Sand in iPhone 3G S

The volume controls on my iPhone 3G S are pretty hard lately. It works, but I need to press very hard on them to change volume. I am afraid that some sand went inside, but I am not sure about that.

Any hint to fix it?

Thanks!

Buy a couple cans of compressed air, hold one right side up and spray into any areas you think sand crept into. See if that helps.

You could also try going to AT&T or an Apple store, maybe they would do a free cleaning?

If not you can hunt around Google for articles on how to open up your iPhone and give it a full cleaning. FYI, you can damage the phone and void your warranty doing this so just beware what you are doing.

DON'T press those volume buttons anymore until you have fixed the problem! Continuing to press the buttons will only make it worse, and you risk seriously damaging the electronics.

From your description it sounds like the hardware underneath the volume switch is broken. It will not get better, only worse over time. I'd suggest to have the phone serviced as long as it's otherwise still in good condition, or give up and replace it sooner than planned.

You could also try to repair it yourself by opening it up and cleaning that switch, but it might not even be possible, and worse: you risk breaking your phone. Have it serviced instead.