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It was hot enough to just wear shorts so I did. Unfortunately I forgot my phone was in my shorts. I then went swimming. The device is meant to be rated at IP68. It was probably submerged in around a metre of water.

So why didn't it survive then?

Transistor
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Ageis
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  • Does it need rubber bungs in the sockets to make it IP68? – Simon B May 21 '22 at 21:24
  • Your shorts must be made of chain mail to not be able to feel the weight of your phone. – DKNguyen May 21 '22 at 22:55
  • Store for a week in a bag of rice and hope for the best (before it rusts). That works for me. – Tony Stewart EE75 May 22 '22 at 00:45
  • I seen that your question is a simple question about electronic design. You may remove anything that makes the question interesting or provides context, so that you don't provide an excuse for people to close the question. However, I see good answers came in already, so you don't need to bother. – david May 22 '22 at 01:17

2 Answers2

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If you check IP68, it mentions "immersed".

But the test is likely it was gently submerged to the depth, not subjected to surface impact as you jumped in or wave action as you moved around.

If you wanted a full waterproof protection then cases like those supplied for the GoPro series of cameras are needed.

Solar Mike
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Well, in theory, IP68 means it has to survive for the rated conditions, which have to exceed those of IP67 (IP67 ⇒ 30 minutes @ 1m depth).

So if you spent less than 30 minute in the water and your phone didn't went deeper than 1m, it should have survived (NB: the manufacturer might have specified more, for IP68 you have to specify depth and duration).

What might not be guaranteed:

  • salt water: it is far more conductive, and phones have usually USB in contact with water, so you get a far worse "short circuit" with salt water than with "standard water" (even pool water tends to be more conductive)
  • depending on the manufacturer, the waterprofness is sometimes conditionnal to having "caches" on USB and jack
  • your phone might have been slightly "used" on the joints, making it non waterproof (IP68 means it is when it is new, if it is damaged, then of course it might not be anymore)
  • as Solar Mike pointed out, IP rating are based on standardized tests, than do not (as far as I know) include things like turning the device around (helping air to escaped), rapid variations of pressure, squeezing of the phone in your pocket as you move, ...

To be honest, I never quite trust those IP ratings for real use. If it is not "normal use" (for example a phone advertise to take underwater videos), I usually take a device with 1 or 2 levels above what I need, sometimes even more (for example, for the caving headlamp, I always go to IP68, even if I'm not supposed to get worse than a shower).

But anyway, it's worth contacting the seller of the phone and asking for reimbursement — no guarantee they will perform, but it's definitely worth trying.

Dave Tweed
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Sandro
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