Dropped phone in water? This video could save you a trip to service centre

The video embedded in the article below seemingly produces low-tone sound, generating air motion near the speaker vents that pushes out excess liquid

A video on YouTube titled “Sound to Remove Water from Phone Speaker (Guaranteed)” claims that playing the video on your wet smartphone “will eject water from your phone speaker and completely remove water from your mobile speakers.” The video has over 45 million views, and many comments suggest that it works. According to a report by The Verge, they tested the video on a smartphone that had been dropped in water, and it worked to some extent.

The video’s audio seemingly produces low-tone sound, creating air motion near the speaker outlet that pushes the water or liquid droplets out of the vent. This method is more effective on larger speakers that can produce lower tones and higher volumes, making it difficult to determine whether it works as effectively in small smartphone speaker vents.

However, this is not a new concept. Electronics makers, including Apple and Xiaomi, have incorporated such features natively in some of their devices. For example, the Apple Watch uses this mechanism to eject water after it gets wet. Similarly, Xiaomi offers a “Clear Speaker” function on select smartphones, which produces high-pitched sounds at the highest volume level to expel water droplets from the speaker vents.

Using this YouTube video or similar techniques to dry out your smartphone might help remove liquid from speaker vents. However, if liquid is present in the smartphone's charging port or any other part, it is essential to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Some smartphones even come with an “Ingress Protection” rating, offering some degree of protection from dust and water ingress.

Recently, Apple issued an advisory stating that placing a wet iPhone inside a bag of rice can cause further damage and is not an appropriate solution for drying your phone. Similar to other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Apple also suggests tapping the smartphone to remove excess liquid.