How to Clean Your Phone

Whether or not you believe reports that your smartphone is germier than a toilet, there's a good chance it could benefit from a cleaning, especially if you don't use a case. Thankfully, it doesn't take more than a few minutes and standard household cleaning products to clean your phone properly.

Apple, Samsung, and Google all have their own recommendations for cleaning a dirty phone, and they’re all pretty much the same. We’ve combined that information with our years of expertise to give you a simple guide to getting your phone sparkling clean. And if dust or lint is interfering with charging, we have advice for you on that as well.

Most of the time it will take only a few seconds to wipe down your phone. Prying lint out of your charging port may take a couple of minutes, depending on how much is in there. Wipe down your phone whenever you notice a smudge-filled screen or you use it in a germy environment where you think it could use a cleaning.

When you’re cleaning your phone, there's only a small chance of doing any damage to its internals. But it's best to make sure your phone is fully powered off and disconnected from power before you wipe it down.

Before you use any cleaning solutions, give your phone a wipedown with your soft cleaning cloth. This should remove any fingerprints or smudges. If there's any dust or other materials between your cloth and your phone, pressing too hard could potentially cause scratches, so don't overdo it.

If there are still marks, try using your microfiber cloth damp with warm, soapy water. This should get rid of any stains that are going to come out.

A simple swipe with your favorite disinfectant wipe—alcohol-based, or Clorox wipes—will kill most germs on your phone's surface.

If you’ve noticed your phone struggling to charge when it's plugged in, lint and dust jammed in the charging port could be to blame. A wooden toothpick is an ideal tool to use in this case. It's small enough to fish out any lint, but it shouldn't scratch or otherwise damage the metal contacts, which could cause bigger issues.

None of the three phone manufacturers we researched provide any guidance on this kind of cleaning, but we’ve always had success with a gentle touch. As always, there's some risk when you’re doing anything to your phone that's not recommended by the manufacturer.

Apple, Samsung, and Google all recommend against spraying cleaner directly on your phone. Instead, get the cleaning cloth wet, and use it to wipe down your device. They all also specifically say not to use compressed air or bleach.

This article was edited by Connor Grossman and Alejandra Matos.

Nick Guy

Nick Guy is a former senior staff writer covering Apple and accessories at Wirecutter. He has been reviewing iPhones, iPads, and related tech since 2011—and stopped counting after he tested his 1,000th case. It's impossible for him not to mentally catalog any case he sees. He once had the bright idea to build and burn down a room to test fireproof safes.

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