PSA: your phone is not waterproof and won't be water resistant forever

Several weeks ago, I noticed something odd about a phone I had been using for a while: tiny bits of dust and pocket lint were stuck in a gap between its metal frame and glass back plate. I tried to push the particles out of the crevice and – to my surprise – a gap opened between the glass and the frame it was supposed to be glued to. The adhesive in that particular area had become loose, apparently.

This wasn't a good thing. Although the phone still looked fine to the naked eye, it had most likely lost its water-resistant properties. Its out-of-the-box IP68 rating couldn't be trusted anymore. This is what inspired me to write this quick post explaining why today's phones are not completely waterproof, and even those IP68 water-resistant ones won't be immune to water damage forever.

Waterproof vs water resistant: what's the difference?

If you look at the specs sheets of today's top smartphones, you'll notice that most of them have a water and dust resistance rating of some kind, most commonly IP67 or IP68 (pronounced "IP six seven" or "IP six eight"). This is also known as an International Protection Marking code. The first digit indicates a level of dust ingress protection, while the second digit tells us how hard it is for water to get inside. The higher the digit, the better protected that device is.

What you're less likely to notice is that none of these phones are advertised as waterproof. They're merely water resistant, not entirely immune to liquids. In other words, even a phone with a rating of IP68 – the highest you'll find on a typical phone – may incur water damage under certain conditions. It will survive a drop in the toilet, but probably not being sprayed by a jet of hot water (a requirement for obtaining an IP69 rating, by the way).