How To Clean Your Phone Speaker

The average person spends more than three hours on their phone every day. And many spend much more than that between work, daily functions, and entertainment. It’s inevitable that some of that time involves using the speakers whether you’re listening to a podcast or watching a show.

There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to hear properly, especially when it’s something important like a work call.

This is why it’s so important to know how to clean your phone speaker. Our phone speaker often gets overlooked and doesn’t get the regular cleaning it should, which leads to a breakdown. Instead of dealing with that, follow this guide to always keep it clean!

Prep the Phone

Before you start cleaning your phone speaker, it’s important to turn the phone off and keep it powered down the whole time. This step helps to reduce the chance that something will go wrong while you’re cleaning. It also makes sure you don’t accidentally click buttons you weren’t intending to.

Make sure to remove your case and any other hardware you may have on your phone. You don’t want to go through the effort of cleaning it all up only to realize something was hiding behind the case.

Occasionally, it’s a good idea to remove screen protectors or other permanent coverings as well so you can replace them.

Locate the Speaker

When cell phones first became popular, they were very large and had obvious components. As things have changed and upgraded, the components (like the speaker) have become more discreet and can even be hard to locate sometimes. This is especially true of the newer style phones, like the foldable phone from Samsung. Check it out here!

It’s a good idea to take a minute and make sure you’ve located the right spot to clean.

If you’re unsure where the speaker is on your phone, it’s easy to search online for a diagram that can show you where everything is located. Don’t waste your time by not taking this easy step.

Remove Obvious Debris

For many people, the phone speaker becomes a hiding place for lint and dust. It can collect there over time until it’s completely blocked the opening and the sound can only come out muffled because of it. Before you start the detailed cleaning, remove any of the obvious debris you see.

Sometimes this will require getting tweezers or some other tool that can reach into the small speaker space. But it shouldn’t be something too sharp or hard that could cause damage to the hardware.

This task can be risky, so make sure to move slowly and carefully. The last thing you want is to break the speaker while trying to clean it.

Use Proper Tools

In order to have the most success cleaning your phone speaker, you need tools that are soft enough to not harm your phone but also strong enough to grab all the dirt and grime.

Most people find a lot of success using a toothbrush because it has flexible bristles that can reach into small spaces. It’s also easy to use and not too small for you to handle. A children’s toothbrush (with even softer bristles) is an even better choice!

Some others prefer to start with a q-tip to gather all the debris from the outside of the speaker. But others find this can push it further into the opening. So it may take some investigating to choose which tools will work best for your specific phone and mess situation.

Try Stronger Methods

Since these phones are going everywhere with us and seeing a lot of use throughout the day, they can move past the “kind of dirty” phase fast. When so much dirt and dust accumulates in the speaker, it may be time to test out some stronger methods to clear it out.

A tried and true phone speaker cleaning time is to wrap some tape around a small cylinder that can fit within the speaker. Make sure the sticky side is facing outwards. As you move the tape around the speaker opening, you should catch anything that’s inside. Even the stuff that’s really stuck will come loose!

Wipe Down Everything

While you’re in the cleaning mode and have everything out, it’s a good idea to clean the entire phone. This way you know there’s nothing on the outside stopping the phone from working.

Focus on the screen while you’re cleaning as it gathers the most dirt and grime. Your fingers are constantly leaving oils and particles behind. Those can build up until you have a gross film covering the whole thing. A microfiber cloth or a specialty screen cleaner will remove all of that for you in a few swipes.

Stick to a Cleaning Schedule

Our phones are such a major part of our daily life, so they should have a regular cleaning schedule. The more regularly you are taking care of these issues, the less they will build up and be major problems. A few extra minutes every week will help you keep your phone in great shape for much longer.

Not only will your phone work better, but it’ll also be safer for you as well. Germs accumulate on phones at an alarming rate. That makes sense when you consider where your phone goes and how often it gets touched.

Making a habit of cleaning your phone will be a game-changer!

Tips for How to Clean Your Phone Speaker

Once you know how to clean your phone speaker properly, it’s important to keep up with the task. The more often you clean it out, the better quality sound you’ll be able to enjoy. You won’t have to worry about it suddenly not working and paying for expensive repairs to get the sound back.

It only takes a few minutes to clear things out and maintain your phone properly. Those extra steps are always worth the effort to make sure you’re taking care of an important tool.

If you’re interested in learning more technology tips and tricks, check out our other articles today!