We’ve been fans of the Apple Watch as a surf watch for years. It’s small (fits under a wetsuit), sleek (for summer paddling), and light like it’s almost not there. While we’re amazed at the abuse the watch can survive (like getting repeatedly packed with sand in bone-crushing shorebreak), we occasionally have problems with either the Dawn Patrol app or the watch hardware itself.
Our most recent issue was when the speaker on the watch quit working entirely. The speaker would not clear water after being in water lock mode, and while outgoing phone calls could still be made, there was no way to hear the person on the other end of the line, nor did any of the alarms or chimes sound.
After following all the tips in Apple Support documents and spending more than an hour with an Apple Genius (who told us to buy a new watch or pay $349 for service), we figured we’d just have to deal with no speaker until we were forced to get a new watch.
Not wanting to give up entirely, we decided to give it one last chance. Thinking that crystalized salt buildup on the speaker may be keeping it from clearing water properly, we filled a tumbler with warm/hot tap water and soaked the watch for 10 minutes. Swishing it around a little at the end. Apple says you’re not supposed to soak your watch, but ours has survived many Jacuzzi missions, so whatever.
After taking the watch out of the warm bath, we let it dry on a towel for 10 minutes with the speaker side of the watch facing down. After picking it up we selected water lock and then unlocked it, and BAM, the speaker blasted back to life, cleared what was left of the water, and has been working perfectly ever since.
We’re not suggesting this is the only fix for a broken speaker, or that your speaker problem is the same as ours, but if you surf with your watch and find yourself in the same sitch, well, maybe try giving the watch a little Jacuzzi soak of its own and let us know how it goes.
