Apple Watch 6 mic no longer working after shallow, light swim

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Level 1

19 points

Apple Watch 6 mic no longer working after shallow, light swim

As title says, my Apple Watch 6 mic failed after a shallow, light swim. I have never submerged this watch below 2 feet of water, nor have I used the watch outside its advertised water resistant parameters.

My girlfriend thought I was crazy for swimming with my Apple Watch. I didn't have a care, as I trusted Apple and thought that as long as I didn't submerge the watch below certain depths it'd be fine. She was right.

Apple support doesn't know what to do. I followed all of the instructions and sent them the diagnostics. All of the diagnostics passed.

Here's what I've tried:

Restarting watch

Force restarting the watch

Unpairing and re-pairing

Doing "water lock" 20 times to expel water

Cleaning the mic

Sending diagnostics to Apple (all of them passed)

I'm hesitant to buy a new Apple Watch. I can't afford to buy a new Apple Watch every 2 years because something failed that Apple won't cover.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated to get this one working again. Thanks

Posted on Jul 30, 2023 02:41 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 30, 2023 03:50 PM in response to malevich89

malevich89 wrote:

I just got off the phone with them. Is there anything else they can do?

I would expect that Apple has reviewed the Watch and its settings and hss indicated that no other options exist short of replacement, and that no AppleCare coverage is available here, correct?

That combination unfortunately leaves you headed for a replacement Watch, particularly if you want a working microphone.

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Answer 2

malevich89 Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 30, 2023 03:59 PM in response to MrHoffman

Correct -- They quoted a repair as $370, so they effectively cannot repair it as no one would choose that option over a brand new watch.

I'd like to know how/why it failed. I don't want to buy a replacement, use it within their advertised safe parameters, and have it fail again.

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Answer 3

Jul 30, 2023 06:52 PM in response to malevich89

malevich89 wrote:

Correct -- They quoted a repair as $370, so they effectively cannot repair it as no one would choose that option over a brand new watch.

I'd like to know how/why it failed.

Nobody here can know that.

Could be it got whacked and the seal was damaged, could be exposure to something that degraded the seal, could be the microphone itself failed independent of the dunking, could be a manufacturing issue, nobody can know the answer to that question without a look.

I’ve been using Series 5 for swimming, and have had no issues.

Others have had problems, and those problems also tend to be what gets posted around here.

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Answer 4

Jul 30, 2023 02:46 PM in response to malevich89

Your next step would be to re-contact Apple Support.

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Answer 5

malevich89 Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 30, 2023 02:49 PM in response to MrHoffman

I just got off the phone with them. Is there anything else they can do?

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Apple Watch 6 mic no longer working after shallow, light swim

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