Chosen Solution

I think my son possibly drooled on my phone earpiece and the sound is hardly audible. Is there a way this can be fixed without replacing the phone?

It could be that only the mesh is clogged, in which case replacing the ear speaker is unnecessary. Try this to troubleshoot and possibly fix this issue: use a very sharp needle to puncture the ear speaker mesh from outside ~3 times in the middle. Don’t push in more than ~1 mm when you poke the holes. If sound is restored, you can leave it that way, or use this guide to reach the ear piece mesh. Stop at Step 20; at that point, push the mesh in from the outside of the screen to the inside using a flat plastic tool such as the flat end of a nylon spudger. Once removed, peel off the top layer, and fit the rest back it, or replace it all, as you wish (you already have a link to the replacement part here above). If sound is not restored, you will have verified that the ear speaker is at fault and can proceed to replace it using this guide which will also link you to the needed parts and tools. Be very careful around the screen cables: pulling/tearing/creasing/damaging them will render the screen defective and useless.

Yes the speaker can be replaced. Sometimes what can happen is that it gets blocked so you can try (I know gross) but you can try to put your lips around the ear mesh and suck. Hopefully that cleans up the clog. But sometimes the speaker itself could be the issue. Don’t forget to clean your mouth afterwards

iPhone 4s Water damage (with a damaged mesh) Today..I was caught in the rain..i was soaked ..gradually, my pocket was wet. I rushed to home asap. My internal speaker- ear piece- was not working. I googled and landed to this page. As the mesh in the ear piece was already spoiled, I can’t poke the mesh..So I gave a blunt try…Used the hair dryer…placed the ear piece at the mouth. Just..within a minute the speaker recovered. Though this not advisable for severe damages like dropping the phone into a closet, this works for quite small amount of water.

Use a paper towel and wipe the ear piece