How to Safeguard Your Apple Watch with the Water Lock Feature

What is Apple Watch Water Lock?

Water Lock is a feature specifically designed to eject water from your Apple Watch, as well as prevent any accidental touches of your display, which can be useful when showering or swimming with your watch on.

This functionality is available on Apple Watch Series 2 and later models, including the Apple Watch SE.

The lock can be manually enabled before any water exposure or will automatically turn on when a swim workout is initiated on the device.

Once the Water Lock is disabled, the Apple Watch emits a specific frequency of sound to eject any water that may have entered the speaker/microphone openings.

Important! This feature does not provide any additional protection from water. It simply prevents you from unintentionally touching the screen.

How to Turn On Water Lock on Apple Watch

Turning on the Water Lock on your Apple Watch is a straightforward process and there are two methods of doing it; manually, or automatically.

Here’s how:

Manually Turn On

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center.
2. Scroll down until you find the Water Lock icon (it looks like a water droplet).
3. Tap on the Water Lock icon to enable it.
4. To confirm that Water Lock is enabled, check to see if the blue water drop is located at the top of your screen.

Automatically Turn On

The Water Lock automatically turns on when you start a swimming workout in the Workout app:

1. Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch.
2. Scroll to find and then tap on ‘Swim’ or ‘Pool Swim’.
3. The Water Lock feature will automatically be enabled when the workout starts.

Note! If you have an Apple Watch Ultra 1 or Ultra 2, water lock will automatically turn on when you start a scuba dive, or when your watch submerges to a depth of 10cm or more.

How to Eject Water on Your Apple Watch

Once you’re done with your water-based activity, you need to turn off water lock. This will eject any water that might have entered your watch’s speaker and microphone cavities.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Press and hold the Digital Crown until the watch says “Unlocked. Ejecting Water“.
2. Once it’s unlocked, you’ll hear sounds, and animation will appear on the screen – this is the process of ejecting water.

Water Lock Limitations

While Water Lock is a useful feature for protecting your Apple Watch during water exposure, it’s important to understand its limitations.

The feature helps prevent accidental taps or swipes when the watch is in contact with water, but it does not make the watch fully waterproof.

The Apple Watch is water-resistant, not waterproof, meaning it can withstand water exposure to a certain depth for a limited amount of time.

Speaker Still Muffled After Ejecting Water

If your speak is still muffled after ejecting the water from your Apple Watch, do not worry, this is normal.

Ejecting water with Activation Lock doesn’t completely remove all the water from your watch. It should dry out within the hour and all sound will be restored back to normal.

However, if the issue persists the following day, you may have some hardware damage. In this case, contact Apple Support.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use Water Lock on my Apple Watch?

It’s recommended to use Water Lock whenever your Apple Watch might be exposed to water, such as during swimming workouts, washing dishes, or walking in heavy rain.

What happens if I forget to enable Water Lock?

If you forget to enable Water Lock, your watch may register accidental taps due to water exposure. However, the watch itself is water-resistant and should not be damaged.

How does my Apple Watch eject water?

The Apple Watch ejects water by using sound vibrations. When you turn the Digital Crown to disable Water Lock, these vibrations push water out of the speaker.

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