One Simple Trick to Amplify Your Smartphone Volume In a Room

If you need to get better sound from your smartphone in a room that’s just a little too big, we have just the trick to make it happen.

All you have to do is grab any empty, clean, and dry paper cup lying around your house and put your smartphone in it. That’s the whole trick, and it greatly amplifies the sound from your device.

Ok, that whole "put the smartphone in the cup to amplify the sound" thing totally works.

— Elizabeth (@LizzyGracie) November 15, 2013

If you don’t have a cup, or if your phone is too big for one, then you can try using a bowl instead. Or a coffee mug. Or a glass tumbler. The bottom line is that you need any kind of container to channel the sound better (i.e., to prevent it from scattering in different directions).

Having said that, the size and material of the container as well as the position of the built-in speaker do have an impact on the sound output. Use a paper cup and aim the speaker at its base to get the best results. Also, check out our DIY smartphone speaker experiments to see how various makeshift options pan out.

You can even use it while making speakerphone calls.

#FridayFunIT – Listening to music on your smartphone & can't hear the tunes? Drop it in a glass to amplify the sound http://t.co/pBNH6pvmbe

— The Launch Pad (@revITupnow) August 14, 2015

Have you built speakers using cheap household items to improve the sound on your smartphone? Share that DIY setup with us in the comments!

Image Credit: Smartphone with music notes by Es sarawuth via Shutterstock