How to use Water Lock and eject water from your Apple Watch

Turn on Water Lock to avoid unintended taps on the display when you wear your Apple Watch in water. When you get out, press and hold the Digital Crown to clear water from your watch's speaker. Here's how.

When Water Lock is on, your Apple Watch doesn't respond to touch on its display. This prevents accidental input while you're in water. When you turn off Water Lock, your watch ejects any water that remains in its speaker.

How to turn on Water Lock

  1. To open Control Center, press the side button (for watchOS 9 or earlier, touch and hold the bottom of the screen, then swipe up). You can open Control Center from any screen.

  2. Tap the Water Lock buttonNo alt supplied for Image. The Water Lock iconNo alt supplied for Image appears at the top of the watch face.

    Water Lock icon on Apple Watch display

Water Lock also turns on automatically when you begin a water-based workout, such as swimming or surfing. It also turns on automatically when you begin a scuba dive with your Apple Watch Ultra.

Double tap is not available when Water Lock is on.

How to turn off Water Lock and eject water

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.

Prompt to turn off water lock on Apple Watch display

* If your Apple Watch has watchOS 8 or earlier, rotate the Digital Crown instead of pressing it.

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