Is the apple watch series 5 waterproof and can you swim with apple watch series 3, 4, 6 and SE?. Many beginners wonder if Apple Watch is suitable for swimming. If that is the same question you have in mind, you have a good reason to ask it. Like other waterproof smartwatches, Apple watch can track you laps in a pool to your freestyle rolling across the open waters in the ocean and rivers. Just keep reading this apple watch swimming guide.
Absolutely, Can you swim in a pool with an Apple watch? YES and NO. I said Yes, because Some Apple watches are designed with water resistance feature and this is important if the smartwatch device gets wet.
Another answer is NO, because not all apple watches have waterproof features and even the water resistance does get lost with time. Water is the biggest enemy of a watch and it take a genius to expose a watch to water and it does not get ruined.
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Is the Apple watch series waterproof or water resistant?
A waterproofed smartwatch can survive splashes, shower and immersion into water. Waterproof watch technically means that the watch is impenetrable by water (impermeable to water), no matter how much time it gets exposed to water.
Such a watch can survive or be subjected to numerous low temperature and humidity differences, and yet, it keeps ticking. Most often, they are ISO 6425 compliant, which even makes waterproof watches completely trustworthy unless proven otherwise.
A water-resistant watch can withstand contact with water for a limited amount of time and under certain conditions. When you hear a watch is water resistant, it means it’s can resist the water ingress to a certain degree, but not entirely.
See also: Best FDA-Approved Smartwatch With ECG for you. Life-Saving ECG smartwatches.
Is my Apple Watch series waterproof?
Apple Watches are designed to be water resistant, but not waterproof. This means you may wear your Apple Watch for fitness exercises and it will get exposed to sweat and nothing goes wrong with it.
Also, it may suffer shower from the rain, and while washing your hands, and no foggy cloud will ever develop on the inside.
So Can you swim with a waterproof watch?
Since water resistant watches are humidity and water protected, they are great for swimming. They can withstand water splashes coming from washing your hands or a little shower from rain and brief submersion.
Not all waterproof watches are good for swimming or diving because waterproof watches with failing or degradation of seals will get ruined immediately.
Also, rubber or plastic seals of waterproof rated watches can be weakened or eaten away in extreme heat or cold, thus the swim-proof ability is lost. But what is the level of water resistance you desire in an apple watch?
Water resistance rating: How do you know if a watch is waterproof?
There are many ways water resistance (the depth to which your watch has been tested) is expressed. These include the meter(M), the Atmospheres (ATM) and the bars (a unit of pressure).
One atmosphere is approximately or equivalent to 10 meters, so if you see 10ATM, it means 100M water resistance. The bar is not often used or engraved on watch dials, but one bar equals one atmosphere, so 10 Bar equals 10 ATM and 100M.
mathematically,
One bar = One atmosphere = ten meters or
1 Bar = 1 ATM = 10M
Water resistance ratings are written on the strap or dial or engraved on the case back of watches. Here are some most common ratings.
0-30m : Not very waterproof but can survive little splash. Avoid direct, and prolonged contact with water.
50m = Unlikely to be damaged during hands washing, splash and rain. You still may swim but not dive with it.
100m = great watch for fishermen, beach lovers and swimmers. You can go fishing and swimming.
200m to 300 m= Great watch for divers and marine sports
300m to 1000m = best watch for recreational SCUBA divers.
To avoid misconception, a 30 meters water resistance doesn’t mean you can swim or dive 30 meters deep in it. That water resistant number simply tells you that the watch has an airtight-built so that moisture or condensation can’t build-up inside the watch case.
Again, if moisture does not develop inside you watch, that doesn’t mean you can do a submersion with it, even in shallow water.
Can you Swim with Apple Watch in a pool or beach?
It is ok to wear your Apple Watch during rigorous fitness exercising because it is designed safer to withstand body sweat. It also supports wearing it on rainy days during winter or wet seasons.
These features simple tells you that you can go swimming with your apple watch. However, wearing it for scuba diving or high-speed water sports like water skiing or submerging the smartwatch deep below several meters of water depths is not recommended.
Apple Watches are varying degrees of water-resistant and not all models of apple watches are water resistant. You can also clean these apple watch models with fresh water and nothing goes wrong with it. Unfortunately, salt water is not good for bringing apple watches closer, only fresh water can do.
Because Water resistance isn’t a permanent condition and may diminish over time, you can wear your apple watch for swimming this year but not next year if the smartwatch degrades and suffers extreme weather exposures quickly.
If you still own the original or first generation Apple Watch and Series 1, you need to be a bit extra careful. Apple does not recommend submerging the original and Series 1 apple watches underwater, even when the older models are splash- and water-resistant.
These older models had a water resistance rating of IPX7 under IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standard 60529 while the recent models from Apple watch series 2 have depth rating under ISO standard 22810:201.
Best Water resistant Apple Watches for Swimming
Apart from Apple, Garmin (with Garmin Swim watches) and Fitbit(with their waterproof watches) have joined the line to make watches for swimmers. While these competitors are not sleeping, Apple makes true smartwatch for swimmers.
Apple watches may be fashion accessories, but they are very powerful tool watches for measuring and tracking swimming activities. There is a native app to track the swim workout, but you can choose to use a third party app that track swim.
Because Apple functionality can be extended through apps, they are the best waterproof fitness trackers for serious, professional, casual swimmers.
This watch is equipped with an accelerometer and gyroscope to track how you roll inside the water pool or ocean. It would record and count your backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke. Actually, the accelerometer tracks swim speed and motion while the gyroscope detects gyroscope helps to detect stroke and flip-turns.
In addition, your Apple Watch will also track total swimming time and the distance (number of meters or yards) completed. One thing you need to do lastly before you jump into water is input the pool size.
More importantly, Apple watch does knows when you start and stop swimming. At the end of it all, you have data for total time elapsed, splits, stroke count. Plugging the length of the pool before you start swimming will give you more accurate swimming data.
The apple watch GPS does not track inside water. The integrated GPS navigation sensor will ping the satellite signal during arm strokes, especially when your arm comes to the surface of water on every stroke.
Just like other waterproof fitness trackers, Apple watch would try to monitor your heart rate during swimming activity. Under this condition, other smartwatches may not measure your heart rate accurately when swimming.
The swimming pants smartwatch has endless features. We can’t explore all, but one of the good things is that it can record and tell you about swimming laps.
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can you swim with Apple series 1?
You can swim in a pool with an Apple watch that come after Apple watch series 1. Submerging Apple Watch Series 1 should be completely avoided. It isn't recommended at all except you want to give it away by damaging it.
can i swim with my Apple Series 2?
The Showering with Apple Watch Series 2, but it is not recommended for scuba diving, water skiing, or other activities involving high velocity water. Apart from high-speed ocean water sports, you should even take it for submersion below shallow depth.
We recommend you should not get your Apple Watch series 2 to detergents like soaps, shampoos, lotions, and perfumes, else it gets the water seals and acoustic membranes badly ruined.
Apples watches from Series 2 and newer version can be used for shallow water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean.
Is the apple watch series 3 waterproof?
Apple Watch Series 3 has a water resistance rating of 50 meters and it complies with ISO standard 22810:2010 condition.
At this water resistance rating, is the apple watch series 3 waterproof in the shower? Yes, 50m is enough depth rating for a watch to endure Brief shower or splashes from bathroom shower or rain.
Can you swim with apple watch series 3 then?
You can go swimming with the apple watch series 3 in shallow-water pools or ocean. Prolonged immersion may rather ruin tour apple smartwatch. This video below will tell us if apple watch 3 is waterproof.
Video : Is the apple watch series 3 waterproof?
can you swim with apple watch 4?
Apple watch series 4 is an ECG emergency SOS watch with swim proof design. It features GPS + Cellular, improved accelerometer and gyroscope for fall detection and outdoor swim tracking.
is the apple watch series 4 waterproof then?
The same waterproof feature in series 3 is also integrated into series 4. At 50m depth rating apple watch series 4 can be worn for a shower and dip into the pool for just a short time.
can you swim with apple watch 5?
Apple Watch series 5 is similarly waterproof rated at 50m. It does not mean that, you can take your watch as deep as 50 m underwater. This rating is a water tight design that makes competitive simmers wear it under rain, shower and for water sports without worrying about any damage.
So is the apple watch series 5 waterproof? Yes, it can withstand ocasional splash. The reason why Apple does not recommend submerging any 50m waterproof rated models is to prevent the speaker and microphone from water ingress and damages.
The apple watches are really expensive tech gadgets and you should take them off your wrist before jumping into a swimming pool in a hotel or beach.
can you swim with apple watch se?
Apple Watch SE has a water resistant depth rating of 50 meters. It's a nice affordable entry level smartwatch for swimming. You can dive right in and start tracking your swim workout - splits and sets in the pool. With the GPS, you can even map your route in open water like rivers and oceans.
Is apple watch 6 waterproof?
Can you swim with apple watch series 6? Apple officially states that the Apple Watch series 6 is water resistant, with a rating of IPX7. The watch is 50m water resistant, and if submerged, it will withstand pressure at water depths up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes.
So can you swim with apple watch series 6?
Of course, you can shower with apple watch series 6, but too much splashes or prolonged dip into water is the best way to ruin this FDA-approved apple watch with ECG. Below is a video showing someone is unboxing apple watch series 6 under water.
video : is apple watch 6 waterproof?
is apple watch series 7 waterproof?
is the apple watch series 7 waterproof too? NO. Series 7 apple watch is not really waterproof but it is water-resistant up to 50 meters (about 164 feet).
That watch is sufficiently water resistant. The Apple watch series 7 passed the international testing standard which which says that all watches are to be water resistant. This is to prevent risk condensation developing on the inside. As a matter of fact, Apple watch 7 series can:
- Sustain water pressure of at least 2 bar (approx. 30 psi) for few minutes.
- Resist water drops, moist or damp cloths at 25° C in 60 seconds
- Be immersed to depth of 10-12 cm inside water for up to 1 hour
Can you swim with apple watch series 7 then? Yes, The 50-meter water resistance rating is enough protection and you can shower or swim with your apple watch 7 inside a pools and ocean.
Note, you can't dive or snorkel with your apple watch series 7 because you will place it under high pressures, or low temperatures.
How long can you wear apple watch 7 and stay inside water? Maximum 30 minutes in fresh water or ocean. But it would last an hour if you keep it less than 15cm in water.
When swimming, you have to activate the water lock features for more protection against water ingress. Enabling the apple watch water lock causes it to vibrate and expel any moisture that might have gone inside.
Things that can destroy Apple watch water resistance
If your Apple Watch is exposed to these conditions below, be sure its water resistance ability will be lost.
- Avoid dropping Apple Watch from high floors
- Avoid wearing it near high impacts objects.
- Avoid bringing it in contact with soap or soapy water while showering or bathing.
- Don't expose the Apple Watch to perfume, solvents, detergent, acids, insect repellent, lotions, oil, or hair dye, conditioners.
- Do not wear it near high-velocity waters (especially when water skiing, surfing).
- Never wear your apple watch in extremely high temperatures or a steam room. The crown, plastic parts, rubber gadgets may melt away and let water to enter.
- Use only water resistant bands. Stainless steel bracelet apple watch may get bad upon exposure to liquids.
How to Swim with your Apple Watch
Do you have to do anything before swimming with Apple Watch? The Apple swim app can provide you with all the basic features, just like a waterproof fitness watch for swimming. It would monitor and measure your total time elapsed, splits, stroke count. If you want to experience a free lifestyle of swimming across open water with apple watch series 2 and newer models, follow the steps and start your swimming workout.
Activate Walter Lock - available on the Apple Watch 2, 3, 4, and 5
Water lock is an Apple watch feature that prevents you from accidentally tapping the watch screen during swimming workout or shower. This is to avoid unintentional tapping of the screen against the water, if you're going to submerge your Watch.The function also helps clean out your watch microphone and speaker. Here's how to activate Walter Lock.
1. Automatical Method - Start a swimming workout.
When you start your swimming workout, the Apple watch screen automatically locks. The objective is to eliminate the risk of accidental taps by water droplets. Before you start a swimming workout, decide if you are taking a pool swim of open water swim workouts.
These are all found in the swim app. Both the pool and the open water Swim workouts will automatically activate the Walter Lock feature. If you don't know the difference, here's it. The pool Swim works for laps in a pool while the open water swim is absolutely suitable for swimming in large water bodies, rivers, sea or ocean.
- launch the Workout app in your Apple watch
- Scroll to choose between Pool Swim or Open Water Swim.
- Tap "more" button to set a goal - calorie, distance, or time
- Tap to start the workout
- Turn the Digital Crown to set the pool length. This is useful to accurately measure your laps and distance in Pool Swim.
- Tap on Start.
If you don't want to wait, you can skip the three second countdown by just tapping anywhere on the screen.
2. Manually method - Swipe the Apple's watch face
Apart from using the automatic method above, you can, by hand, activate Walter Lock by swiping up Apple Watch face. When that is done, tap on the water droplet icon. Activating the Walter Lock feature shows a blue water droplet, which you will see it appear in the center of the Watch face.
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How to deactivate water lock
Let us say you are done with swimming workout monitoring using your apple watch on wrist, you want to reset everything to normal. You just need to deactivate the Apple water lock. Anyway, here's how to deactivate it:
- Press the Digital Crown and side button simultaneously to pause the swimming workout.
- Turn the Digital Crown to unlock the screen.
- Swipe to the right and
- Tap cancel (the "X" icon) to stop the workout.
Did you manually activate the Apple Watch Water Lock?
Turn the Digital Crown until the blue teardrop fills the circular icon. If it is finally unlocked, your Apple Watch will make sounds while clearing water from the Watch's speakers. If the watch face is directed towards you, it is possible you might feel a little water splash ejected from the speakers.
What If your Apple Watch gets wet?
Accidentally, water may find its way into your apple watch from swimming, sweating, rains, hand washing or splash. In that case, not all methods how to get condensation out of a watch can work for apple watches. Sometimes, water may get into the microphone or speaker and the sound muffles up.
In that case, you don't need to insert anything into the openings or ports of microphone and speaker. If after going through with your swimming workout, you noticed moisture got inside the watch, don't also shake the watch to remove water, just follow these steps.
- First wipe it off with a cloth - nonabrasive, or a lint-free cloth. Clean the watch band and other parts thoroughly and get it dried but don't use heat, or compressed air, or sprays.
- Allowing your Apple Watch to charge overnight is one ultimate way that you might speed up evaporation and everything will return to normal.
- Unlock your Apple Watch and get water out from the speakers.
Related : 4 Easy Steps How To Change Apple Watch To military Time Mode
How to unlock and dry your wet apple smartwatch.
On a wet screen, the water molecules might cause accidental taps. At the top of the watch screen, you have the water Lock icon and you must use it to unlock the apple watch screen and dry it. How does Apple Watch eject water?
- Stop/pause your swim workout
- Press the Digital Crown and the side button simultaneously.
- You will get a sound, and might feel water splash on your wrist
- Dry your screen.
Tips for using water resistant Apple watches
Now you know that apple watches are water resistant rated, but can you shower with apple watch? It's risky to shower or bath while wearing your apple watch.
I think you shouldn't even shower with your Apple Watch. The fresh water may not ruin the watch, but other objects when bathing would. Exposure to detergents, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and perfumes should be avoided by all means.
These can reduce, and damage, the effectiveness of Apple watch water seals, and create acoustic problems(muffled speaker sounds). This, in effect, simply means that chemicals in these detergents and oils can reduce your Apple Watch's water resistance.
When that happens, your apple watch is never going to survive rain of water splashes again. What should I consider, so that I can wear my apple watch in the shower?
1. Water resistance does fades away, over time
According to Apple Company, 'water resistance isn't a permanent condition and may diminish over time'. As your watch is used, parts or components age out. This includes water seals, rubber parts, and steel components.
Plastic parts can lose elasticity when exposed to extreme heat, temperature and weather changes. Losing water resistance feature cannot be undone - it is irreversibly. So the watch cannot be rechecked or re-sealed for water resistance.
2. Avoid shocks and impacts
Don't wear your Apple smartwatch when engaging in a task that will cause accidental dropping of your Apple Watch. Subjecting the watch to impacts due to crashes, high-speed water or bangs against hard object can break your water and damage water seals.
" (ouch), wearing it in a sauna or steam room, and exposure to soap (or soapy water), perfume, solvents, detergent, acids (or acidic foods), insect repellent, lotions, sunscreen, oil, and hair dye.
3. Swap to durable straps when going for apple watch swimming.
Not all apple watch bands can endure water. The stainless steel apple watch bands can get rusted after it comes in contact with moist air.
Some Apple leather bands don't withstand water either, so if you're planning on swimming and letting the Apple Watch go wet, interchange to water-friend watch band.
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What can you do with an apple watch if it gets dirty?
Cleaning apple watches can maintain the quality and the taste for a long time. Water resistant apple watches can be cleaned under the tap, if it gets muddy, dirty or dusty from a rugged day's job or fitness activity.
There is a need to clean the apple watch with fresh water and maintain the quality of the timepiece. Some apple watch bands(fabrics, leather) may cause itchy wrists or skin irritation when they are covered with dirty, oily, sweaty fluids and mud. Cleaning prevents is necessary, thanks to its water resistant feature.
here's how to Cleaning your Apple Watch
- First, disconnect and remove your apple watch from its charger, if it was connected.
- Turn off the Apple Watch.
- Remove and non-water resistant band from the watch
- Get a non-abrasive, lint free cloth lightly dampened with fresh water.
- Wipe the Watch clean with the wet cloth or
- You place apple Watch under a lightly running, warm fresh water from the tap. Hold it there for up to 10 to 15 seconds.
- Let no detergent like soap touch your Apple Watch.
- Use a non-abrasive, lint-free cloth to wipe and dry the front, back, and sides of your Apple Watch
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How to check Apple Watch Swimming workout stats
To end or pause your workout, press , press the Digital Crown and side button, turn the digital crown and swipe right to tap the End Button.
When your workout ends, you can view the stroke and the summary of your swim exercise on the Apple Watch shows. The Activity app installed in your iPhone can help you visualize your workout history.
The Pool Swim workout tracks your splits and auto sets automatically. On the other hand, the Open Water Swim workout monitors your splits(total workout time divided by distance). There is a way to check the splits and sets on your iPhone.
- Just open the Activity app. and
- press the Workouts tab.
- Select the type of workout you want view
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Is there a waterproof case for Apple Watch?
There are some Best waterproof apple watch cases suitable for swimming adventure. These cases come with waterproof ratings and can't suffer much water damage. Installing the durable watch cases on your apple watch can make all the difference on your swimming workout. SO Which Apple watch case is best for swimming?
1. The Catalyst apple watch cases for the 38mm Apple Watch Series 3
It has a waterproof score of IP68. You can dive as deep as 330 feet (100 meters) and embrace the water adventure. So far, this is the best Waterproof Case For The Series 4 and series 5 Apple Watches. Check this Waterproof case for Apple Watch 42mm Series.
2. The waterproof iwatch series 4 case - 44mm
This waterproof apple case is suggested greatly for swimming or other water sports. Check out this Transys Waterproof Apple Watch 4 case - 44mm.
For More waterproof watch cases, watch the video below
Read more: how to get Snapchat on your apple watch
How to install a new waterproof apple watch case.
If you want to get so serious diving and swimming for prolonged period inside water, installing a waterproof case is great step to embarking on a serious water sport adventure. Here is how to install the water resistant watch cases.
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Which Apple watch band is best for swimming?
Apart from waterproof cases, there are some good material straps that are used to make the best waterproof bands for apple watches. These watch bands can stay in water for long and they are easy to clean when sweaty or dirty.
Silicone band
A silicone apple watch band is one of the best for swimming since Silicone is the most waterproof material available for making Apple Watch bands. If you want a durable strap for swim workout, remove the one in your apple watch and interchange it for a silicon strap. The material makes the best choice of waterproof Apple Watch bands.
Nike Sport band
if you are engaged in multi sports activities that is rigorous and intensive, a Nike sports band can be of good use. They are suitable for swimmer and sweaty gym persons. I think Nike is one of the best swim Workout Apple Watch Straps that are also durable and easy to clean. They are the best apple watch bands for the ocean activities.
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Img: Apple watch swimming guide - How to swim with your Apple watch
Best Swimming Apps for smartwatches
With the availability of third party apps, you can extend apple watches to do anything you want. There are a number of swim logging apps from third parties, that you can install when swimming with a apple watch.
Other outdoor sports like cycling, biking and running are not as complicated to track as swimming under water. There are smartwatch apps that can easily and quickly detect run, calculate speed, distance and time laps.
Swimming apps are really complex and only good waterproof smartwatches for swimmers can track this workout. Here are some swim apps you can install in your water resistant smartwatch.
Here are some Apple Watch Third Party Logging Apps for swimmers.
MySwimPro -best apple watch app for swimming
MySwimPro offers personalized swimming workouts, allows you to set your swim goals, and has instructional swim training content, This apple watch swim app can also log swimming activity data and make it easy for sharing the progress. It loads well on Garmin, Fitbit, Apple and WearOS smartwatches.
Swim.Com - best swimming app for competitive swimmers
The swim.com app has a simplistic interface, but it can monitor and logs your underwater swims, while letting you compete with other swimmers. The Swim.com app can detect your swims and strokes automatically. It works compatibly with Apple, Garmin, Samsung and WearOS smartwatches.
Swim Coach
This one doesn’t track your swims in the open water unfortunately. All you need is enter your swimming distance and the number of workouts or training. In that case, it will create a personal and fun swim workout that you need. In addition, the app also link and provide apple swimmers with youtube instruction video material. Its great for beginner to triathlons.
TrainingPeaks
This is the best app that is great for beginner or training for a triathlon. TrainingPeaks is compatible with about 100 apps and devices. You can easily sync your swim workouts automatically uploaded to the TrainingPeaks for later review. While it has paid and free versions, it works best with Garmin devices.
Strava - best apps for tracking outdoor sports activity
It is very useful for monitoring multisport activities like mountain biking, cycling, including swimming. If you want to wear it for indoor swimming, Strava will ask you to enter the pool length before you start swimming. this will help to display your laps and calculate your distance to determine your swimming pace. For outdoor swimming, the GPS navigation function and a map, on the Strava do the tracking job.
Lap Tracking App
This smartwatch swimming apps is an underwater Audio’s Solution for swimmers. With the Lap Tracking App on your apple watch, you can use your Apple Watch while swimming, track the laps, listen to audio cues counting your laps and split times and and enjoy phone-free listening to music. With the Clipi, your Apple Watch can send a audio signals through bluetooth to your headphones even in the waters.
Wrap Up
You have got our apple watch swimming guide, so is your apple watch waterproof? Many people go for apple watch series 5 for outdoor adventures like hiking, cycling and more. But is the apple watch series 5 waterproof, is a question that you must answer before you go on a winter outdoor trip. This goes same with other apple watches for outdoor use.
