How to Clean iPhone Speakers to Improve Sound Quality?

In this guide, we will learn a few important tips and tricks to clean iPhone speakers. Of course, cleaning the speaker becomes necessary after prolonged use of the iPhone. The iPhone speaker grill or its inside can accumulate dirt, dust, and debris, affecting sound output quality.

First, you need to check that your iPhone speakers are dirt-filled. For that, You can tweak around the ringer volume. If your speaker is clean enough, you can easily hear their sound output. Otherwise, you must implement a few methods to clean the iPhone speakers.

How to Check if iPhone Speakers are Not Clean?

Here is a trick to check if the iPhone speakers are working fine or not.

1. Launch Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
2. Scroll to Ringtone and Alert Volume.
3. Drag the slider back and forth.

You can listen to the ringtone in high volume and low volume as per the movements in the ringtone volume slider. This will happen if the iPhone speakers are clean. If they are not clean, you will listen to a muffled output.

Best Tips to Clean iPhone Speakers

Here are the different methods to clean the iPhone speakers to improve the sound output quality.

1. Use a Soft-Bristled Brush

Using a soft-bristled brush is one of the most recommended ways to clean iPhone speakers. Even Apple officially approves of this method.

1. Start by turning your iPhone off.
2. Use a soft-bristled brush and gently brush the speaker grilles in a circular motion. This will remove dirt or debris deposited around or within the iPhone speaker grilles.

2. Use a Vacuum Cleaner

You should use a small vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment to remove dust or debris from the iPhone speakers.

1. Switch off your iPhone
2. Connect the brush to a small vacuum cleaner.
3. Turn on the vacuum cleaner.
4. Using the brush near the iPhone’s speaker grilles, gently remove any dust or debris from them.
5. Once you have cleaned the iPhone speaker with the vacuum cleaner, use a clean microfiber cloth to wipe off any remaining dust or moisture.

3. Use Cleaning Putty

You can use cleaning putty to clean the electronic device on your iPhone and remove dust or grime particles from its speakers.

1. Purchase a cleaning putty meant for electronic gadgets.
2. Make sure your iPhone is turned off and unplugged from any power source.
3. Take a small amount of cleaning putty and roll it into a ball.
4. Gently press the putty onto the speaker grill of your iPhone.
5. Now, smoothly roll the putty around the speaker grill. This will allow the ball of putty to grasp any dirt or debris in or around the speaker grilles.
6. Once the process is finished, carefully remove the putty from the speaker grill.
7. You may repeat the process by rolling a fresh ball of putty.

4. Use a Cotton Swab

This method is quite useful for removing debris that may be stuck inside the speaker grilles. Here are the steps.

1. Turn off your iPhone to be on the safer side.
2. Take a cotton swab.
3. Moisten the cotton swab with a small amount of plain water. Avoid harsh chemicals that may damage the speaker grills or its components.
4. Slowly put the cotton swab near the speaker grilles.
5. Gently rub the swab back and forth to remove any debris.
6. Use a second dry cotton swab to remove debris and moisture around the speaker grilles.

5. Clean iPhone Speakers Using Air Blower

Here are the steps for using an air blower to clean the iPhone speakers and remove debris.

1. Turn off your iPhone.
2. Get an air blower that is specifically designed for electronic devices.
3. Hold your iPhone by turning it over so that the speaker grilles are facing downward.
4. Hold the air blower a few inches away from the speaker grilles.
5. Gently release short bursts of air into the speaker grilles.
6. Repeat the above steps several times, until all the debris gets removed.

Additionally, with this method, you may use a soft-bristled brush or a clean soft cloth to wipe away any remaining dust or moisture particles from the iPhone speakers.

6. Take the iPhone to Apple Service

When nothing else works, let the professionals handle the problem. Take your iPhone to the nearest Apple service center. They will use proper tools to clean the iPhone speakers. It may be a bit costly, but it will be the safest approach to service the iPhone speaker with Apple’s professional technicians.

What You Should NOT do to Clean iPhone Speakers

It is important to note that a wrong move in cleaning the iPhone speakers may damage the speakers or their internal peripherals. Here are a few pointers on what you should not do while attempting to clean the iPhone speakers.

1. Avoid harsh chemicals such as rubbing alcohol, detergent, and shampoo to clean the speaker grill. These chemicals may get into the speaker and damage the hardware.
2. Never clean the iPhone speaker while it is charging. Doing so can put you and the device in danger. Always switch off the iPhone first.
3. Don’t use sharp objects such as toothpicks, needles, or paper clips to remove dust or grime from your speaker grilles. Doing so may damage the internal peripherals or even push the dirt further into the insides of the iPhone speaker.
4. Avoid using canned compressed air to clean the iPhone speakers. These products are primarily used for cleaning computer keyboards. They produce a higher force of air, which may harm devices such as iPhones.
5. While using the cleaning putty on iPhone speakers, please do not push it too hard into the speaker grilles. Doing so may push debris or grime further into the speakers.

Wrapping Up

It is important to get good and clear audio output from the iPhone speakers while making phone calls or listening to media. Follow our tips on how to clean iPhone speakers and improve sound quality.