So, you just hopped out of the pool or finished a sweaty run in the rain, and now your Apple Watch sounds like it’s underwater. It’s muffled. It’s crackly. Honestly, it’s a bit stressful when a $400 piece of tech starts acting weird after getting wet. But don't worry. You don't need to rice it (please, never use rice) and you don't need to panic.
Apple built a specific feature to handle this exact situation. It’s officially called Water Lock, but most of us just think of it as the way to eject water from Apple Watch. It works by using the speaker itself as a tiny, vibrating piston to physically shove liquid out of the speaker mesh. It’s clever engineering that solves a very messy physics problem.
📖 Related: Bravia 65 inch TV: What Most People Get Wrong
What Actually Happens Inside the Watch?
Most people think the "Water Lock" feature is some kind of physical seal that closes up the watch like a submarine hatch. It isn't. Your Apple Watch (from Series 2 onwards) is already water-resistant thanks to gaskets and adhesives. However, the speaker needs air to move. Air means a hole. Liquid gets in that hole, stays there due to surface tension, and makes your notifications sound like they’re coming from the bottom of a well.
When you trigger the process to eject water from Apple Watch, the device plays a very specific, low-frequency tone. You’ll hear a series of beeps. If you look closely at the side of the watch during this, you can actually see the droplets jumping out of the speaker ports. It’s basically the watch "sneezing" to clear its throat.
How to Trigger the Water Ejection
If you’re on watchOS 9, 10, or 11, the process changed slightly from the older days. You no longer have to turn the Digital Crown like you’re winding an old clock.
First, swipe up or press the side button to get to your Control Center. Look for the icon that looks like a single drop of water. Tap it. Your screen is now locked. This is the "Water Lock" phase, which prevents accidental touches from the water hitting the screen. To actually start the ejection, you need to press and hold the Digital Crown.
Keep holding it. You’ll see an animation on the screen—a circle filling up—and then the sound starts. Beep. Beep. Beep. Once it’s done, the watch tells you it’s unlocked.
🔗 Read more: How to Pin a Video on TikTok: The Simple Way to Control Your Feed
Common Mistakes People Make with Wet Watches
I’ve seen people try to shake the watch violently to get the water out. Don't do that. You’re more likely to send the watch flying across the room than you are to clear the speaker. Worse, some people try to stick a toothpick or a SIM tool into the speaker holes to "soak up" the water. This is a fast track to piercing the acoustic membrane and permanently ruining your watch’s water resistance.
Soap is the enemy. Apple is very clear about this in their support documentation: soaps, shampoos, and conditioners can degrade the water seals over time. If you were wearing your watch in the shower and it got sudsy, rinse it gently with fresh, warm water before you run the ejection cycle. Salt water is even worse. If you’ve been in the ocean, that salt will crystallize inside the speaker grill as it dries. Rinse it with tap water immediately.
When the Ejection Doesn't Work the First Time
Sometimes, one cycle isn't enough. Physics is stubborn. If your speaker still sounds distorted after the beeps finish, just do it again. I’ve had to run the "eject water from Apple Watch" sequence three or four times after a particularly long swim.
Another trick? Lay the watch on its side on a non-linty cloth, with the speaker holes facing down. Let gravity do the heavy lifting while the watch air-dries. It might take an hour or two for the last microscopic bits of moisture to evaporate from the mesh.
Does it Work on Every Model?
If you're rocking a Series 1 or the original "Series 0" Apple Watch, you’re out of luck with this specific feature. Those watches weren't meant for swimming. They were "splash resistant." If those get submerged, you're basically just hoping for the best. For everyone else—Series 2 through Series 10, the SE, and the Ultra—the water lock is your best friend.
The Ultra handles this slightly differently because it's built for diving. It can actually trigger Water Lock automatically when it senses it’s been submerged to a certain depth. If you’re a diver, you already know that depth and pressure change the stakes, but the fundamental mechanism for clearing the speaker remains the same low-frequency vibration.
Maintenance Beyond the Beeps
Using the feature to eject water from Apple Watch is only half the battle. You also need to think about the band. If you have a leather link or a Solo Loop, water can get trapped between the band and the watch casing. Take the band off once in a while. Wipe the grooves where the band slides in. You’d be surprised how much gunk and moisture builds up in there, which can lead to skin irritation or even "watch funk" (that weird smell nobody wants to talk about).
Practical Next Steps for Your Watch
- Rinse first: If you were in chlorine or salt water, give the watch a 10-second rinse under a gentle tap of fresh water.
- Dry the exterior: Use a microfiber cloth to get the bulk of the water off the screen and casing.
- Run the cycle: Enter Water Lock mode and hold that Digital Crown until the beeps stop and the "Unlocked" message appears.
- Listen: Play a quick voice memo or ask Siri a question. If it sounds muffled, repeat the ejection cycle.
- Air dry: Let it sit on a flat surface for 30 minutes before putting it back on your wrist if you want to be extra safe.