How to Clean Your Phone
Safely strip pocket lint from charging ports, unclog speaker grilles, and disinfect touchscreens without stripping delicate oleophobic coatings.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Wooden toothpicks
- ✓ Soft-bristle detailing brush (or clean baby toothbrush)
- ✓ High-density microfiber cloths (2)
- ✓ Bright desk lamp or headlamp
- ✓ Magnifying glass (optional)
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ 70% Isopropyl alcohol (IPA)
- ✓ Distilled water
- ✓ Foam-tipped precision cleaning swabs
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Power down the phone completely and unplug all cables before introducing any cleaning tools or moisture.
- • Never spray alcohol or cleaning fluid directly onto the device; always apply sparingly to a cloth or swab first.
- • Do not use metal safety pins, paperclips, or high-pressure canned air inside charging ports or acoustic membranes.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Power Down and Remove Accessories
Remove the protective case, screen protector bumper (if modular), and any cable attachments. Power down the device fully through the operating system menu rather than just locking the screen. Place the phone on a clean, soft microfiber surface under direct directional lighting to clearly reveal compacted grime.
- • Phone screen is completely dark and unresponsive to touch.
- • Device chassis is fully exposed and free of external cases.
- • Leaving the phone powered on, which risks accidental inputs or short circuits if moisture enters openings.
Extract Lint from the Lightning or USB-C Port
Inspect the charging cavity using your light to locate compacted pocket lint flattened against the back wall. Gently insert the tapered tip of a dry wooden toothpick, keeping it flush against the back or side walls and away from the delicate center contact pins. Scrape outward with light, sweeping motions to lift compacted lint balls out of the socket.
- • Tightly packed gray lint clumps are pulled free on the tip of the toothpick.
- • The metallic bottom and contact pins inside the port are clearly visible under the light.
- • Prying violently against the central pin array in USB-C ports, which bends and permanently damages data pins.
- • Using metal sewing needles that scratch internal gold contacts and cause shorts.
Brush Speaker Grilles and Microphone Holes
Hold the phone with the speakers angled downward so dislodged debris falls onto the table rather than further into the housing. Use dry, ultra-soft brush bristles in small circular and sweeping motions over the speaker meshes and earpiece slit. For hardened debris stuck in perforated holes, roll a dry precision foam swab across the opening without forcing the tip through the water-resistant mesh.
- • Individual mesh perforations in the speaker holes are open and visible.
- • Crusted dust ring around the earpiece slit is eliminated.
- • Using high-pressure compressed air, which ruptures delicate acoustic water-resistant membranes.
Sanitize and Degrease the Chassis and Glass
Lightly dampen a corner of a clean microfiber cloth with 70% isopropyl alcohol until it is moist to the touch but not dripping. Wipe down the back glass, camera lens cluster, and metal/plastic side rails in straight, continuous passes. Gently wipe the front glass screen from top to bottom, avoiding prolonged saturation near the seams and buttons.
- • Fingerprint oils, makeup streaks, and smudges dissolve smoothly without pooling liquid.
- • Surface shows a thin, fast-evaporating alcohol haze.
- • Using 90%+ concentration alcohol or household glass cleaners with ammonia, which aggressively degrade the factory oleophobic coating.
Detail Camera Lenses and Seams
Moisten the tip of a foam-tipped swab with a single drop of 70% alcohol and lightly trace the bevel edges around each rear camera lens where gunk collects. Use the dry end of the swab immediately to absorb any dissolved residue. Run the dry swab around the display border where glass meets the frame to pick up trapped skin oils.
- • Camera lens glass is crystal clear under bright light with zero cloudy halos around the rim.
- • Frame perimeter grooves are free of white skin-oil buildup.
- • Using standard fuzzy cotton swabs that shed loose fibers inside narrow lens bezels.
Wash the Phone Case and Perform Final Polish
Wash silicone or hard plastic cases in warm water with a drop of mild dish soap, scrub inner corners with the brush, and dry completely with a clean towel. Use the second dry microfiber cloth to buff the entire phone screen and chassis until crystal clear. Once the case is 100% dry, reinstall the phone and power the device back on.
- • Display shows a pristine, streak-free reflection under the light.
- • Case interior is completely dry before slipping the clean phone back inside.
- • Putting the clean phone back into a damp case, which traps moisture against the sealed body.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by JayFindsThings — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Foam-tipped swab? Corner of a microfiber cloth wrapped over a toothpick
- No Dedicated cleaning brush? Clean, dry soft-bristle toothbrush
- No 70% Isopropyl alcohol? Pre-moistened lens-cleaning wipe