Do speaker cleaner apps work? What sound can and can't do

Do speaker cleaner apps and water eject sounds work? Short answer: partly. A loud, low tone may help shake water out of a phone's speaker grille, and Apple and Samsung use sound to clear water from their watch speakers. It can't dry the inside of the phone, the charging port or the microphones, and it can't repair damage.

How a phone speaker pushes water out

Texas Instruments, which makes speaker amplifier chips, describes a speaker as a motor that moves a diaphragm back and forth fast enough to make sound. A LibreTexts physics textbook adds that the voice coil driving it is attached to the diaphragm. In a phone, a mesh sits in front, and Samsung notes that moisture left on this mesh can keep call audio unclear.

Why low tones? TI says a speaker moves air at low frequencies, where the main risk is over-excursion: the voice coil moving too far forward or backward. Audio engineer Charlie Hughes, writing for SynAudCon about a large woofer, notes that most low-frequency speaker designs have increasing displacement with decreasing frequency, which keeps output reasonably flat down to the system's cut-off frequency. Put simply, for the same loudness a lower note needs longer strokes. The idea behind water eject tones is that this movement helps push droplets out; Setapp describes the vibrating membrane pushing trapped droplets out through the grille.

Smartwatches already do this

Apple says that when you turn off Water Lock on an Apple Watch, a series of tones plays to clear any water that remains in the speaker. Samsung's Galaxy Watch has an Eject water option that, in Samsung's words, removes water from inside the speaker with a loud sound. For phones, Samsung says speaker vibration during a call can clear moisture from the mesh.

Phone makers say less. Xiaomi's support site mentions a speaker cleaning function on the Indian version of the POCO X7, for dust or foreign objects, without saying how it works. The Apple iPhone pages we read don't mention a tone: for a muffled speaker, Apple suggests laying the iPhone speaker side down on a lint-free cloth to see if water drips out.

Where 165 Hz comes from

165 Hz is a common figure for water eject tones: Setapp's guide for MacBooks says the water eject shortcut plays a 165 Hz tone and calls it the go-to choice, and our free browser tool uses it too. We found no manufacturer document or published measurement showing it is the best frequency, and Apple doesn't say which frequencies its watch plays. Treat 165 Hz as a widely used low tone, not a proven optimum. That's why our tool also offers a 140–200 Hz sweep, in case your speaker responds better a little higher or lower.

What sound can't do

Test both sides: left and right speaker test

• Dry the inside or the microphones. Sound is only meant for water sitting in the speaker grille. Apple says water in the speaker or microphone opening might degrade their performance until it completely evaporates; Huawei suggests waiting around 2 to 3 days if only a small amount of liquid splashed into the microphone or speaker holes.
• Dry the charging port. Apple's steps for a wet connector are tapping the phone gently against your hand, connector down, and leaving it somewhere dry with airflow. See our guide to the liquid detected alert.
• Undo corrosion or damage. Apple warns that charging with a wet connector can corrode the pins and cause permanent damage. No tone reverses that or repairs a damaged speaker.
• Restore water resistance. Apple's IP68 and IP67 ratings for iPhone 7 and later (IEC 60529) come from controlled laboratory tests, and Apple says resistance is not permanent and might decrease with normal wear. Apple's warranty doesn't cover liquid damage, though consumer law may give you rights.

What not to do

• No heat or compressed air. Apple rules out both; for faster drying, Samsung suggests cool air.
• Nothing in the connector. Apple names cotton swabs and paper towels.
• No rice. Apple says small particles of rice could damage an iPhone.
• Don't overdo the tone. TI notes that over-excursion at low frequencies can damage the voice coil or diaphragm. We'd stick to a few short runs, not minutes on a loop.

When to stop and get it checked

If the sound is still unclear after their drying steps, Samsung and Huawei both send you to their service centres; Huawei says to back up your data and bring proof of purchase. We'd do the same if the sound crackles, if a lot of liquid got in, or if a charging-port liquid alert won't clear.

So, do they work?

Speaker cleaner apps and water eject sounds can do one narrow job at most: shaking droplets out of the speaker grille, the same idea as the sound Apple and Samsung use in their watches. They don't dry the inside, the port or the microphones, and they don't fix damage. Left alone, the water evaporates in time, as Apple notes; a tone is meant to move droplets out of the grille sooner. For the full method, see how to get water out of a phone speaker.

Speaker Cleaner Liquid Remover, our iPhone app, plays low tones that make the speaker membrane vibrate in long strokes to push water droplets out of the grille. It has slow, medium and fast modes, plus a tone generator to pick any frequency on a slider and test the speaker afterwards. It does not fix liquid damage or dry the charging port. It needs iOS 15.6 or later; it's free to download, and using it requires a subscription with a free trial. There's no Android version, so on any phone try our free water eject sound in the browser.

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