Water in your speaker? Play this.

How to eject water from your phone speaker

1. Take out your earbuds and turn off Bluetooth. The water is in the phone's speaker, so that's where the tone has to play.
2. Turn the volume all the way up. On iPhone, turn off Silent Mode too.
3. Hold the phone with the speaker facing the floor. On most phones that's the bottom edge, so the water falls out instead of running back in.
4. Press Eject Water. The tone plays for ten seconds. You may see a fine spray come out of the speaker holes.
5. Wipe the grille and play a song. If it still sounds muffled, run the tone again. Three runs is plenty.

If calls sound muffled too, the earpiece at the top is wet. Hold the phone top edge down and run the tone once more.

Why a low tone clears the speaker

A speaker is a thin diaphragm that moves air. The lower the note, the further the diaphragm has to travel to play it at the same volume, so a loud low tone pumps air hard through the grille and throws droplets off with it.

The tone here is a pure 165 Hz sine wave, ten seconds long: the same pitch and length as the popular Water Eject shortcut, measured from the shortcut's own audio. Apple Watch clears its speaker the same way after a swim, with a series of tones when you turn off Water Lock.

How to get the Water Eject shortcut

Water Eject is a free shortcut for the Shortcuts app, shared on RoutineHub. It isn't part of iOS, so you add it once and it's there the next time your speaker sounds muffled. It turns your volume to 100 percent for you, then plays the tone.

1. On your iPhone, open Water Eject on RoutineHub and tap the button to get the shortcut.
2. Add it to your shortcuts when it opens in the Shortcuts app.
3. Run it when your speaker sounds muffled. Tap Water Eject in the Shortcuts app, or say "Siri, Water Eject".

To run it without opening anything, put it on Back Tap: go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap, choose Double Tap or Triple Tap, then choose Water Eject.

No shortcut? Eject Water at the top of this page plays the same tone, with nothing to install. Turn your volume all the way up first, since the page can't do that for you.

What the tone reaches

The tone clears the speaker grille, which is where muffled sound comes from. It doesn't reach water in the charging port, the SIM tray or under the buttons, and it doesn't dry the inside of the phone.

Apple's own advice is to keep the phone out of a bag of rice, since the grains can damage it, and away from hair dryers, heaters and compressed air. Don't push a cotton swab or paper towel into the charging port either.

Earbuds out, phone away from your ears

Through earbuds at full volume, the tone reads about 91 dB on iPhone's Headphone Level meter. Take them out before you press play, and hold the phone at arm's length while it runs.

The Water Eject shortcut's longest setting is three ten-second runs. If the speaker is still muffled after that, it needs drying time more than more tone: leave the phone speaker-down somewhere dry and try again later.

Expel Water, in the Lissa app

In the Lissa app the same tone is under Utilities, as Expel Water, free, ready the next time your phone comes out of a wet pocket.

The rest of the time, Lissa is your sound for focus, breath and sleep: adaptive soundscapes tailored to your taste, and a daily toolkit to help you through the day.

• Focus. Music for deep work, a timer for breaks, and Block Distracting Apps to keep the apps you choose from opening until the session ends.
• Sleep. Noise, ambient sounds and music all night or just until you drift off, and a gentle alarm in the morning.
• Breathe. Breathing led by feel, with a soundscape tuned to every breath, so your eyes can close.

Lissa is coming soon.

Join the waitlist and learn how to get Lissa Premium free at launch.

Email

Get Early Access

No credit card needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Sign in with AppleSign in with Google

Questions about water eject

Does water eject actually work?

On the speaker, yes. When iFixit soaked four phones for The Verge and played a water eject tone, droplets sprayed out of the speaker on camera. The tone doesn't dry the rest of the phone: left overnight, one of those phones came out dry and one was ruined.

Is there a water eject button on iPhone?

No. Apple Watch has one: it plays tones to clear its speaker when you turn off Water Lock. On iPhone you play the tone yourself, from this page, the Water Eject shortcut, or Expel Water in the Lissa app.

How do I get the water eject shortcut?

Open Water Eject on RoutineHub on your iPhone, get the shortcut and add it in the Shortcuts app. It's free. To clear the speaker right now, press Eject Water at the top of this page.

Can Siri eject water from my iPhone?

Yes, once you've added the Water Eject shortcut: say "Siri, Water Eject" and the tone plays.

How many times should I play it?

Once after a splash, up to three times after a dunk, with a wipe of the grille between runs. If it's still muffled, give the phone time to dry speaker-down and try again later.

Does water eject work on Android?

Yes. The tone plays in any phone's browser, and three of the four phones in iFixit's test were Android. Turn up the media volume, not the ringer.

Can I use it on AirPods?

Not while they're in your ears. For wet AirPods, Apple says to wipe them with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth and let them dry for at least two hours before you use them.

Does it get water out of the charging port?

No. The tone only moves air through the speaker. For a wet port, tap the phone gently against your hand with the port facing down and let it dry before you plug it in.

Is there a water eject app?

Yes. The Lissa app has it as Expel Water, free, beside soundscapes for focus and sleep. Lissa is coming soon: join the waitlist to get early access.