How to clean dust around the front speakers? - Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Just looking to do some maintenance as there's a bit of build up after six months of owning it.

EvoRocker said:
Just looking to do some maintenance as there's a bit of build up after six months of owning it.
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Click to collapse
Compressed air does wonders.

Retired toothbrush if the air doesn't get it all, then blow again
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Almost no dust for me, but cotton swab works well.
- ooofest

I will never put compressed air through my speaker grills. That could blow right through them. A soft bristle tooth brush works nicely.

graydiggy said:
I will never put compressed air through my speaker grills. That could blow right through them. A soft bristle tooth brush works nicely.
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Not directly into them, absolutely not. Sideways, to blow the debris out.

Evolution_Tech said:
Not directly into them, absolutely not. Sideways, to blow the debris out.
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Click to collapse
Even then it's still a risk I'm not willing to take. Debris flying around inside could also damage the speakers as well as high pressure air moving through the device possibly knocking off components like SMD caps or even the LED.

I like the tooth brush idea. I laughed at the "retired" reference lol

Any soft-bristled brush will do. Check out an art supplies store.

Related

[Q] Saliva may have partially impared screen

Hey all,
To keep a long story short, saliva (from my 1 year old daughter) got on/in my phone and now part of the screen does not work. When I say "does not work", the phone is mostly functional, but if I try to scroll through forums or menus then it will try and select some of them as I scroll. Also, some of the onscreen keys don't function properly when using the keyboard on the side. And, the swype does not work.
I did turn my phone off and leave it in a bowl of uncooked rice over night, but that didn't seem to fix much. I even went to the length of re-flashing my ROM and wiping data/cache.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (I am not afraid to take my phone apart)
Rice is a little to big to get into the nitty gritty of the phone and really dry it out, it may be too late by now but a more thorough way to dry out is to, Take the phone apart, get a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and go over the entire phone. The moisture mixed with the alcohol with evaporate much much faster.
studacris said:
Rice is a little to big to get into the nitty gritty of the phone and really dry it out, it may be too late by now but a more thorough way to dry out is to, Take the phone apart, get a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and go over the entire phone. The moisture mixed with the alcohol with evaporate much much faster.
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Any specific parts I should focus on primarily? I was thinking that the issue may be where the screen cables connect to the mobo.
That's a good assumption.... going over the entire phone will cover all those bases.
Like i said it could already be too late. Good luck man.
Just got done cleaning the internals.. Same spots on the screen are not responding correctly. Looks like it's time to hit up e-bay for a replacement
That's what it sounded like.
But I wouldn't do alcohol wiping. I'd leave it in clothes dryer.
For your next phone pls get a case and screen protector.
bravomail said:
That's what it sounded like.
But I wouldn't do alcohol wiping. I'd leave it in clothes dryer.
For your next phone pls get a case and screen protector.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have both a screen protector and case. I heard clothes dryers are bad news for phones though.
Demonic240 said:
Have both a screen protector and case. I heard clothes dryers are bad news for phones though.
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It is as the dryer would probably not only break the phones screen but can shake around the hardware as well. Rice, or a hair dryer set on low is the best bet for drying out phones.
You guys really need your sarcasm meters checked...
I probably do right now. I didn't get off work until two hours ago. Will try better tomorrow haha.
Sent from my Samsung Captivate running Team ICSSGS 4.0.3
so-ooo. hair dryer? really? it melts plastic last I saw.
Clothes dryer was bad call, so I retract. May be leave it in furnace room? Stuff gets dry there pretty quick.
I liked sarcasm meter comment. Made my day!
bravomail said:
so-ooo. hair dryer? really? it melts plastic last I saw.
Clothes dryer was bad call, so I retract. May be leave it in furnace room? Stuff gets dry there pretty quick.
I liked sarcasm meter comment. Made my day!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. down south here we don't have furnace rooms
I completely disassembled my phone last night (sans removing glass/lcd) and used rubbing alcohol over all the ribbon connectors. On the plus side, I didn't screw anything else up... on the down side though, still have that nice dead zone on my screen.
Now to either buy a replacement off e-bay or try and pilfer my brothers Infuse that he soft bricked until my contract is up in June.
Ended up fixing my brothers infuse. Nice phone, but I'm going to miss ICS
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA

Clean speaker grill

Any way to get crap out of the speaker grill I'm kinda ocd about it...
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
a very light suction tool.
no vaccuum.. maybe a handheld bulb pump, squeeze and allow it to suck the debris out.
TorxT3D said:
a very light suction tool.
no vaccuum.. maybe a handheld bulb pump, squeeze and allow it to suck the debris out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just used a toothpick with extreme care, because there is no soft grill, worked good.
You should try one of those baby noise cleaners, great suction and they're cheap.
I've had good luck with a dry toothbrush and light, quick strokes.
you run the risk of forcing it deeper into the holes.
i'd only use a fine bristle art brush for the edges.
suction bulb for holes.
or just put your mouth on it and suck dry and fast.
ive been using those hand held blow thingys used for cleaning debris out of dslr's
The best way is with a toothbrush damped
In alcohol.
Soak the toothbrush in alcohol and dry it about 90% with towel(semi wet, not too dry, not too wet) Brush the grills, The remaining alcohol will clean the gunk on the speaker grills.
From My htc ONE.
Use a magnet
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2
i forget what it's called, but i like to use the tacky putty material that is meant to be rolled into a ball to hold posters/photos on a wall.
No magnets are bad...
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
I've had mine at least 5 days before most people on here, and I haven't seen anything stuck in the grills of my phone. Does anyone have any pictures they can show? I'd be interested to see how big of a problem this is.
Some tips from reading this post and having this issue
I have a three week old HTC One and untill my recent trip abroad i had not noticed anything slipping into the grills of the phone on my return from spainI put it in my bag along with a bottle of Liquer and a My babys left over fomula powder... Then i dropped the BAG!
Needless to say the combination of the powder and some of the Liquer made for a horrible thick mess which covered my Phone including filling the speaker grills.
I used a toothbrush and this actually did a brilliant Job, its not 100% but i know if I do it a few more times over the next few days it will clear it.
The trick is as stated above careful strokes in one direction across the grill to drag the dirt out using a brush with fine bristles.
Do not put a Magnet anywhere near the speakers on your phone this can cause internal damage which may void your warrenty. Also the suggestion for using some form of blue tac to do this could also go very very wrong, If the tack is too warm it will stick itself into the grill and that will be indredibly difficult to get out if not impossible dependent on how hard you press down trying to remove the dirt, this can also just force the dirt futhur into your device.
The alchol based methord is also very good but be careful too much moisture and you could damage your speaker if it seeps in so its best to dry a dry toothbrush at first and only resort to some cleaning based alchols if you have dirt which simply cannot be lifted. (I will say formula when turned to a paste is incredibnly hard to remove but as with most things does dry after a few hours.)
I used a simple baby wipe on the phone afterwards to remove excess dirt from the grill once the toothbrush had done the job.
A magnet isn't going to harm your phone...
akrod2as said:
A magnet isn't going to harm your phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A strong moving magnet might.
And I've gotten some... I dunno... stuff stuck in my grill, but it hasn't bothered me, usually, it disappears after a while.
Tape?
Sent from my (M7WLS) HTC ONE.

[Q] does bleach work on water detection strip?

As titled. I feel kind of cheated, as the water detection strip while underneath the flap but is not placed in a "fair" position, at least I don't think...
Long story short, the water detection strip next to the headphone jack is now red because I had the flap opened with the headphone plugged in and a bit of rain dropped onto the strip. It is a design flaw, at least in my eyes, as it is too exposed - should really have the strip INSIDE the headphone jack like the iPhone for fair water detection. Anyway, I'm not top pleased, and wondering if a bleach can help? Or any other methods?
Thanks in advance!!
Lord Farkward said:
As titled. I feel kind of cheated, as the water detection strip while underneath the flap but is not placed in a "fair" position, at least I don't think...
Long story short, the water detection strip next to the headphone jack is now red because I had the flap opened with the headphone plugged in and a bit of rain dropped onto the strip. It is a design flaw, at least in my eyes, as it is too exposed - should really have the strip INSIDE the headphone jack like the iPhone for fair water detection. Anyway, I'm not top pleased, and wondering if a bleach can help? Or any other methods?
Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bump...
i have heard somewhere on here that bleach did work just put a bit on a cotton bud and just dab not rub and see if it works (whats the wost that can happen)
Try it out
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
brockyneo said:
i have heard somewhere on here that bleach did work just put a bit on a cotton bud and just dab not rub and see if it works (whats the wost that can happen)
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Well i don't know, that's why I asked... was afraid it might turn black or something due to some special chemical reaction and was generally wondering if there're other methods of turning it back to white... :crying:
Dab some liquid paper on it
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Lord Farkward said:
Well i don't know, that's why I asked... was afraid it might turn black or something due to some special chemical reaction and was generally wondering if there're other methods of turning it back to white... :crying:
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Click to collapse
Really at the end of the day, as horrible as it might sound your warranty many be compromised already with the strip being any colour apart from white.
There is also the possibility that Sony have something similar inside the phone to detect water entering the internals
Lord Farkward said:
Well i don't know, that's why I asked... was afraid it might turn black or something due to some special chemical reaction and was generally wondering if there're other methods of turning it back to white... :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember bleach working on my one XL. only a tiny amount though, let us now how it goes.
Lord Farkward said:
As titled. I feel kind of cheated, as the water detection strip while underneath the flap but is not placed in a "fair" position, at least I don't think...
Long story short, the water detection strip next to the headphone jack is now red because I had the flap opened with the headphone plugged in and a bit of rain dropped onto the strip. It is a design flaw, at least in my eyes, as it is too exposed - should really have the strip INSIDE the headphone jack like the iPhone for fair water detection. Anyway, I'm not top pleased, and wondering if a bleach can help? Or any other methods?
Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would contact them and ask, they may be more understanding than you think and ask you to send it in and have it checked and strip replaced if it is ok. Try and phone, they tend to be less scripted etc (this is UK at least, don't know for other countries Xperia helplines).
take it to a small licenced warranty repair shop if there is any around your area.
My old school Sony Ericsson walkman was fixed when water damaged because they get more money from it being a warranty repair then just being paid for labour and parts..
You got it wet, it's fact.
But this does not mean they won't do a warranty repair.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
Thanks for all the replies. Well, I tried, and the bleach turned it back to white
However, I wasn't being careful enough, as when I tried dipping a soaked cotton bud onto the strip, some of the solution went astray and may have came into contact with the copper-part of the earphone jack. Even after it had been dried out, the earphone jack couldn't detect my earphones anymore and playing music with my headphones in resulted in music playing through the phone's speakers instead.
Anyway, long story short, I thought I might as well bring the phone to the repair center and give it a go and see what they'll say. 4 hours later, they gave the phone back to me, with the earphone jack now working (all they did was update software to 253...), and said nothing about the phone being in contact with water. So....... kind of a success, I guess? What's bothering me now is still that I don't know why the earphone jack stopped working... It should be hardware-related, yet a software updated fixed it... hmmm....
They probably just replaced. the Jack and upgraded the software. to be sure
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
which bleach you used ?
yeah, bleach works, tried it before, apply with q-tip

Question How do you clean USB port?

Hi, I use my phone under water and in dust, and I might have to clean USB port since charger sometimes do weird disconnected-reconnected feedback.
How do you clean it? Alcool, WD40?
Thanks!
Why not use a case that closes off the USB port and switch to a wireless charger? I wouldn't use wd40 as it will damage the seal over time
Use dry air to blow out dust/dirt.
V1TRU said:
Hi, I use my phone under water and in dust, and I might have to clean USB port since charger sometimes do weird disconnected-reconnected feedback.
How do you clean it? Alcool, WD40?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely no WD40. Can mess up the phone if it gets through the seals.
Compressed air works great for port cleaning. It will get rid of most loose particles.
For stubborn traoped lint etc, fine micro-tweezers do the job well but need to avoid damaging the USB shelf in the centre.
I use isopropyl alcohol and cotton bud
Don't use it underwater unless you really want to destroy the phone. You need a diving case to safely use it under water.
Using compressed air can easily force the water into the phone. Only very low pressure like a blower bulb should ever be used.
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol is a good drying agent, use in a warm, dry room and it's flammable.
I wash my phones under the tap with some soap. Keeps speakers mics and ports clean. Use a toothbrush and some alcohol of this doesnt work.
cosmin94 said:
I wash my phones under the tap with some soap. Keeps speakers mics and ports clean. Use a toothbrush and some alcohol of this doesnt work.
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I live in a dusty environment, in the desert. The most I've had to do with my N10+ was purged moisture in the C port once with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't collect dust in spite of no cover. Maybe use a blower bulb occasionally.
Other ports, less is better. Qtip and blower bulb every 6 months. The recessed holes in the Bolt case also help keep the junk out surprisingly well.
Once you replace the battery I doubt you will trust deliberately exposing this expensive flagship phone to water. It's one seal, one layer of protection and no guarentee it's 100% sealing the phone. It not an rounded edge seal and less reliable; double sided adhesive. This type of sealing system should not be trusted to be watertight especially under pressure.
blackhawk said:
I live in a dusty environment, in the desert. The most I've had to do with my N10+ was purged moisture in the C port once with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't collect dust in spite of no cover. Maybe use a blower bulb occasionally.
Other ports, less is better. Qtip and blower bulb every 6 months. The recessed holes in the Bolt case also help keep the junk out surprisingly well.
Once you replace the battery I doubt you will trust deliberately exposing this expensive flagship phone to water. It's one seal, one layer of protection and no guarentee it's 100% sealing the phone. It not an rounded edge seal and less reliable; double sided adhesive. This type of sealing system should not be trusted to be watertight especially under pressure.
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Click to collapse
Since Xperia Z3 I only had IP67/68 phones and all of them got this threatment , soapy shower under the tap. I never had battery replaced phones. Only factory sealed phones. Never had any problems. I also swim with phones in pocket in salty/pool/fresh water.
cosmin94 said:
Since Xperia Z3 I only had IP67/68 phones and all of them got this threatment , soapy shower under the tap. I never had battery replaced phones. Only factory sealed phones. Never had any problems. I also swim with phones in pocket in salty/pool/fresh water.
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Click to collapse
I'm talking about latest generation Samsung phones. I have 2 N10+'s. Some of the ones with removable batteries had better seals.
Salt water is sure death to electronics.
Do what you want but it's not like you didn't know better... at least put the phone in a zip lock bag.
These are not dive rated phones... that includes swimming.
Did you notice that Samsung doesn't do those cute underwater camera shot ads anymore? That's because of all the water damaged phones they caused. Carriers ate a lot of them.

Question Muffled MIC full of dust ultimate cleaning solution discovered...

So I discovered this trick a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to share with everyone but only got to it now.
The top speaker on my old S9+ was crackling when playing music and I decided to try and clean it. I put alcohol on an earpick and rubbed it in rounds, up, down, left, right and etc. The sound got better but not enough. Then I noticed the hydrogen peroxide 3% next to the bathroom mirror and used it instead of alcohol. I also decided to play a loud song at the time of cleaning it. As I was at it, I could see little bubbles flying off from the speaker grill and opening up all the tiny holes that were filled up with gunk over the years. This process restored the speaker clarity to 100% as original.
Then, since both mics of the S9 were muffled from all the dust (and likely baby powder from me powdering deez nuts as it helps with comfort ) I decided to fill them up with peroxide as well, instead of alcohol. I took a fat needle and was putting it up and down into the mic holes to push the peroxide out. While it was coming out I could see it bubble which is an indicator that it is dissolving particles. Then I tried it with paper and added some more peroxide and repeated 2 times.
Last, i took a dry earpick and pulled the cotton up while rolling it with my fingers to the point it became like a long fat cotton needle. Slim enough to enter the mic holes as I was turning it and pressing it slowly inwards. Did that part to absorb any peroxide leftovers, instead of waiting for it to dry out by it self.
The result was crystal clear sharp sound that I had thought was long gone and never coming back. I call this a full restoration.
Did the same thing with the s21u on all 3 mics and it worked splendidly. 2 of them had become somewhat muffled after a years use and when talking through the loud speaker people on the other side weren't hearing me clearly.
Note 0: To put peroxide into the mics, I fully soaked an earpick with it and then gently rubbed it on the mic holes until it went in.
Note 1: Putting a needle in the mic holes will not damage the mics as the holes are curved so the needle cannot touch a mic. (Samsung's preventative measure against people putting in the SIM pick in the wrong hole)
Note 2: You can test your MICs clarity through a sound loop by opening your dialer and typing *#0283#
Note 3: DO NOT attempt this on phones which are NOT waterproof. The only reason this works on our phones is because they were designed to withstand water.
Ingenious. As long as the water or oxidizer doesn't damage anything. That's a tough cleaning challenge many times.
If any of it makes it past the mic inside the phone better be ready to pull the rear cover, disconnect the battery, flush anhydrous isopropyl alcohol (min 93%) and completely dry.
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
blackhawk said:
Ingenious. As long as the water or oxidizer doesn't damage anything. That's a tough cleaning challenge many times.
If any of it makes it past the mic inside the phone better be ready to pull the rear cover, disconnect the battery, flush anhydrous isopropyl alcohol (min 93%) and completely dry.
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Click to collapse
Legit points, thanks god peroxide doesn't really affect anything rubbery or plasticky.. And given that the phones waterproof rating says it can withstand water pressure of about 1 meter's submersion, all should be good as applying little drops of peroxide puts no pressure at all.
But yeah, it is a bit scary for sure, aaand totally worth it once the sound clarity is restored
KingFatty said:
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
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Click to collapse
Yeah it's tricky. Best to clean it regularly a microfiber cloth before the junk gets pushed in.
A dry climate helps as does not putting the phone to your ear.
After over 2.5 years my N10+ ports are surprisingly spotless. They are partially shielded by the case which is antistatic it seems.
The Bolt case rarely requires much cleaning, another reason I wuv it.
KingFatty said:
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I had been afraid of when it comes to cleaning with alcohol.
The thing about the peroxide is that it starts bubbling up the gunk and essentially it helps is dissolve and carries it upwards. If the gunk has muffled your mic, it has already piled up at the bottom... No further down to go haha
blackhawk said:
Yeah it's tricky. Best to clean it regularly a microfiber cloth before the junk gets pushed in.
A dry climate helps as does not putting the phone to your ear.
After over 2.5 years my N10+ ports are surprisingly spotless. They are partially shielded by the case which is antistatic it seems.
The Bolt case rarely requires much cleaning, another reason I wuv it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I live in the Mediterranean and during the summer the humidity can reach up to 90%+.. And in the winter I have the phone playing music in the bathroom when showering and the air fills with steam from the hot water.. Too many no no's...
babyboy3265 said:
Legit points, thanks god peroxide doesn't really affect anything rubbery or plasticky.. And given that the phones waterproof rating says it can withstand water pressure of about 1 meter's submersion, all should be good as applying little drops of peroxide puts no pressure at all.
But yeah, it is a bit scary for sure, aaand totally worth it once the sound clarity is restored
Click to expand...
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Yeah just saying. Never trust that waterproof rating; it's waterproof until it leaks
The ports, mic and speakers are probably safe but the rear cover seal and buttons are suspect so try to avoid getting liquids on those.

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