Commonly made mistakes about the Water Resistance of Apple Watch

Here on Apple Support Community, I saw quite a few questions about the water resistance of the Apple Watch. I heard a lot of people saying 'but Apple Watch is waterproof, right? So why do I have problems with my watch after swimming with it?"

Well, in fact, Apple Watch is NOT waterproof. It is water resistant, which Is a complete different kind of thing.

Apple watches have different water resistance ratings. For example, the series 0 and series 1 watches are only splash water resistant.

The Apple Watch series 2 and newer are water resistant for activities like shallow water swimming. But why Is this not waterproof then?

Water resistance is not a permanent condition, it can diminish over time, become less and less water resistant. Apple Watch cannot be resealed after the water resistance is diminished. You can do a few things yourself to minimize the diminishing of the water resistance

Try and avoid all these things:

• Dropping Apple Watch or subjecting it to other impacts
• Exposing Apple Watch to soap or soapy water (for example, while showering or bathing)
• Exposing Apple Watch to perfume, solvents, detergent, acids or acidic foods, insect repellent, lotions, sunscreen, oil, or hair dye
• Exposing Apple Watch to high-velocity water (for example, while water skiing
• Wearing Apple Watch in a sauna or steam room

For the bands used with the Apple Watch, not all the bands are water resistant For example, the stainless steel and leather bands aren't water resistant and shouldn't be exposed to liquids.

After swimming, always dry your Apple Watch thouroughly

About water lock

Some people think that activating the water lock function will make the Apple Watch waterproof or more water resistant. This is not the case. Wen water lock is active, your watch will not respond to touch on the display. This will prevent accidental input on the screen by the water. When you turn off the water lock, the watch will eject water that Is still in its speaker. To turn off the water lock and start the ejecting of water from the speaker see this instructions

How to turn off water lock on watchOS 8

Turn the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch until the display says Unlocked. You can rotate the Digital Crown in either direction.

A series of tones plays to clear any water that remains in the speaker, and then you can use your display as usual.

How to turn off waterlock on watchOS 9 and 10

With Water Lock turned on, press and hold* the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch until the display says Unlocked. A series of tones plays to clear any water that remains in the speaker, and then you can use your display as usual.

A fair word of warning at the end of this user tip: Apple Watch is NOT waterproof and water resistance will diminish over time. It can be that your apple watch gets problems after swimming, and that will be hardware damage. Water resistance can fade over time and water can cause the watch to get damaged.