dropped into olive oil mixture, now very low sound...

GET A CAN OF COMPRESSED AIR!

MY STORY: I accidentally placed my iPhone on an oily kitchen counter. No one could hear me unless I used the earpiece or the speakerphone (which was creating an echo effect on the other person's end).

I went to Apple at the advice of a Sprint store associate who felt confident that Apple would simply give me a new phone, since I'd purchased it a month ago with warranty. I went to 2 Apple stores & was highly annoyed by the whole experience. Even though the liquid indicator hadn't been triggered (not sure why), they all said that my warranty was now voided. A "Genius Bar" staff member took the phone apart & showed me a light oil film on the battery pack. I asked about cleaning it out myself & he said I couldn't do that, nor could I be allowed to open it myself because it would void the warranty (But isn't it already voided from the oil?!?!). It was suggested that I buy a new one, which wasn't an option on my radar.

I wanted to go home & take it apart to clean it myself, but Apple has different proprietary screws for each iPhone model so it was impossible to find. When I asked a nearby Radio Shack for a pentalobe screwdriver, they immediately responded that they don't carry tools for iPhone 4 (I must not have been the 1st person to ask). Instead of ordering online, I went ahead and tried a can of compressed air. In seconds, VOILA! It's back to normal.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Now, I'm a little bitter towards Apple b/c the ppl they put in place to "help" and "repair" weren't allowed and/or trained to offer me any practical assistance, only a discount on a new $450 phone that I had just purchased. They were just sales-wolves in sheep's clothing. Even when I accepted my fate w/the warranty, I wasn't allowed to try my own methods of repair b/c Apple has gone out of their way to keep me from being able to open the phone.

At the very least, I could've been permitted to take the dissembled phone home w/me, since it's all void to them anyway. But no, they "must" reassemble it. Maybe I should've smashed it & lied since the liquid indicator never went off. IMHO, honesty is the best policy most of the time, but not all of the time. If you simply can't afford a new phone right now, I think you should do what's best for you.

In sum, TRY SPRAYING A CAN OF COMPRESSED AIR INTO THE OPENINGS ON THE PHONE. It worked for me. Good Luck!

I just dropped my iphone 3gs in a pan of oil. After wiping the exterior off, I to found that the earpiece was very muffled. I got out my high power vacuum cleaner and sucked out lots of oil from the rim of the screen, the earpiece and the speaker and I almost think it sounds better than before!

Had the same problem. Phone dropped face down in pool of oil. Quickly wiped off, but speakers to faint. Compressed air did the trick. Blew air onto speaker and seams around the edge. Little pools of oil came out. Wiped clean with a tissue. To avoid moisture issue, as can gets cold condensation occurs in compressed air tube. For each squirt, do a quick spray away from phone until air is dry (1 sec) then re-direct back onto the phone.

take out the screen covering ear speaker. It will fix problem