To eject water from an Apple Watch, turn on Water Lock and press and hold the Digital Crown until the watch plays tones and shows Unlocked.
A swim leaves your Apple Watch drenched, and the speaker sounds muffled. That’s water sitting in the grille, not a broken watch. You don’t need special tools for how to eject water from an Apple Watch — the Water Lock feature is built into the watch and does the work in seconds. It locks the screen while wet and plays tones that push water out of the speaker.
The whole sequence takes about ten seconds and works on every Apple Watch that supports Water Lock, from the Series 2 to the Ultra 2. The exact gesture depends on your watchOS version, and this guide covers every variant so you get it right the first time.
How Does Water Lock Work?
Water Lock serves two functions. First, it disables touch input on the screen while the watch is submerged or wet, preventing water droplets from accidentally triggering settings or launching apps. A water droplet icon appears at the top of the display while the mode is active.
Second, turning off Water Lock triggers a specific tone sequence through the speaker. The tones vibrate at a frequency designed to physically push water out of the speaker grille. Apple’s own support documentation describes this as clearing “residual water from the speaker.” The process takes about one second and doesn’t require shaking the watch, tapping it, or using compressed air.
Water Lock addresses only the speaker path. It doesn’t remove water from internal components or the seal — the watch’s water resistance handles that. The feature targets audio performance after the watch gets wet, nothing more.
Ejecting Water From an Apple Watch: Steps for Your watchOS Version
The core steps are the same on every Apple Watch that supports Water Lock, but the gesture to open Control Center and the way you exit Water Lock depend on your watchOS version. Here’s the exact sequence for any configuration.
- Open Control Center. On watchOS 10 and later, press the side button once — a brief press, not a hold. On watchOS 9 or earlier, touch and hold the bottom of the screen, then swipe upward. A long press opens the Emergency screen instead. Apple’s support page documents both methods and notes the version cutoff.
- Tap the Water Lock icon. The button shows a water droplet symbol. Tapping it activates Water Lock — the screen dims slightly and a droplet icon appears at the top edge. While Water Lock is on, the watch ignores all touch input. This is normal.
- Exit Water Lock to eject water. After you finish swimming, washing, or exercising in rain, press and hold the Digital Crown. The display reads “Unlocked,” and the watch plays a short series of tones. Those tones push water out of the speaker grille. On watchOS 8 or earlier, rotate the Digital Crown instead of pressing it — pressing does nothing on those versions.
After the tones finish, the screen returns to normal operation and the speaker should sound clear. If it still sounds muffled, run the sequence again.
Which watchOS Version Are You Using?
The table below shows exactly which gesture to use for each watchOS version, so you don’t have to guess.
| watchOS Version | Open Control Center | Exit Water Lock |
|---|---|---|
| watchOS 10 and later | Press the side button once | Press and hold the Digital Crown |
| watchOS 9 | Touch and hold bottom of screen, swipe up | Press and hold the Digital Crown |
| watchOS 8 | Touch and hold bottom of screen, swipe up | Rotate the Digital Crown |
| watchOS 7 and earlier | Touch and hold bottom of screen, swipe up | Rotate the Digital Crown |
| Apple Watch Ultra (scuba dive) | Auto-activates on dive start | Auto-ejects on dive end |
| All models (watchOS 10+ unified) | Press the side button once | Press and hold the Digital Crown |
| Series 9 (watchOS 10) | Press the side button once | Press and hold the Digital Crown |
Why Won’t Water Lock Eject Water?
The most common reason the Water Lock eject sequence doesn’t seem to work is that the mode wasn’t turned on before the watch got wet. The tones only play when you exit Water Lock, not when you activate it. If you never turned it on, no tones will play.
Other issues stem from gesture mistakes and software version mismatches. Pressing the side button too long opens the Emergency screen instead of Control Center. Using the press gesture on watchOS 8 (which requires rotation) does nothing. And if your watch runs watchOS 4 or earlier, it doesn’t include Water Lock at all.
| Issue | Likely Cause | The Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No tones play when you turn the crown | Water Lock wasn’t turned on first | Enable Water Lock before water exposure; the tones only play when exiting Water Lock |
| Watch doesn’t respond to touch | Water Lock is active — this is normal | Exit Water Lock by pressing and holding the Digital Crown |
| Side button opens the Emergency screen | Button was pressed too long | A brief press opens Control Center; a long press triggers Emergency SOS |
| Tones sound weak or muffled | Some water may remain in the speaker | Run the eject sequence a second time |
| Water Lock icon is missing from Control Center | Control Center was customized | Edit Control Center to add the Water Lock toggle back |
| Watch doesn’t have Water Lock at all | watchOS 4 or earlier | Update to a supported watchOS version if your hardware allows |
| Screen feels unresponsive after exiting Water Lock | A droplet may still be causing false touches | Dry the screen with a soft cloth; touch works normally once dry |
When Water Lock Activates Automatically
On the Apple Watch Ultra, Water Lock turns on automatically when you begin a scuba dive. The watch detects the pressure change at depth and activates Water Lock without any manual steps.
When you end the dive and ascend, the watch exits Water Lock and plays the eject tones on its own. You don’t need to press or rotate the Digital Crown in this scenario. The automation covers both activation and ejection.
Eject Water From Your Apple Watch: The Three-Step Sequence
The full process fits in three moves, and it works the same whether you swam laps, ran in the rain, or washed dishes:
- Turn on Water Lock before any water exposure: open Control Center, tap the Water Lock icon.
- Use the watch normally in water. The screen is locked but the watch continues tracking and timing normally.
- After exiting water, press and hold the Digital Crown until “Unlocked” appears and the tones play. On watchOS 8 or earlier, rotate the crown instead.
That’s all it takes. No tools, no drying tricks, no third-party apps — just the built-in feature that ships with every Apple Watch that supports Water Lock. The speaker should sound clear immediately after the tones finish.
References & Sources
- Apple Support. “How to use Water Lock and eject water from your Apple Watch.” Official steps for activating Water Lock and ejecting water on Apple Watch models.