Water resistance is common in high-end phones, but it is not so common in cheaper smartphones.
For years it has been recommended to store the mobile phone in a bag with rice, something that is not advisable today.
Most of us use our phones with a case and a screen protector to minimize the risks in case of a fall. Although as a general rule, the phone should not suffer significant damage if it falls to the ground and is well protected, a more worrying situation can arise: it gets wet.
Water resistance has become a standard feature on high-end smartphones, but not all of them can survive a dip : as a rule, entry-level phones or older smartphones are not water resistant.
IP certification tells us how resistant our smartphone is
Before going into details about the steps to follow in case the mobile gets wet or submerged in water (either in the pool or by throwing a glass of water on it), it is important to understand how water resistance is measured : to know if our smartphone is water resistant we must look at the IP certification.
This is a code made up of the letters IP followed by two numbers. For example, IP67 or IP68. The numbers that appear after the letters tell us how resistant our mobile is: the first number refers to the entry of dust into the device, while the second refers to water .
As you might have guessed, the higher the number, the more resistant the device is . The maximum value for dust resistance is 6, while for water resistance the maximum value is 9. Sometimes an X is used, which means there is not enough data to rate resistance.
According to the International Electrotechnical Commission website , these are the different values of the classification:
|
DUST RESISTANCE |
WATER RESISTANCE |
|
|---|---|---|
|
0 |
Without protection |
Without protection |
|
1 |
Protected against solid objects with a diameter of 50 mm or more |
Protected against vertically falling water drops. Vertically falling drops will have no harmful effects |
|
2 |
Protected against solid objects with a diameter of 12.5 mm or greater |
Protected against vertically falling water droplets when the device is tilted 15 degrees. Vertically falling water droplets will have no harmful effects when the device is tilted up to 15 degrees on either side of the vertical |
|
3 |
Protected against solid objects with a diameter of 2.5 mm or greater |
Protected against spray water. Water sprayed at an angle of up to 60 degrees on either side of the vertical will have no harmful effects. |
|
4 |
Protected against solid objects with a diameter of 1.0 mm or greater |
Protected against water splashes. Water splashes on the housing from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
|
5 |
Protected against dust |
Protected against water jets. Water jetted against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
|
6 |
Dust tight |
Protected against powerful water jets. Water projected in powerful jets against the housing from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
|
7 |
– |
Protected against the effects of temporary immersion in water. Ingress of water in quantities likely to cause harmful effects will not be possible when the device is temporarily immersed in water under standardized conditions of pressure and time. |
|
8 |
– |
Protected against the effects of continued immersion in water. Ingress of water in quantities likely to cause harmful effects will not be possible when the device is continuously immersed in water under conditions to be agreed between the manufacturer and the user, but which will be more severe than those in point 7. |
|
9 |
– |
Protected against high pressure and temperature water jets. Water projected at high pressure and temperatures against the device from any direction will have no harmful effects. |
As we were saying, water resistance is a very common feature in high-end smartphones: devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 or the new Google Pixel 9 have an IP68 certification, which means that they have maximum protection against dust and can withstand continuous immersion for a long time.
On the other hand, mid-range smartphones such as Xiaomi’s Redmi 13 Note have an IP54 certification, which means that they are protected against dust, but are only resistant to splashes . As for entry-level mobiles, it is most likely that they are not resistant to water or major splashes.
In addition to the above, water resistance has certain limits . The reason is that when a manufacturer determines the water resistance of a particular device, it does so under specific conditions and with the smartphone in perfect condition.
The condition of your phone can change over time, especially if it has been subjected to a knock since you bought it. For this reason, it is likely that your phone’s water resistance will deteriorate over time. In addition, damage caused by contact with water and other liquids is usually not covered by the warranty .
What to do if your phone falls into water
Now that we have a clear idea of how water resistance works in mobile phones, it is time to answer the question we posed in the title of this article. The first thing we should know is that it is not advisable to put the mobile phone in a bag with rice , something that has been recommended for years. Apple itself warns that putting the mobile phone in a bag with rice is not advisable: the reason is that the smallest rice particles could damage the device.
If you have dropped your phone in water, the first thing you should do is turn it off, dry it as quickly as possible and try to remove the liquid from the phone’s ports by gently tapping the device. In addition, you should remove the SIM card, memory card (if the phone has such a slot) and remove the case.
Under no circumstances should we attempt to dry the device using a hairdryer, as this can cause significant damage by subjecting it to high temperatures. Instead, we should keep it on a ventilated surface for as long as possible so that it can dry properly. Obviously, it should not be connected to the power supply until it has completely dried.
Depending on how wet the phone is, it may have to spend many hours turned off and in a ventilated place. Patience is key to avoid irreparable damage to the device, since the longer we spend without using the phone, the more likely it is that it will not suffer any damage.