The Apple Watch is an accessory that complements the iPhone in many ways. It can track your workouts, send notifications, and even run third-party apps. The main function, of course, is to collect health data while you exercise. And since the Apple Watch is water resistant, you can even wear it while swimming.
It's important to note, however, that the Apple Watch is water resistant, not waterproof. This means that if water enters the watch, it can damage internal components. Therefore, it is a good idea to eject water from your Apple Watch whenever it is subjected to water. There's a built-in option on the Apple Watch that can help.
Why You Should Eject Water From Your Apple Watch
The Apple Watch does a great job of tracking swims. It can give you data on number of laps, time taken for each lap, etc. Although it is safe to wear your Apple Watch while swimming, some water enters the watch through openings in the chassis. The main entry point is the speaker grille openings on the watch.
As we all know, water can damage circuitry, which is possible on the Apple Watch despite the water resistance. Also note that water resistance only implies that it is harder for water to enter a gadget. It does not provide a complete seal against water. You will therefore have to eject the water that has entered the Apple Watch as quickly as possible.
What happens when you don't eject water from your Apple Watch
If water remains inside the Apple Watch and comes into contact with the internal components, it can begin to corrode the electronics. This can damage some electronic components inside the Apple Watch. As a result, some parts of your Apple Watch may stop working, such as the battery or the speaker.
In the worst case, your Apple Watch may stop working altogether.
How to eject water from your Apple Watch
Fortunately, Apple is preparing a water ejection function in the Apple Watch. Here's how you can use it.
Step 1: Take the Apple Watch off your wrist and place it on a flat surface like a table.
Step 2: Unlock Apple Watch by entering your PIN.
Step 3: Swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to show quick toggles.
Step 4: Scroll down using the digital crown and find the water eject feature indicated by a water drop feature.
Step 5: If you don't see this option in the quick toggles, tap the Edit button at the bottom, then tap the "+" icon on the water drop symbol. Then select Done.
Step 6: Now that you have the option, tap on it. This will activate the water ejection mode.
Step 7: In this mode, keep turning the Digital Crown in any direction and the Apple Watch will start ejecting water with a sound.
Step 8: Once done, you will see a prompt on your Apple Watch and the water is now ejected.
Step 9: Use a dry cloth to wipe down the outer surface of your Apple Watch.
If you feel like all the watches didn't eject water at once, repeat the process. You can also activate this mode before going swimming as it locks the Apple Watch touchscreen, preventing accidental touches.
How does this work
If you have observed, the water ejection mode on the Apple Watch makes a certain sound and also makes the watch vibrate. The sound you hear is a high frequency sound used to vibrate the speaker continuously. This high-frequency sound expels water molecules that have accumulated on the speaker grill of the Apple Watch.
These vibrations only last a few seconds but are effective enough to expel water. You can find similar implementations from FixMySpeakers that use the same principle to try and eject water that may have entered your smartphone through the speaker grill.
It's also a good way to wick away your sweat if it got into the watch's speakers while you're working out. However, we cannot confirm if this is a 100% working solution for your phones or other devices.
Protect your Apple Watch against water damage
Like any other water-resistant electronic gadget, Apple does not cover water damage under its warranty for the Apple Watch. If water does manage to get into your Apple Watch and damage it, you'll have to pay for repairs, unless you have the Apple Care+ plan. This is why it is wise to prevent water from entering your gadgets and to use such methods if your Apple Watch has been in or around water.