How to Water Lock Your Apple Watch to Protect It

Water Lock On Apple Watch

If you have been wondering, “What does Water Lock do on Apple Watch?”, you have arrived on the right page. Here we show you how to water lock your Apple Watch and protect it.

Note: the Apple Watch isn’t waterproof, but the Water Lock helps you keep it safe from water ingress.

Water Lock an Apple Watch

Water Lock is a preventive feature designed to avoid unintentional taps on its display from water or any other object when you wear your watch in water. If you tap on the watch screen while Water Lock is enabled, nothing will happen. You have to turn off the Water Lock in order to make your watch respond to your touches.

Water Lock also helps in ejecting water from the watch. When you turn off the Water Lock, your watch will play sound to eject any leftover water.

Follow these steps to turn on the Water Lock on your Apple Watch:

On your Apple Watch, open Control Center. Press the Side button on watchOS 10 or swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Control Center on watchOS 9 and earlier.

Scroll down in the Control Center and look for the “Water Droplet” icon. Tap on this icon to enable Water Lock.

How To Water Lock Apple Watch

You will see the water droplet icon at the top of the screen when the Water Lock feature is enabled.

Water Lock Icon

Tip: wondering what various similar icons mean on Apple Watch? Know the meaning of symbols on the Apple Watch.

If you forget to turn on the Water Lock feature, don’t worry. In most situations, the Water Lock feature will turn on automatically when you start a water-based activity like swimming or surfing (and scuba diving in the case of Apple Watch Ultra).

You can also use the Water Lock feature to disable the touchscreen of your watch if you have a toddler at home.

Tip: Apple Watch Ultra comes with an additional button. Learn how to use the action button.

Turn Off Water Locking and Eject Water from Apple Watch

To turn off the Water Lock on the Apple Watch, press and hold the Digital Crown on your Apple Watch. For the unaware, the Digital Crown is the rotating button on the watch. Please note that if you have watchOS 8 or earlier, you must rotate the Digital Crown instead of holding it.

Digital Crown Apple Watch

Keep holding the Digital Crown until it says Unlocked. Ejecting water. If you only want to turn off Water Lock, leave the Digital Crown. However, if you want to eject water, keep holding the Digital Crown until all water is removed. Then, lift your finger from the Digital Crown.

Water Lock Eject Water

Tip: want to add or remove watch faces on your watch? Learn how to use clock faces on Apple Watch.

Use Watch Like a Pro

Now that you know how to use the Water Lock feature on Apple Watches, it’s time to explore other features of your watch. Learn how to use low-power mode and Siri shortcuts on Apple Watch. Also, know how to maximize battery life on the Apple Watch.

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Mehvish Mushtaq

Mehvish is a tech lover from Kashmir. With a degree in computer engineering, she's always been happy to help anyone who finds technology challenging. She's been writing about technology for over six years, and her favorite topics include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, social media, and web apps.