So I was doing a tattoo for a friend, and accidentally dripped a little on my phone while putting the ink into an ink cap, and a drop got into the round grill for the earpiece speaker. Now, when I call someone, I can Barely hear it ring, I can't hear my voicemail talking to me, and its really worrying me!! Idk what to do here, as I'm sure its already dried up in there! It wasn't much, but is still obviously causing a major issue! Any suggestions?!? I was going to take a qtip and dip it in rubbing alcohol, then get a drop or two in there, then do it again with water, then slap it in a bag of rice for a few hours. Anyone think that would work?!? I'm desperate to get this fixed, cuz I have no idea what I'm going to do if this isn't fixed asap. It really has me worried. Would the rubbing alcohol drop, then water drop, then rice work?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Help I accidentally dropped tattoo ink on my phone and it got in the earpiece speaker! HELP ASAP PLZ!!!
jj14x
Android Expert
Sorry to hear about this - ouch...
The rubbing alcohol should help. I think you should avoid the water though. That isn't going to help anymore than the rubbing alcohol will.
Don't put too much rubbing alcohol - it shouldn't drip - just enough to dissolve the ink, and then, wick it away.
Having said that, I'm not sure that will help enough - because the q-tip won't get past the grill that covers the speaker. Hopefully, the ink didn't go past the grill, and if so, you should be good. But if the ink went below the grill, the q-tip won't be able to do much.
Try the Q-tip - won't hurt (don't use too much rubbing alcohol). Worst case scenario, if that doesn't help, you can either send it to LG for repair, or if you are skilled and confident, try the dis-assembly guide over at iFixit - https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Nexus_5
So I dipped a Q-tip in alcohol and rubbed the shit out of it. And much to my surprise, it now looks like the grill on a white Nexus 5!! And the sound quality is back to about a 9 or 10, when before it was just an 8 or a 9 lol. Should've seen all the nastiness I got outta there with just two qtips and some rubbing alcohol! Now the ear grill is a really Nice chrome/silver, and I Love it!! Anyone wanting their Nexus 5 to look subtly different from the millions of others, this is one simple "mod" you can do on your own, that makes your Nexus stand above the rest in my opinion, at least aesthetically, and I know it's a one-of-a-kind, and is a great conversation starter! I'm praying the rumors of Shamu being 5.5" instead of 5.9" are true, but that seems unlikely. I think the Nexus 5 is Perfect, size, thickness and weight, and has a higher dpi/ppi than any other phone because of its 4.95" screen. I've heard rumors of an upgraded version of the Nexus 5 coming soon, which would be a revamp of the current 5, ft. SD Memory, water resistance, a 13mp main shooter and a 2.3mp front-facing camera. And it may sport a quad core Qualcomm 801, 803, or 805 processor. Can't wait for That to come out, IF Google makes a good decision and doesn't leave normal kickass phones in the wake of the (I LOATHE this word) "Phablet." Back to topic, my in-call quality is better than ever before, so I'm rather excited!
Sent from my neXus 5 via AC App!!!
Sent from my neXus 5 via AC App!!!
Glad it worked out! 
thisISjoel
Android Enthusiast
Yo OP! Can you post a pic of your phone now?
Blackflag4
Well-Known Member
Yeah, let us see it. 
andrews317
Android Enthusiast
Interesting story. I am glad you managed to solve it.
Here are the best pics I could get in a mirror guys. Sold my Moto G on eBay and basically got burned (that's a Whole different, long, ridiculous story lol), so I didn't have a camera handy to take decent pica of it. But now from the front, I think it looks So much better. Some people like the muted black all over, but I love the fact that this happened, as now not only do my calls sound better, my phone now also stands out from every other Nexus (for the moment, at least lol.) Who knows, maybe this will start a movement and get people to start "alcohol-modding" their Nexuses lol. Thanks for the help everyone, I appreciate it! This is by far the best Android Forum site in existence. Anywhere else, people turn into "keyboard-killers," when they act hard and call people names from the safety of their home, protected by their monitor and keyboard, or phone. Sorry, off topic, I know, but I just had to get that out haha. So what does everyone think of the look of my nexus with the nice, unpainted steel grill? And would any of you do it to yours? I know I was always jealous of white nexuses having that damned white ear grill to break up the mundane, plain black look of the front lol. Let me know what you think, and if you will, or would like to do it to yours!!!
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thisISjoel
Android Enthusiast
That does look kind of cool