do not charge while the USB port is wet. Many Android phones show a moisture warning; wait until it clears.
- Do not play the tone through earbuds or headphones. It is loud and meant for the phone speaker only.
How to tell whether it worked
Your ears are a decent test: play the same voice clip before and after and listen for crackle, buzz or a dull, quiet sound. A more reliable way is to measure. Play the same test tones before and after and compare the levels picked up by the microphone, in the same room and at the same volume. If the numbers rise by a few decibels, the grille is clearer. If nothing changes, the problem is probably not water.
When sound will not fix it
A tone only helps with drops sitting in the speaker grille. It cannot dry water that got inside the phone, remove dust or lint, or repair a speaker that is torn or corroded.
Get the phone checked by the maker or a repair shop if it went under salt water or a sugary drink, if it shuts down or gets warm, if the screen shows marks or fog, or if the speaker is still distorted a day later after the phone has dried.
- Dust and lint: use a soft, dry brush, gently, with the speaker facing down.
- Wet charging port: leave it open to the air, port facing down, until the warning clears.
- Water resistance ratings such as IP67 or IP68 are tested in fresh water and fade with age and drops, so they are not a promise.
Questions people ask
Does water eject sound actually work?
It helps when the problem is water drops caught in the speaker grille, which is the most common cause of a muffled sound after a splash. It does nothing for water inside the phone, dust, or a damaged speaker.
Is it safe to play a water eject tone?
A short low tone at full volume is generally fine for a phone speaker. Keep it to about a minute, do not loop it for long periods, and never play it through earbuds or headphones.
Should I put my phone in rice?
No. Rice does not dry a phone faster than open air and can leave dust and starch in the ports. Wipe the phone, hold the speaker facing down, use a tone, and let it air dry.
Is there a water eject setting on Android?
Some phone makers include a speaker cleaning option in their settings or support app, but most Android phones have none. A tone from an app does the same job.
How do I get water out of the charging port?
Do not use sound for this. Turn the port to face down, tap the phone gently against your palm, and leave it in open air until the moisture warning goes away before charging.
