If you’ve bought one of the new Apple Watches, such as the Apple Watch Ultra, then you may have noticed a Water Lock toggle in the Control Center. This feature, as its name suggests, blocks touch input from interacting with water so that water drops don’t interact with the display. This way, when you’re showering, swimming, or dealing with a water flow, watchOS 9 won’t register each droplet as a touch. After all, the display can’t necessarily differentiate between your finger and water in terms of touch input. Here are the steps you need to follow to enable or disable the Water Lock.
How to use the Water Lock on watchOS
- Open the Control Center on your Apple Watch by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the Water Lock button, which has a water drop icon.
- This will now block all touchscreen input. You can still rotate the Digital Crown to scroll through a fresh notification or an active workout.
- When you’re no longer subjecting your Apple Watch to water, dry its display with a soft towel, and press and hold on the Digital Crown to remove the Water Lock. You can release the Digital Crown once your watch starts beeping and ejecting water.
We advise anyone swimming or showering to enable the Water Lock if they’re wearing their Apple Watches. Otherwise, water drops could launch and mess with installed watchOS apps or call/message other people. If you have an older Apple Watch, you may also want to avoid subjecting it to water altogether, since the water resistance wears out over time.
-
Apple Watch SE 2
$219 $249 Save $30
The Apple Watch SE 2 misses out on some inessential features available on higher-end models, such as an Always-On display, fast charging, and ECG. But it’s still the perfect wearable for those on a limited budget.
-
Apple Watch Series 8
The Apple Watch Series 8 is the latest smartwatch from Apple. It’s not a huge change from the Series 7, but it offers fresh features like crash detection, a new temperature sensor, and more.
-
Apple Watch Ultra
$749 $799 Save $50
The Apple Watch Ultra is the highest-end smartwatch Apple makes. It’s not for everybody, but if you spend a lot of time outdoors, are a serious athlete, or just want the ultimate protection, this is the watch to pick.
