If your speaker sounds muffled after getting wet, this tool helps you eject water from speaker grilles with a low tone. Take your headphones off, turn the volume all the way up and slide the frequency until you see the most droplets jump, or let the sweep find it for you. For dust, switch to the pulse mode.
A loud, low tone makes a speaker's diaphragm move a lot, and that movement can push out the droplets stuck in the grille. This tool uses the same idea as the Apple Watch's Water Lock to eject water from speaker grilles on phones, Bluetooth speakers and laptops. It generates the tone right in your browser, anywhere from 80 to 300 Hz, and lets you slide the frequency, make it wobble or sweep the whole range, with a pulse mode for dust.
It only helps the speaker. It won't dry the charging port, the microphone or the inside of the phone, and we haven't found any published independent measurement of how much it speeds up drying. Treat it as a nudge to clear the muffled sound while everything else air-dries, and never use it with headphones on.
How to eject water from speaker grilles with this tool
If the phone isn't water resistant and it went under, skip the tone. Power it off and get it checked. If it is water resistant, wipe the outside with a cloth and start right away.
- Take off your headphones and disconnect any Bluetooth device that isn't the wet speaker. The tone plays through whatever audio output is active, and at this volume it can hurt your ears.
- Remove the case, turn the volume all the way up and set the device down with the speaker facing a lint-free cloth.
- Tap the starting point for your device, 165 Hz for a phone, and press Start. While it plays, move the slider slowly and watch for the spot where it buzzes hardest and the most droplets jump. If you can't find it, switch to Sweep, which runs from 80 to 300 Hz on its own.
- Let the 30 or 60 second cycle finish, wipe the grille and go again. Two to five cycles is typical, which is our rule of thumb rather than a measured figure.
- Stop once the sound is clear. If dust is what's blocking the grille, switch to Dust mode and finish with a soft, dry brush.
Which water eject sound works best
No single frequency works for every device. Many tone sites and videos use 165 Hz, and AI search answers quote 145 to 235 Hz or 130 to 180 Hz without citing a single measurement. At the same loudness, a low tone forces the diaphragm to move more than a high one, and that movement is what pushes the water out. The tool stays between 80 and 300 Hz because every figure in circulation falls in that range.
Every device responds a little differently, since its speaker, enclosure and amplifier are different, and many phones cut the bass going to their speaker to protect it. So instead of one magic number, you get a starting point per device, the slider to search by hand and two modes that move the frequency for you. The starting points (165 Hz for a phone, 180 for a tablet, 200 for a laptop, 120 for a small Bluetooth speaker and 95 for a large one) are our own call, with no measurement behind them. They just save you from starting from scratch.
| Mode | What plays | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | One frequency, the one you pick | Once you know where the most water comes out |
| Oscillating | Your frequency ±12%, one swing every 2.9 s | When one area works better but you can't pin it down |
| Sweep | 80 to 300 Hz and back, 15 s each way | When you don't know where to start, or with a speaker you haven't tried before |
| Dust | 70 ms pulses every 150 ms | For loose dust and lint in the grille |
What the tone does and doesn't do
The tone moves the air in front of the speaker and nothing else. The table shows how far it reaches.
| Part | Does the tone reach it? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Main speaker | Yes, that's what it's for | Run 30 or 60 s cycles with the grille facing down |
| Earpiece, on phones with stereo sound | Yes, if the phone plays through both | Hold the top of the phone facing down |
| Microphone | No, it picks up sound and doesn't play it | Let it dry with the openings facing down |
| Charging port | No | Wait before plugging in a cable (Apple asks for 5 hours on a wet iPhone) |
| Inside the device | No | If it isn't water resistant and went under, power it off and get it checked |
| Earbuds and AirPods | Yes, if they're connected, but we don't recommend it | Wipe them dry and leave them out for two hours, as Apple advises |
Using the tone on each device
On an iPhone
The iPhone has no built-in water eject feature and no setting to clean the speaker, even though plenty of people search for one by model. Apple only offers it on the Apple Watch. When you turn off Water Lock, "a series of tones plays to clear any water that remains in the speaker." What circulates as "Water Eject" for iPhone is a shortcut made by users for the Shortcuts app that plays a low tone, the same thing this tool does in Safari without installing anything.
Since the iPhone 7, sound comes out in stereo through two speakers, the bottom one and the earpiece at the top, so the tone plays through both. If it's the top one that sounds muffled, hold the phone with that end pointing down. To tell which one has water in it, cover one with a finger while the tone plays and then the other. Covering the good one makes the volume drop a lot.
The tool tries to play even when the iPhone is on silent, but if you hear nothing, turn silent mode off and raise the volume with the side buttons. Between cycles, leave it speaker-down on the cloth, which is what Apple advises for a wet iPhone.
On an Android phone
Start by typing "speaker" into the search bar in Settings. If your phone has an option to clean the speaker, that's where it will show up, and if nothing appears, this tool does the same job from Chrome. We haven't found any manufacturer that documents a dialer code to clean the speaker, however often people look for one. On a Samsung, the Samsung Members app includes a phone diagnostics test for the speaker. It won't clean it, but it tells you whether it's working.
Turn the media volume up, since on Android it's separate from the call and ringer volume. If the phone is connected over Bluetooth to your car or to earbuds, disconnect them first, because the tone would go there instead.
Many mid-range and high-end Android phones are water resistant, and Samsung rates its IP68 Galaxy phones for 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. If yours isn't and it went under, forget the tone for now. Power it off and get it looked at, because the urgent problem is inside the phone and not in the speaker.
On a Bluetooth speaker
Pair it with your phone before you press Start. The tone plays through the active audio output, so it comes out of the wet speaker and not the phone. Turn up both volumes, the phone's and the speaker's own, and set it with the grille facing down. The starting points are lower than for a phone, 120 Hz for a small speaker and 95 Hz for a large one, because their drivers are bigger and move more with low tones. On a large one, try the sweep too, which runs through the low range its woofer handles.
If it's back from the beach with sand in the grille, start with Dust mode and switch to water after. If it got salt water or pool water on it and it's water resistant, rinse it under tap water first, and don't charge it until the port is dry. Many portable speakers have flexible panels on the ends that pump along with the bass, called passive radiators, and they move a lot with low tones. If the water is sitting there, try which starting point makes them shake the most.
With earbuds or AirPods
Never wear them with the tone playing. It's meant to blast through a speaker, and inside your ear it can do damage, which is why the tool warns you before it starts. For wet AirPods, Apple says to wipe them with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth, let them dry completely for at least two hours before using them or putting them in the case, and not to use heat or compressed air. None of Apple's guides mention using a tone on them, and we don't recommend it either. Whatever the sound gains over two hours of air isn't worth the risk of putting them in by mistake while it's playing.
Water resistance varies a lot between models. According to Apple, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5 are rated IP57 (1 meter for up to 30 minutes), AirPods Pro 2 with the USB-C case and AirPods 4 are IP54, and the first AirPods Pro and AirPods 3 are IPX4, which only covers splashes. None of them are designed for swimming or the shower.
When it's dust or lint
Switch to Dust mode. Instead of a steady tone it fires 70 millisecond pulses every 150 milliseconds, about seven a second, which can help shake dust out of the grille. Packed pocket lint or grime in the earpiece won't come out with sound, and that calls for cleaning by hand.
To clean phone speaker openings by hand, follow Apple's iPhone sound troubleshooting guide. Unplug all cables and turn the phone off, gently brush the openings with a small, non-metallic, soft-bristled brush that's clean and dry, and wipe away whatever comes loose with a microfiber cloth. Go very carefully on the earpiece mesh, because a microphone sits inside that opening. The same goes for any phone. Skip pins, toothpicks and compressed air, which can tear the mesh or push the dirt further in.
If it still sounds dull after cleaning, it may not be dust at all. Salt or soap that dried on the mesh comes off better with a gentle stream of tap water, as long as the phone is water resistant.
If it still sounds muffled after several cycles
Stop and let it air-dry. If four or five cycles haven't helped, more cycles rarely help, because what's left is usually water the tone can no longer move or residue that dried on the mesh. Try again in a few hours. What to do with the rest of the phone, when it's safe to charge it and when a muffled speaker stops being normal is all in our guide on what to do when your phone gets wet.
Frequently asked questions
What sound gets water out of a phone speaker?
A steady, low tone played at full volume, somewhere below 300 Hz. The tone moves the speaker diaphragm, and the diaphragm pushes the droplets out of the grille. Many tone sites use 165 Hz, but we haven't found one that publishes a measurement showing which frequency works best, so this tool lets you slide between 80 and 300 Hz or sweep the whole range.
Does speaker cleaner water eject work?
It can help the speaker, but we haven't found any published test of how much. Apple documents the principle on the Apple Watch, whose Water Lock clears the speaker with a series of tones, and we haven't seen a phone maker cover it in its support pages. You may see a droplet or two jump and hear the sound clear up sooner. Time does the rest, because whatever water is left evaporates on its own.
Is 165 Hz the best water eject frequency?
It's the most common one, not a proven best. We haven't found any published measurements comparing frequencies on phones, and every speaker, enclosure and amplifier responds a little differently. Start at 165 Hz on a phone, move the slider while it plays and keep the spot where the most droplets come out, or use the sweep, which covers 80 to 300 Hz in 15 seconds each way.
How do I eject water from my iPhone speaker?
Use a tone like this one in Safari, with the volume all the way up and the speaker facing down on a lint-free cloth. The iPhone has no built-in water eject feature; the "Water Eject" shortcut that circulates was made by users for the Shortcuts app and plays a similar tone. Since the iPhone 7, the earpiece is a second speaker, so hold the top end down if that is the one that sounds muffled.
Does water eject work on the charging port?
No. The tone only moves the air in front of the speaker. The charging port, the microphone and the inside of the phone dry with time and airflow alone. Apple asks you to wait at least 5 hours before plugging a cable into a wet iPhone, and to make sure it is dry before putting it on a wireless charger.
Do 20,000 Hz speaker cleaner sounds work?
No. The higher the tone, the less the diaphragm moves, and movement is what pushes the water. Most online audio is sampled at 44.1 or 48 kHz, which can't carry anything above 22 or 24 kHz, so a "50,000 Hz cleaner" can't even fit in the file. A 20,000 Hz tone sits at the edge of what young adults can hear and does almost nothing to the water.
Can a sound get water out of your ear?
No, and don't try it. This tone is meant to play at full volume through a speaker, and held against your ear or played through headphones it can damage your hearing. Cleveland Clinic's first suggestion for water in the ear is to tilt your head to that side and pull the ear up and back, without cotton swabs. See a doctor if you get a fever, discharge, a red or swollen ear, or trouble hearing.
Can water eject damage my speaker?
Used as intended, in 30 or 60 second cycles, it shouldn't, since phone speakers and their amplifiers are built to play at full volume. We haven't found a phone maker that recommends or warns against it in its support pages. Don't leave it running for hours, and stop if you hear rattling or crackling, because that points to damage the tone won't fix.