How to get water out of your phone speaker
While your phone may be advertised as water-resistant, that doesn’t mean that water can’t harm components like the speakers. Water in your phone’s speaker can result in a muffled sound, ruining your tunes while listening to music or making it hard to hear the person on the other end of the line. Unfortunately, water damage can void your warranty if you have one, so you can’t just take your phone in for service unless you are willing to pay for it. Luckily, there are some relatively easy steps you can take to get water out of your phone speaker on your own.
How to remove water from your phone speaker
We’ve all been there. Either you dropped your phone in some water (let’s not talk about where), something got spilled on it, or you risked it and used your phone as a shower speaker. While most phones today are built to be quite durable, water can still cause problems, especially for the speaker. For better-sounding phone calls or music, be sure to clear out your speaker with the tips below if it gets wet.
First and foremost, though, turn off your phone as soon as possible. Also, if your phone has water in it, do not plug it into a charger until you are confident there is no moisture in or near the charging port. Plugging in the charging cable with water in the port could cause a short circuit, causing permanent damage to your phone beyond just the speaker.
Dry off any visible water
The first step to fixing up your waterlogged phone is simple: Get rid of any visible water. Using a microfiber cloth or any other lint-free cloth, wipe off any water that you see. This is also a good time to clean your smartphone.
While cleaning water off the exterior is easy, be sure to remember the interior, as well. If you can, pop out the SIM card (if you have one) and remove the battery (unlikely with most modern smartphones, but still valid for some older models), ensuring both of those are fully dry. Be sure to soak up any liquid in the ports, cracks, and crevices. A cotton swab will make drying those tight spaces easier. You can also tap the phone against your hand or the cloth with the ports and speaker facing down to shake out any water that may be inside.
Suck the water out
If you’re concerned there is still water inside nooks and crannies like the speaker, you can use a vacuum to try to coax that liquid out. Car vacuums with their inherently weak power are ideal for this, but a normal vacuum with a low suction setting would also work. A small nozzle attachment is ideal, as it will help you get as much water out as possible.
While sucking out water can work, do not use a blow dryer on your phone. The air may get rid of the water, but the heat from the blow dryer can cause damage.
Play low-frequency sounds
Once all visible water is gone, the next step is to play some low-frequency sounds to push water out of the speakers. That sound will cause the speakers to vibrate, effectively shaking out any waterdrops. There are a few ways to do this, but first, you’ll need to turn on your phone and turn the volume all the way up (prepare your ears, as this is not the most pleasant sound). Lay your phone flat or on a slight incline with the speaker facing down so that gravity can help.
The first way to play a low-frequency sound is to navigate to fixmyspeakers.com. Tap the button in the middle when you’re ready, and it will play a sound that pushes water out of the speaker. You should see water droplets come out of our speaker, and you can turn off the sound by tapping the button once there is no more water. Play it once more to ensure as much water as possible is removed, but don’t play the sound for more than 10 to 15 seconds.
For a less ear-grating sound, you can also play the song "Miroh" by Stray Kids at full volume a few times.
Use an app
If water in your speaker is a common situation, you can also install an app to help remove water, just like the website above. For iPhone users, we recommend the Sonic app (the icon is a frequency wave against an orange background). For Android users, the Clear Wave - Water Eject app is a good but free option.
iPhone users can also install the Water Eject shortcut in Apple's Shortcuts app. To do so, navigate to the Shortcuts Gallery on your phone. Tap Get Shortcut, followed by Add Shortcut. To use the app, open your Shortcuts app, which comes preinstalled on all current iPhones, and find the Water Eject app. Tap to open the shortcut, and then tap the Begin Water Ejection button. If you have Siri installed, you can also simply say, “Hey Siri, water eject." Siri will automatically open the app for you.
Silica gel
For a more serious dunking or a phone that isn’t water resistant, more drastic measures may be necessary. Silica gel is very absorbent and can effectively wick water away from your phone. You’ll want to make sure your phone is off and free of any visible water. Then, place your phone in a bag or container with a lid and add as many silica gel packets as you can find (you can leave the packets intact; no need to open them). If you happen to have a large bag of silica gel, pour it right into the container with your phone. Leave your phone in with the silica gel for 24 to 48 hours.
You may have heard about putting your wet phone in a bag of rice to dry out, but Apple officially recommends against that practice.
Contact service
Finally, if you’ve tried all of the above steps and still hear a crackling or muffled sound from your phone’s speaker, it may be time to bite the bullet and call the service department for your phone. They may have additional tips or may even need to replace components.
Conclusion
Even the most rugged phones shouldn’t have water left sitting in the speaker. If your phone takes a swim, whether intentionally or not, be sure to thoroughly dry it and eject water from the speaker so that it stays healthy and happy for a long time. Your best bet is to keep your phone safely away from water sources as much as possible. If you want to listen to tunes, invest in a waterproof speaker and keep your phone tucked away.
FAQs
Can phone speakers recover from water damage?
Speakers can recover from water damage if you take action quickly, but water can cause permanent damage. It depends on your particular phone and what type of water exposure it had. The only way to truly know is to try fully drying out your phone for a few days. If the speakers still sound damaged, it may be beyond recovery.
How do I know if my phone speaker has water damage?
The most obvious way to tell if your phone speaker has water damage is to listen to it. If the sound coming from the speaker is crackly or muffled, it’s possible there is water damage. You can also look for corrosion marks or any dried water marks around the speaker.
Does putting your phone in rice actually work?
Apple officially recommends you don't put your phone in rice to try and dry it out. The company instead recommends storing it powered off in a dry place for 24 hours instead.
How long does it take for your phone speaker to dry out?
If you place your phone in a bag with silica gel packets, the phone speaker will dry out in 24 to 48 hours. Drying time will vary if left to air dry without silica gel, as humidity levels can impact this, but it could take over a week.
Can I dry my phone speaker with a hair dryer?
Do not dry your phone speaker with a hair dryer. The heat from the hair dryer could cause permanent damage to your phone components, so you’ll be in worse shape than just having a water-logged speaker.
Will my phone dry out on its own?
Your phone could dry out on its own, but it’s important the power is off if you are leaving it to dry on its own. Otherwise, it’s very likely that the water will create a short circuit and fry your phone entirely. With the power off, there’s less of a chance of that happening, but it will still take a long time for the phone to dry out fully before it's safe to turn back on.
