The Various IP Ratings Explained E.g IP68/IP69K And other forms of Water Proof E.g P2i And NEMA

If There's one thing you don't take for a swim or an active car wash it would be your mobile phone. Now, in the past phones and water didn't usually come in the same sentence. Which is kind of understandable due to the fact that water is the second leading cause of smartphone damage after accidental drops. But luckily, Phones are becoming more resistant to liquid and dust particles and might reach the Nokia 3310 level that is if we aren't past that now.

1.0: What Is IP?:
IP stands for "Ingress Protection"  Also known as international protection marketing. It is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission  (IEC). The equivalent European standard is EN 60529.

The standard aims to provide users more concise information than Broad marketing gimmicks like waterproof.

1.1: What is an IP Rating?:
The IP Rating, or sometimes IP Code classifies and rates the degree of protection provided against intrusion (body parts such as hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures.

IP or Ingress Protection is a measurement that’s universally accepted for different levels of dust and water resistance. For Example, When a device has an IP rating of let's say IP67, it means that the device is dust tight and can be protected against the effects of immersion in water for about 15minutes to an hour. Now let's practically interpret these specifications. And no, they are not hieroglyphics.

2.0: Interpreting an IP Specification:

Now, after the "IP" you must have noticed two numbers. These numbers have a significant meaning. The first(I.e the 6) denotes the level of protection against access to hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors, moving parts) and the ingress of solid foreign objects. Or just say Dust.
While the second shows the level of protection against the ingress of Water.

Now for the solids the number ranges from 0-6 while in liquids it's 0-8. Hence why you see phones rated IP68, this simply means that the smartphone employs the highest tier of protection.(well not the highest but...)

Now let's put the specifications out for you to combine and interpret you ratings..

Solid particle protection:

IP number                Effective Against: 

0                                                                 No protection against ingress of objects. 

1                                                                 50 mm particles like any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against intentional contact with a body part.

2                                                                 Particles larger than 12.5 mm, like a finger or pen.
                                     (This is important so that your fingers don't get into something, like a socket rated IP22 0r IP2X).

3                                                                 Particles larger than 2.5 mm like tools, wires and drawing sets.

4                                                                 Particles larger than 1 mm like screws and bolts, cables and insects.

5                                                                 Dust Protected
( While the Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in a large enough quantity to interfere with the optimum operation of phone.)

6                                                                 Dust Proof
(No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact as it's dust tight). but a vacuum must be applied for a test.

Now let's go to the second one, and arrive at our conclusion.

Liquid ingress protection:

IP number                Effective Against: 

0                                                               No form of protection against water ingress.

1                                                               Protected against dripping water.

2                                                               Protected against dripping water when tilted up to a 15-                                                                         degree angle from its normal position.

3                                                               Protected against spraying water when tilted up to a 60-

                                                                 degree angle from its normal position.

4                                                              Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction                                                                         shall have no harmful effect

5                                                               Protected against water sprayed from a 6.3 mm nozzle at                                    12.5 Liters/minute and 30 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes

.
6                                                               Protected against water sprayed from a 12.5 mm nozzle at                                       100  Liters/minute and 100 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes.

6K                                                            Protected against water sprayed from a 6.3 mm nozzle at 75                                     Liters/minute and 1,000 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes.
                                            (1,000 kPa is a standard amount of water pressure through a fire hydrant).

7                                                                Protected against immersion in water up to one meter at                                                                         normal pressure for 30 minutes.

8                                                                Protected against immersion in water one meter or deeper at                                                                   specifications detailed by the manufacturer.

9K                                                             Protection against water sprayed from high-flow and high-                                                                     pressure jets at high-temperature
                                                                  Water volume of 14 to 16 Liters/minute
                                                                 Water pressure of 80 to 100 bar (up to 1,451 Psi)
                                                                 Water temperature of 80-degrees. This one is for car and                                                                        food production. And Yhea, not for Smartphones.

2.1: Additional Letter Specs:

So, in addition to the numbers, there might be a letter suffix present. Letters can be appended to provide additional information about the protection of the device:

Letter                                          Meaning: 
f                                                              Oil resistant
H                                                            High voltage protection
M                                                           Motion during the water testing
S                                                             No motion during the water testing
W                                                           Weather resistant

D                                                            For wires

Practical: Samsung Galaxy S10 has an IP rating IP68 which means it is dust tight and protected against immersion in water at a meter. The Dogee S90 is rated IP68/IP69K The 9K means it can withstand high pressure jets at high temperature.

Rugged Phones provide a great deal of IP....

2.2: Some IP Rated Phones:

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, Google Pixel 3XL, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Apple IPhone XS, LG V40 Thin Q, IPhone XR, Samsung Galaxy note 9, Sony Xperia XZ3, Huawei P30 Pro ETC.

Note 1: The ratings for water ingress are not cumulative beyond IPX6. A device which is compliant with IPX7, covering immersion in water, need not be compliant with IPX5 or IPX6, covering exposure to water jets. Sometimes they can be shown as IPX7/IPX5.

Note 2: There are no hyphens in a genuine IP code. IPX-7(for example) is an invalid IP code.

Note 3: When you see a rating like IPX8, X means that there is no data available to specify a protection rating with regard to this criteria, or it just wasn't tested.

Note 4: Liquid might apply only to water and not limca, coffee, beer and Pap.

3.0: Other Forms of Water Proof Ratings:

There are other forms of water proof ratings that are used by Smartphone developers other than the IP Rating. Let's explore them.

3.1: MIL-STD 810G:

MIL-STD-810, Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, is a United States Military Standard that emphasizes tailoring an equipment's environmental design and test limits to the conditions that it will experience throughout its service life, and establishing chamber test methods that replicate the effects of environments on the equipment rather than imitating the environments themselves. Although prepared specifically for military applications, the standard is often used for commercial products as well.

Although it has a vast amount of tiers, we won't go into that because of it's above our scope, and it deals with more of military than smartphones.

3.2: North America (NEMA rating):

In the USA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association defines NEMA enclosure types in NEMA standard number 250. The following table outlines which IEC 60529 IP code each respective NEMA rating meets. Ratings between the two standards are not directly equivalent: NEMA ratings also require additional product features and tests (such as functionality under icing conditions, enclosures for hazardous areas, knock-outs for cable connections and others) not addressed by IP ratings.

knock-outs for cable connections and others) not addressed by IP ratings. Like:

NEMA                            Enclosure IP Code
1                                     IP20
2                                     IP22
3, 3X, 3S, 3SX               IP55
3R, 3RX                         IP24
4, 4X                              IP66
5                                     IP53
6                                    IP67
6P                                  IP68
12, 12K, 13                   IP54

3.3: P2i Waterproof:

P2i is a nanotechnology development company that works with manufacturers to produce liquid repellent Nano-coating protection to products for the electronics, lifestyle, life sciences, filtration and Energy, and military and institutional sectors.

Now, P2i will protect your phone from splashes and rain, but not when your phone is submerged in water. Currently it's plasma technology provides an IPX2 protection, meaning Phones would survive Splashes, Sprays, and raindrops. But this standard hasn't changed since.

4.0: Water Resistant and Water Proof: The Same Thing?:

No. Water proof means something is impervious to water regardless of how long it is submerged, Water resistant means a product can stop water entering it to some degree, but not entirely. But in the context of Phones and other gadgets like watches it's about how water resistant they are.

4.1: Can I take my IP Rated Phone for a swim?:

NO Please. We at Techtemplar will never advise you to ever go underwater deliberately with your Phone. When the IEC tests a smartphone it is done under laboratory conditions and not in a pool or river filled with  all sorts of stuff. Remember back in 2015 when Sony unveiled an Xperia Phone with an IP68. They showed promotional pictures of underwater photos only to warn consumers later not to use the device when submerged.

Remember also no Warranty covers damage from water. Most manufacturers would tell you that the tests were done under simulated environments and fixed experiments.

So that Wraps up our Explanation of the various IP ratings. Although we omitted the ATM rating, as the post was getting long already. As always we will see you next time.