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Speaker cleaning glossary
This glossary defines the 16 terms you'll meet when cleaning a phone speaker with sound, from the 165 Hz tone speaker cleaners use to the grille, mesh and diaphragm it acts on. Each definition stands on its own.
A speaker cleaner is a tool that plays a low-frequency tone, usually around 165 Hz, through a phone's speaker so that the vibration pushes out trapped water and loose dust. The grille is the outer row of holes, the mesh is the screen behind it, and the diaphragm is the membrane that moves to make sound.
Water eject and speaker cleaning describe the same technique applied to different contaminants: water eject targets droplets held in the grille by surface tension, while dust cleaning targets dry particles resting on the mesh. Apple Watch's Water Lock is the best-known built-in version.
Terms A to Z
- 165 Hz
- The tone frequency most speaker cleaners centre on: low enough for large diaphragm movement, high enough for phone speakers to play loudly.
- Clear speaker
- Xiaomi's built-in speaker cleaning feature on Redmi and Xiaomi phones, under Settings, Additional settings. It plays a 30-second cleaning sound.
- Diaphragm
- The thin membrane inside a speaker that moves back and forth to make sound. In a speaker cleaner, its movement pushes water out.
- Dust mode
- A speaker cleaner setting that pulses a low tone on and off, so the vibration shakes loose dry dust at the grille instead of pushing water.
- Earpiece
- The small speaker above the screen used for calls. On stereo phones it also plays media.
- Frequency sweep
- A tone that glides between two frequencies, such as 150 to 200 Hz, so it passes through each phone speaker's resonance.
- Grille
- The row of holes or slot that covers a phone speaker. Water and dust collect here.
- Headphone detection switch
- A small contact inside a 3.5 mm headphone jack that tells the phone a plug is in. Moisture or lint can hold it closed, leaving the phone stuck in headphone mode.
- IP67 / IP68
- Ingress Protection ratings for dust and water resistance, tested in a lab. Not the same as waterproof.
- Liquid contact indicator
- A small marker inside many phones that changes colour when it touches water. Service centres check it to see whether a phone has been exposed to liquid.
- Liquid-detection alert
- An iPhone warning shown when moisture is detected in the charging port. Apple advises waiting before charging.
- Mesh
- The fine fabric or metal screen behind the grille that keeps debris out of the speaker.
- Stereo speakers
- Two speakers (usually earpiece and bottom speaker) playing separate left and right channels.
- Voice coil
- The coil attached to the diaphragm that moves it when current flows through the magnet's field.
- Water eject
- Another name for a speaker cleaner's water mode: sound that pushes water out of a speaker.
- Water Lock
- An Apple Watch mode that locks the screen in water and plays tones to eject water when turned off.
IP67 and IP68 are ingress protection ratings defined in IEC 60529 and tested in laboratory conditions. They describe resistance to dust and immersion, not permanent waterproofing, and the protection weakens as a phone's seals age.
Put it together
See how the parts work together in what is a speaker cleaner, or try Speaker Cleaner.