Water Eject

If your phone speaker sounds muffled or crackly after a splash, water is probably sitting in the speaker opening. Water Eject plays a low tone through the speaker for 30 seconds at a time to help shake those droplets out. It only reaches the speaker grille. If your phone was underwater, follow the drying steps in our phone water damage guide as well.

How to use water eject on iPhone and Android

1. Wipe the phone dry and take off the case.
2. Disconnect AirPods, earbuds, or any Bluetooth speaker so the sound plays from the phone.
3. Turn the volume up most of the way with the side buttons. A web page can't change it for you.
4. Tap Start water eject, and hold the phone with the speaker facing down and away from your ears.
5. When the run ends, wipe away any droplets and play some music to hear the difference. Run it again if it still sounds muffled.

On an iPhone, the tool asks Safari to play sound even when Silent mode is on, where that's supported. If you hear nothing, turn Silent mode off and try again.

Which water eject tone should you choose?

Start with Steady. It plays a constant 165 Hz tone, the frequency most water-eject tools and Shortcuts use. If the sound is still muffled after a couple of runs, try Sweep, which glides between 100 and 300 Hz, or Pulse, which plays short bursts. No tone has been shown to work better than the others, so it's worth trying more than one.

Does a water eject sound actually work?

It can help with water in the speaker opening. The speaker moves back and forth as it plays a low tone, and that movement can push droplets out of the grille. Apple uses the same idea on Apple Watch: Water Lock plays a series of tones to clear water from the watch speaker.

For phones, the evidence is mostly what people report, not independent testing. Apple's own advice for a muffled iPhone speaker is to place the phone speaker-side down on a lint-free cloth and let the water drain out. The tone and the cloth work well together: run the tool, then leave the phone face down to finish drying.

How the sound check works

The optional sound check plays a short rising tone and listens with your microphone. Water in a speaker tends to muffle high sounds more than low ones, so the check compares the two before and after a run and tells you whether the speaker sounds clearer, about the same, or still muffled.

It's a rough comparison, not a measurement of the speaker. The microphone sits close to the speaker and may be damp too, and background noise affects the result. The sound is analyzed on your phone and never recorded or uploaded. If you'd rather not use the microphone, you can use a listening check instead.

Is there a water eject Shortcut for iPhone?

Yes. The popular Water Eject Shortcut is made by an independent developer, not Apple, and it plays the same kind of low tone through the iPhone speaker. This page does the same thing in Safari with nothing to install, and adds a choice of tones and a before-and-after sound check. iPhone doesn't have a built-in water eject feature like Apple Watch does.

Water in the charging port is a different problem

A tone only reaches the speaker. It can't clear water from the charging port, and it won't clear the iPhone “Liquid Detected” or Samsung “moisture detected” alert. Unplug the cable, tap the phone gently with the port facing down, and let it dry. Our phone water damage guide explains how long to wait before charging on iPhone and Android.

Apple Watch and AirPods

Apple Watch has its own water eject feature. Turn on Water Lock from Control Center, then press and hold the Digital Crown until the display says Unlocked. The watch plays a series of tones to clear water from its speaker.

AirPods don't have one, and you shouldn't play a loud tone into earbuds you're wearing. Apple says to wipe wet AirPods with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth and let them dry for at least two hours before using or charging them.

Still muffled after three runs?

• Set the phone speaker-side down on a soft cloth for 10 minutes or more and let the rest of the water drain and dry.
• Don't use a hair dryer, compressed air, or rice. Apple advises against all three.
• Try again later. Apple notes a muffled sound can last until the water evaporates.
• If it's still muffled after a day, the speaker may be damaged. Our repair or replace guide can help you decide what to do next.

Is water eject safe for your speaker and your ears?

Phone speakers play loud sound all the time, but a long, loud, low tone can strain them. That's why each run stops after 30 or 60 seconds, there's a short break between runs, and the tool suggests a rest after three. Keep the phone away from your ears, never play the tone through headphones, and stop if the speaker starts to sound distorted or rattly.