Ok, so I got my S3 LTE last week and before going swimming, decided to get it pressure tested ( as you would with any other water resistant Watch after a battery replacement or repair... ). Luckily I have a friend who repairs analogue watches for a living so I asked him to use the machine to check if it’s safe for me to swim or dive with.The Apple Watch states that it is “WR-50M” water resistant up to 50 meters. It actually failed the test 3 times. Have I got a faulty watch or is there something else I’m not considering? I don’t want to swim with this just for it to die on me.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
S3 Water resistance test
- Thread starter martinarlaw
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Are you saying that your Apple Watch had a repair or battery replacement recently? Why would you pressure test it?
How could it have failed three times if the Watch failed on the first try? Water resistance is not a guarantee to survive water submersion. It's merely a rating. Your watch could have had faulty seals or something else. But there are thousands of Apple Watch Series 3 owners that swim with their watch every day and don't have issues.
It failed the test 3 times because it was tested 3 times to be conclusive. Yes, faulty seals is what I was thinking.
[doublepost=1515623457][/doublepost]No. It was pressure tested before a swim. Says 50M but didn’t trust it. Obviously was right to be suspicious of it.
Last edited:
Water damage is not covered under AppleCare. I think you made a bad move testing the watch like you did. If you had suspicions or concerns about the fitness of the watch, you should have taken it to the Apple Store or made a phone call.
It failed the first test and then you......replaced with a new one or ....... did what to test again? An Apple Watch can only FAIL once and it is totally 'toast'. The OLED will be completely destroyed with even minimal water ingress. Something doesn't 'smell' right here.
Also here is the S0 (original) getting pressure tested.
Was this a brand new Series 3 watch? When it’s heavily advertised (since the Series 2) for swimming, and has built in swimming workouts, why would you be so suspicious of it?
From my quick research it appears there is a way to test the water resistance without actually placing the watch in liquid. The watch is placed in an air chamber with a sensor against the glass face. They increase the air pressure and measure the deflection of the glass face. If the seals fail the face begins to bulge out, and the senor picks up this deflection and tells you the watch failed. I'm guessing he used a test machine like this.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/under-pressure-a-look-at-rolex-water-resistance-testing
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/under-pressure-a-look-at-rolex-water-resistance-testing
Yes it was a machine similar to that.
[doublepost=1515628902][/doublepost]
It was tested with air, not water!
[doublepost=1515629042][/doublepost]
That is EXTREMELY rare and expensive equipment and without pictures I do NOT believe the OP has access to this nor was it used.
So you are making the assumption I don’t have access to such equipment? Why would I lie. As originally stated, my friend who is a horologist does have access to it.
None of what you posted actually makes sense to me. You said you tested the Apple Watch three times and it failed all three times. How can it fail three times if it fails on the first time? You also mentioned something in regards to a battery replacement or repair, did you have a battery replacement or repair concluded on your Apple Watch?
Can You discuss the process of actually how you physically tested the Apple Watch three times?
The Apple Watch was tested in the machine 3 times for conclusive results. No water was involved,just pressurised air and some sensors, hence why the Watch is still functional.
[doublepost=1515630460][/doublepost]Anyway, I came here for some friendly advice in regards to my Apple Watch but I’m not getting anywhere. According to Julien, it seems I’ve got some reason to lie about the equipment that was used for whatever reason because it is “EXTREMELY RARE”, therefore without photographs I must be lying! Why would I lie about the equipment that was used.
Any helpful comments in regards to the Apple Watch series 3’s water resistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
@OP, I am curious about the 3 times testing. I am an EE by profession and when a switchgear fails a test we don’t keep testing it, we reject it or send it back for repair if possible.
So here is my question, if it did pass the second or the third time, would you be satisfied that yes it is WR 50 m and be comfortable using it?
So here is my question, if it did pass the second or the third time, would you be satisfied that yes it is WR 50 m and be comfortable using it?
Ah yes if the test is inconclusive I would as well but in your case it failed the test the first time around.
PS: I do swim laps with my S3 GPS and have for almost 3 months, and no problems that I am aware of.
Since the Watch is new, I would take it on a swim right away to see what happens. More likely the store will believe its faulty from get go if it is new. Also If I knew I was going to swim a lot , I might consider getting AppleCare. Check what it covers. Says two incidents of accidental damage, I dont know what it covers.
It just doesn't make any sense how you could test something three times if it fails on the first time. I don't understand that and you don't really explain things in the sense of how you went about testing your procedure. Perhaps you can elaborate more in detail exactly how you tested it? I think that's what others are searching for in your responses.
Finally, a constructive comment. Yes I did wonder this
[doublepost=1515665692][/doublepost]
I have done my upmost to explain in detail. If you cannot understand then I’m sorry I can’t help you.
[doublepost=1515666015][/doublepost]I did this regardless and the Watch is fine. Like another poster mentioned, maybe it failed due to the speaker and other open areas allowing water ingress, thus the machine giving a false positive. I’m guessing these instruments that are used to test watches are not designed with a smart watch in mind. As far as I know, a Rolex for example doesn’t have any ‘breathable’ parts. I think I’ve figured it out. Thanks to everyone that was helpful.
d his
Last edited:
No, you didn't explain the actual testing process is what I'm referring to and others are clearly asking. Below are the post(s) that you were quoted on, but you never went into further detail about how the process actually works or more specifically, how did you evaluate it failed three times? How were the tests actually conducted?
I am being as detailed as I can be. The Apple Watch was tested in a machine that uses pressurised air to mimic water. The Watch was placed onto a pod inside of said machine whilst slowly being locked into place with a nut containing a sensor. The machine was then sealed and turned on. The pressure built up in the machine for 10 seconds which then followed by a fail message. This test was repeated two more times to be conclusive. As mentioned by another commenter, maybe it failed because although the Apple Watch is water resistant, it’s design such as the speaker etc allows a small amount of water into the device for whatever reason. Perhaps this created a false positive.
I’m still curious why you were suspicious of a brand new watch designed for swimming to not be water resistant.
Why not just test it by taking it for an actual swim, and if there is an issue then bringing it back to apple?
While it wasn’t advised, I swam for a year with the original Apple Watch. I was pretty excited when the Series 2 launched (with the unveiling video starting off with a swimmer at a lane pool no less) and used it and the 3 for the past 16 months through a lot of swimming, including open water swims upwards of an hour in length.
My thought is if you bought it for swimming, then use it for swimming. If you have an issue, bring it back to apple.
Why not just test it by taking it for an actual swim, and if there is an issue then bringing it back to apple?
While it wasn’t advised, I swam for a year with the original Apple Watch. I was pretty excited when the Series 2 launched (with the unveiling video starting off with a swimmer at a lane pool no less) and used it and the 3 for the past 16 months through a lot of swimming, including open water swims upwards of an hour in length.
My thought is if you bought it for swimming, then use it for swimming. If you have an issue, bring it back to apple.
I never quite liked how that is worded for iPhones and Watches.
However, if you purchase the watch, attempt to use it for swimming, and an issue occurs, I don't think they're going to give you a hard time if you bring it in.
Apple Watch warranty is not void for water damage. Myself and many other forum members have had first gen Apple watches replaced for water damage. It’s only the iPhone’s warranty they specifically mention does not cover water damage (even though it’s water resistant).
Obviously other products like Macs and iPads don’t cover water damage.
Obviously other products like Macs and iPads don’t cover water damage.