As more and more devices become water-resistant or water-proof, users have an important question: What is the difference between water-resistance and waterproof? Users just want to figure out how their devices can stand with water.
Firstly, here are definitions from Oxford English Dictionary:
Water-proof means impervious to water.
Water-resistant means able to resist the penetration of water to some degree but not entirely
Comparing to water-proof, water-resistant is the lower level of water protection. Some water-resistant devices always have some special design to fight with water and make it difficult for water to enter. This is always use in devices like watches to help them survive from hand washing or raining.
Water-proof devices may look safer to stay underwater. Consider about the definition, there shouldn’t have gotten any problem for using them underwater. But, in fact, there is none standards for industry to stipulate water-proof. For some products, it may fully be protected from water, but others may just be able to survive underwater for a period of time. This totally depends on makers.
How can we know the ability for devices to survive underwater? The only and thing we can use to measure is a rating scale called Ingress Protection Rating scales or IP Codes. It is made of letters “IP” and one or two digits, such as IP34. International Electrotechnical Commission(IEC) design this rating scale as a system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment.
The first number after letters “IP” shows it solid protect, which is measured form 0 to 6, while the second number is the degree of protection against the entry of moisture, the rage is from 0 to 8. To transfer these two numbers to the meaning we understand, you can follow two charts below.
Solid Protection (the first number)
| IP Code | Protection | Object size |
| 0 | No protection | N/A |
| 1 | Protection from contact with any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part, such as a finger | Less than 50mm |
| 2 | Protection from fingers or similar objects | Less than 12.5mm |
| 3 | Protection from tools, thick wires or similar objects | Less than 2.5mm |
| 4 | Protection from most wires, screws or similar objects | Less than 1mm |
| 5 | Partial protection from contact with harmful dust | N/A |
| 6 | Protection from contact with harmful dust | N/A |
Moisture Protection (the second number)
| IP Code | Protection | Test duration | Usage |
| 0 | No protection | N/A | N/A |
| 1 | Protection against vertically dripping water | 10 mins | Light rain |
| 2 | Protection against vertically dripping water when device is tilted at an angle up to 15 degrees | 10 mins | Light rain |
| 3 | Protection against direct sprays of water when device is tilted at an angle up to 60 degrees | 5 mins | Rain and spraying |
| 4 | Protection from sprays and splashing of water in all directions. | 5 mins | Rain, spraying and splashing |
| 5 |
Protection from low pressure water projected from a nozzle with a 6.3mm diameter opening in any direction |
3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters | Rain, splashing and direct contact with most kitchen/bathroom faucets |
| 6 | Protection from water projected in powerful jets from a nozzle with a 12.5mm diameter opening in any direction | 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters | Rain, splashing, direct contact with kitchen/bathroom faucets, outdoor use in rough sea conditions |
| 7 | Protected from immersion in water with a depth of up to 1 meter (or 3.2ft) for up to 30 mins | 30 mins | Rain, splashing and accidental submersion |
| 8 | Protected from immersion in water with a depth of more than 1 meter (manufacturer must specify exact depth) | Varies | Rain, splashing and accidental submersion |
Here we can take IP67 iPhone 7 as an example. The IP Code shows it can be fully protected from solid, and at the same time, it can stay up to 30 minutes underwater for 1 meter depth. But, normally, the water resistant testing is operated under fresh water. Unless it is guaranteed by the manufacture, there isn’t any protection against salt water or sea water.
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