Samsung's Galaxy Watch has a Water Lock mode that works much like the one on Apple Watch. It locks the touchscreen while you swim, and when you turn it off the watch plays a tone to push water out of its speaker.
What Water Lock does
- Disables the touchscreen, so water drops and currents do not open apps or end your workout.
- Turns off wake-up gestures and the always-on display, so the screen does not light up with every stroke.
- Ejects water with sound when you switch it off.
It does not make the watch more waterproof. The seals are the same whether it is on or off.
How to turn it on
- Swipe down from the top of the watch face to open the quick panel.
- Tap the Water Lock icon, which looks like water drops.
A water-drop symbol appears on the watch face while it is active. It also turns on automatically when you start a swimming workout. You can find it in Settings as well, under Advanced features.
How to turn it off and eject water
- Press and hold the Home key, the upper button, for about two seconds, until the circle on screen completes.
- The watch plays a series of tones and shows a message that it is ejecting water.
- Shake your wrist gently and dry the watch with a soft cloth.
The tone drives the speaker hard enough to throw out the water behind its grille, the same principle as the Apple Watch and the water eject sound for phones.
Eject water without swimming
If the watch got wet in the rain or while washing up and the speaker sounds dull, you do not need to start a workout. Turn Water Lock on from the quick panel, then hold the Home key to turn it off. The eject tone plays each time. Repeat two or three times if calls or alerts still sound muffled.
What the watch is rated for
Recent Galaxy Watch models are rated 5ATM and IP68. 5ATM means the watch withstands pressure equivalent to 50 metres of still water, which covers pool and shallow sea swimming. It does not cover:
- Diving, water skiing or any high-speed water sport.
- Hot water, saunas and steam rooms.
- Soap, shampoo, sunscreen and lotion, which degrade the seals.
Care after swimming
- Rinse after the sea or pool. Samsung advises rinsing the watch in fresh water and drying it after exposure to salt water or chlorinated water. Dried salt blocks the speaker and microphone.
- Dry the strap. A damp strap against the skin causes irritation.
- Wait before charging. Dry the back of the watch and the charger before you put it on the dock.
- Leave the openings alone. Do not poke anything into the speaker or microphone holes.
Other watches
Google's Pixel Watch and many other Wear OS and fitness watches have a similar touch lock for swimming, though not all of them play an eject tone. If yours does not, and the speaker sounds muffled, rinse it in fresh water, shake it dry and leave it speaker-side down for a few hours.