If you happen to have noticed that your iPhone is a bit quieter than it used to be and you’re unsure why - there could be a fairly straight-forward, but gross, reason.
A quieter speaker can make phone conversations more difficult, not to mention it's seriously annoying if you want to listen to some music.
But you may not need to replace your speaker or your phone - because it could actually be a pretty easy-to-fix issue.
In a nutshell, your iPhone can be a magnet for dirt and grime.
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News of just how dirty iPhones can get was recently brought to light by iDoctor iPhone & Android Repairs who took to Facebook to show how the speakers can get clogged up with all sorts of nastiness.
The repair shop captioned a video of the repair process: "Ninety-nine percent of customers who ask for their speaker replacing will change their mind after we do this…"
As you can imagine, the shocking reality of what can make iPhones quieter than expected did not go unnoticed.
Reacting to the footage, which sees the repair technician carefully remove the dirt with a sharp object, one Facebook user said that if you're going to attempt this yourself, you should use blue-tac instead.
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They wrote: "You shouldn't poke the speakers with anything at all… the best method is to use blue tack and press it into the holes gently.
"Pull the blue tack off and repeat this until the speakers are clean."
This warning was emphasised by iPhone users who said that they'd tried to clean their phone speakers themselves.
One revealed: "I tried this with a needle and broke the mic in my old iPhone.
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"Could never use speaker phone again lmao [sic]."
Meanwhile, a third Facebook user questioned how a phone could even get this dirty, writing: "I work in carpentry with saw dust, dry wall dust, cement dust, etc. And my phone doesn't look like that. That's nasty."
A fourth pointed out that a case can stop this from happening.
They wrote: "That's nasty. My phone still looks brand new and it's almost two years old. Because I have a protective case all over it!!!"
Apple recommends that if you're going to attempt to clean your phone in any way, make sure that it is switched off and removed from any and all cables.
Topics: Technology, iPhone, Hacks, Weird, Facebook
Claire Reid