Do you wear yours in the sauna?
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Apple actually specifically mentions that you should not take it in with you. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205000
AlliFlowers
macrumors 601
The heat is another consideration, and something you should avoid.
Lennyvalentin
macrumors 65816
Apart from water damage (which the OLED display is particularly susceptible to from what I understand), your watch can easily overheat and possibly also sustain battery damage.
I don't know if the particular chemistry of the AW battery can experience thermal runaway, but if it can, it's something you don't want to experience.
I don't know if the particular chemistry of the AW battery can experience thermal runaway, but if it can, it's something you don't want to experience.
The stream would likely penetrate past the seals and cause serious issues. I believe another forum member posted something similar to your question and the steam ruined their Apple Watch.
brlockwood
macrumors newbie
Don't chance taking your Apple watch in the steam room! Had my Apple Watch 2 for about 15 months, and I have never taken it in the pool, or shower, or steam room - until last week. I took a one minute shower, a 15 minute steam bath, and back into the shower for three minutes. About 24 hours later, the display started acting funny and swiping anything on the watch face was an exercise of frustration. Then later that night, there was an orange-reddish glow in the background of the watch (see pic), which all attempts to correct were futile. A reset to factory settings, and re-sync the watch failed to fix the problem. I turned it off, put it on the charger for a few hours, and tried again. This time all my screen would show was a purple background with a blue line across (see pic), then after two minutes, the watch went black, and it became an expensive mini-paperweight.
I took it to the Genius Bar (I'm fortunate to have an Apple store five minutes from my house), and none of the techs had seen this issue before. One had seen it with an iPhone, but never a watch. They don't repair Apple Watches apparently, they only replace, so I am now a proud owner of a new Apple Watch 2 for $300.
My guess is the heat from the steam room visit may have caused expansion around the water seals, and steam got in, or the seals were still expanded when I hit the shower, and water got in. I can't be for sure, as the tech said my watch won't be taken apart as it was out of warranty.
Anyways, to answer the original question, NO I would not chance taking it in the steam room or sauna.
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BarracksSi
Suspended
The sauna is why I still own my G-Shock (and I need it because I can't see the wall clock without my glasses on).
Very true. Quite a few members have had failures with their Apple Watches using in a hot tub/Sauna, which the steam penetrates past the seals. Not recommended at all, which Apple states to avoid as well.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205000
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jav6454
macrumors Core
Interesting to follow up on this thread.
Been doing it most days since I posted this originally over a year ago and its still perfectly fine.
However, based on others feedback I would not recommend you do it
You have been lucky then. As with most Apple products with water resistance, the resistance capabilities are a lottery.
Kardinal1911
macrumors regular
I’ve taken mine in the dry sauna, steam room, and hot tub and never had an issue... to each his own I guess... sometimes I wrap mine in a cool towel other times I don’t.. I always use the eject water feature however and I don’t live in the sauna forever. My gyms saunas get fairly hot too... sometimes really hot... I’m sure Apple has definitely suscepted the watch to extreme temps. Hell one survived a hot boiling water test on YouTube just fineInteresting to follow up on this thread.
Been doing it most days since I posted this originally over a year ago and its still perfectly fine.
However, based on others feedback I would not recommend you do it
Every Apple Watch will have a different reaction to how it's treated in a sauna or hot tub. But one thing is for sure, I never rely on what a YouTube test shows for an Apple Watch. They typically are never indicative of real world experience.
marmiteturkey
macrumors 6502a
I would say definitely not. I had water vapour from a sauna enter a watch with a much higher water resistance rating than the Apple Watch in the past, and condense on the inside of the crystal.
BarracksSi
Suspended
The water eject feature doesn’t enter into the watch case’s water resistance.
It’s the fact that it’s glued together makes it a hit-or-miss (more often than not, it “hits”). Regular watches with decent water resistance use screwed-together parts and rubber gaskets to achieve a mechanical seal. They don’t rely on glue, which can still leave gaps or voids and be more temperature-sensitive.
Opening an Apple Watch begins by placing a hot pack on top to soften the glue holding the display to the body. I haven’t heard of any regular watches that open the same way (okay, maybe Swatches, but they’re also viewed as disposable with middling water resistance, too).
It’s the fact that it’s glued together makes it a hit-or-miss (more often than not, it “hits”). Regular watches with decent water resistance use screwed-together parts and rubber gaskets to achieve a mechanical seal. They don’t rely on glue, which can still leave gaps or voids and be more temperature-sensitive.
Opening an Apple Watch begins by placing a hot pack on top to soften the glue holding the display to the body. I haven’t heard of any regular watches that open the same way (okay, maybe Swatches, but they’re also viewed as disposable with middling water resistance, too).