Imagine if the speaker starts creating a muffled, crackling sound. It is both an annoying and a panicky experience since mobile devices cost so much to replace.
Mobile phones are sensitive to any kind of physical or liquid damage. Technology has improved somewhat with the IP rating standard of waterproofing, but we still have instances when even these phones face water damage.
Accidental or unintentional, any liquid pour can be damaging. One wrong move and fluids enter the device, slowly eroding its internal components.
If water has seeped into your mobile speakers, do not worry. There are ways to have it working once again.
How to Get Water Out of Your Phone Speaker?
We have compiled a list of DIY approaches and the inclusion of third-party possibilities as there aren’t many options. Try each alternative one at a time and see what works for you.
Do the Emergency Steps
- If the device was just submerged in water, take it out and turn it off immediately. At least give it a solid 48 hours before turning it back on.
- Clean all the excess water with an absorbing cloth.
- Shake the device gently with the speaker port facing downwards.
- If you have a computer vacuum or a normal vacuum with a small nozzle, try sucking out the water from the ports.
- Leave the phone in such a way that the speaker port faces downwards.
- If it’s an old phone where we can take the cover and the battery out, we recommend doing so and cleaning as much as possible.
Use Phone’s Inbuilt Features
Some phones (androids) will have a clear speaker option in the additional section. This option is not found on all android phones. We have tested a few android phones with MIUI and found that some of these MIUI phones have this feature.
If you have an MIUI, we recommend going to the settings>additional settings and finding the Clear Speaker option. It’s usually located around the onehanded mode option.
If the device doesn’t have this option, move on to the next alternative.
This clear speaker option lets a constant tone out of the speaker. The concept behind this option is that when the speaker is playing a constant tone, it vibrates ever so slightly but in a continuous manner. The vibration might help in ejecting the water from the speaker’s opening.
Please keep in mind that this method only works on the speakers. If the rest of the components are damaged by water, this method might not be enough to fix them all. For eg: Charging Port Water damage might affect the functioning of the whole device.
The speakers do need to be in a somewhat working condition for the app to work. We are trying to force any water off by vibrating the speaker during its use.
Use Tone Generation Apps
A lot of phones might not have the in-built feature stated above. In such cases, we can straight jump to third-party apps, websites, or shortcuts (in the case of IOS).
These third-party elements can create mechanical tones at a constant rate. We also get options to change the sound frequencies in many of these apps. These sounds, in return, help eject the water from the speakers.
Remember to place the mobile so that the speaker faces downwards. Popular apps to check out are Speaker cleaner for android and sonic V for iOS.
We can also get Siri shortcuts like Water Eject Siri. We can also generate the same tone directly from websites like Fix my speakers, Online tone generator, etc.
We recommend using full volume while playing these tones for maximum vibration in the speakers. Do it at intervals of 10-15 minutes.
Take it to a Professional Repair Center
Many people advise Silica gel packets and Rice to clean out the water damage. Please do not fall for it. Both options indeed have absorbing qualities, but it’s a very slim chance if the moisture is inside the phone.
They absorb the moisture or water that is outside of the phone. It will not bring out the moisture from inside the device.
The recommended approach is to follow the emergency steps stated above and take the device straight to a professional repair center. The repair center will dismantle the device, dry it out, and clean it with isopropyl alcohol. That is how we should handle a water-damaged speaker.
Generally, when speakers stop working, we understand that the corrosion has started due to moisture. If the moisture affects one component, how long do you think it will take before it starts affecting other parts.
Water leaves mineral deposits, and cleaning them is the only way to fix the speaker. In the worst-case scenario, you may have to replace the component.
Mobile phones are expensive, do not take the risk of it. Do the steps stated above, but understand that taking the device to a repair center should be the highest priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Use a Blow Dryer on a Water-damaged Speaker?
We do not recommend it. Some repairers use dryers, but they have years of experience with it. They understand the limits of heat that they can use on the internals.
Using a blow dryer at home to dry out water damage will only damage the device’s internals.
Is It Possible to Repair the Faulty Loudspeaker / Earpiece Speaker by Ourselves?
Technically yes! It all depends on how hardware savvy you are. Here is an insider look at how repairs work.
The go-to method for faulty speakers is replacing them. The components are not expensive and can be found at a couple of dollars. So, what makes repairs expensive?
The answer is the Risk Factor. Every mobile device needs to be opened from the front or the back. Back covers, Screens are not screwed in; they are glued and sealed. The only way is to pry it out with mobile repair tools. Repairers generally use a guitar-pick-looking tool.
So, Repairers account for the risk factor on the repair price. With experienced repair centers, the risk factor goes down if they have conducted many repairs on that model of the device, but with water damage, the risk is always high.
Most repairers will first take it under Inspection before quoting a price.
If you are willing to take the risk and void the warranty, approach repairs by first looking up the Teardown of the device on YouTube.
You will also need to get the risk factor components ready and parallelly do the repairs on the device.
As stated above, Repairers will dismantle the device and dry the device’s internals with a dryer or use alcohol.
