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Original poster
May 29, 2018
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I have a brand new S5 AW. I'm not planning on showering with it or swimming with it but I do wash my hands multiple times a day. I understand that the seals in the watch will degrade with exposure and age so I'm asking how much effect casual exposure like repeated splashes from washing would affect waterproof-ness.
 
I swim with mine and shower with my aw4 and haven’t had any issues. I’ve had it probably 6 months and never take it off.
 
I have a brand new S5 AW. I'm not planning on showering with it or swimming with it but I do wash my hands multiple times a day. I understand that the seals in the watch will degrade with exposure and age so I'm asking how much effect casual exposure like repeated splashes from washing would affect waterproof-ness.
Valid concerns; invalid worries
 
Get AppleCare Plus. If water infiltrates it in the warranty period, your covered.

Don’t forget, one of the exercise features of the Apple Watch is swimming. They wouldn’t put that in there if they weren’t confident.
 
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I wash my hands, not my wrists ;). I swim with it but take it off when I shower, you can always just wash it with some plain water if you are super worried.
 
Get AppleCare Plus. If water infiltrates it in the warranty period, your covered.

Don’t forget, one of the exercise features of the Apple Watch is swimming. They wouldn’t put that in there if they weren’t confident.

AppleCare would cover it without the plus if they were confident....
 
I wore my AW4 in my hot tub over the last year (probably about 3-4 times a week in the summer/spring) and no issues at all. This is a hot tub that has chlorine etc in it and is normally set to 40 degrees centigrade.

All i do is wash it with warm tap water once I am done.

Not sure if it is advisable, but as I say no issues from the AW4 or the AW3 before that.
 
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They do specifically mention that soapy water can affect the water resistance eventually. Don't know how long that would take.

Showering with my S4 after a lunchtime run ~3 days a week for the past year hasn't created any discernible issue. Didn't on my S3 in the year before, nor my S2 the year before that.
 
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My reason is that it it's simpler to just clean the sweat off the watch and band in the shower than to do so separately.

I see, I normally clean the watch separately. Can’t keep it on 24/7, especially if I’m home.
 
I see, I normally clean the watch separately. Can’t keep it on 24/7, especially if I’m home.

I charge my watch overnight on the dresser.

The sport loop band and nike sport band don't hold water, so no issues with "water stuck under the watch".

Plus in a locker room it's added steps to go open my locker to stow the watch securely. Towel and shower kit are left out of the locker when I change to go for a run.
 
I charge my watch overnight on the dresser.

The sport loop band and nike sport band don't hold water, so no issues with "water stuck under the watch".

Plus in a locker room it's added steps to go open my locker to stow the watch securely. Towel and shower kit are left out of the locker when I change to go for a run.

I understand, this is my issue as well in the locker room. I carry a lock. You never know.
 
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I swim with mine frequently and it gets all kinds of abuse. If you're really worried get AppleCare. I don't see normal hand or dish soap damaging it but if you're using some type of cleaning solvent you might want to take your watch off.
 
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