Understanding Water Resistance
Let’s talk about water resistance.
Far too many people do not understand how water resistance ratings work and what they mean.
To make matters worse, the definitions for the various water resistance ratings are misleading at best.
Most electronics these days will list a water resistance rating among their specifications in the format “IPXX”, where IP stands for “Ingress Protections” and the XX specify solid particle size and water depth.
For example, you may see a smart phone rates as IPX7. That means samples of that device have been tested in a sealed pressure tank filled with distilled water to a pressure equivalent to a depth of 1 meter.
It does NOT mean that the device will survive a drop into a sink, pool, pond, or other body of water without water entering the device. The tests are conducted under controlled conditions in completely still water. It is important to remember that only a sampling of the devices have been physically tested. It is also important to stress that water resistance is not a permanent condition.
A water resistant watch, for example, should be checked and serviced every year to ensure they maintain their water resistance, as the seals and gaskets used around the back, crown, crystal, and pushers will naturally dry out and degrade with age.
Now think about the buttons and ports on your phone. They get far more use than do the buttons or crown of your average watch.
Now for comparison, let’s take a look at how water resistance is rated in the watch world.
You will see markings on many watches indicating water resistance in meters (and sometimes feet), atmospheres, and “BAR” (which is just a ‘fancy’ way of saying ‘atmospheres’.
Every 10 meters equals 1 atmosphere of pressure. Therefore 100 Meters is 10 atmospheres.
A watch that says “Water Resistant” with no depth or pressure rating will be ok if a little water splashes on it or if you have to run across the parking lot to your car in the rain, but that’s about it. Even washing your hands at the sink while wearing it is risky, especially if you’re washing up thoroughly as you should be doing during these dark plague-riddled days.
A watch rated at 10 Meters water resistant will be fine in the rain and while washing your hands, and will even be ok if you dip it in the sink to wash off the barbecue sauce you got on it while you were grilling… as long as you don’t push any of the buttons or turn the crown.
A watch rated at 30 Meters can sustain mild jets of water for brief periods. In the shower for example.
Note that none of the watches in the examples above should ever be worn swimming or intentionally submerged for any length of time.
A watch is not considered suitable for swimming unless it’s rated to at least 50 Meters. Note that the Apple Watch series 3, 4, and 5 are rated to 50 Meters. These are suitable for swimming, but not diving, snorkeling, or anything more intense.
A watch is considered suitable for diving or snorkeling when rated and 100 Meters or more.
A watch is considered suitable for scuba diving at 500 Meters.
Saturation diving requires a watch rated at 1000 Meters or more with a special helium escape valve to keep the watch from literally exploding when you surface.
Now. Compare this to your phone, which at best is rated as water resistant to 1 or 2 Meters.
Hopefully, this clarifies why your phone will probably be ruined if you take it in the pool to get some underwater shots and may very well be destroyed by a simple drop into the sink.
