Why an accidental bathroom dunk proved my phone's IP68 rating is just a safety net, not a feature

12 Jun 2026, 19:00 by Jade Bryan Jardinico · Android Police

Ever since waterproofing was added to smartphones, it has been one of the major factors I consider when making my next purchase.

I have used dozens of smartphones with ingress protection against water and dust. I have also tested many of those in water, starting with my first waterproof phone, the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua, which has an IP68 rating.

This was a pretty rare feature before it became standard for many flagship and mid-range smartphones.

There is no denying that waterproofing is an essential feature that makes phones more durable and ensures they last longer.

However, having experienced two catastrophic water incidents with my previous Samsung Galaxy smartphones has shown that this is not total protection and does not provide long-lasting peace of mind.

I don't know about you, but since then, I have developed trust issues with the advertised waterproofing features on my smartphones.

It is high time brands make these standards live up to what they actually stand for.

6 reasons why I'll never buy a folding phone again

It's hard to overlook some of its glaring drawbacks

Posts 171
By Hamlin Rozario

Have companies been lying to us?

I used to believe my phone was waterproof

For many years, an IP rating has been a standard feature, and consumers have come to expect it as an outright guarantee of protection against dust, sand, water drops, and splashes.

We have even seen brands convincingly argue that flagships without a proper IP67 or IP68 rating are inferior to their rivals.

Look at how OnePlus and Xiaomi have been catching up to match Samsung and Google in providing comparable ingress protection for their flagships.

It was only with the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 15 that OnePlus adopted an IP68/IP69 rating, but before that, previous OnePlus flagships lacked waterproofing.

For me, water resistance has become an indispensable feature I look for in my next phone, and without it, I worry and tend to over-protect my device.

A quick rinse damaged my phone

From that moment, my bad experience snowballed

Several years ago, I was planning to upgrade my Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T to the Redmi Note 12 Pro, but I was held back because the latter only sports an IP53 rating.

While it offers minimal defense, it lacks protection when submerged, unlike devices with higher IP figures.

Instead, I went with the Samsung Galaxy A54. It ships with a higher IP67 rating, meaning it can survive a 1-meter dip for 30 minutes, or the equivalent of high-pressure water jets.

That is a notable difference from the basic rating of the Note 9T, and I felt confident my phone would survive if I dropped it in a pool or washed it after an unfortunate, random exposure to a slurry of dirt. But no.

To tell you frankly, my Galaxy A54 failed me when I washed it under running water after an accidental bird dropping landed on the screen. I had to open the faucet and clean it off.

I expected it to work exactly as it did before the quick rinse. Unfortunately, the result was the exact opposite of my expectations.

My phone's screen suddenly started acting weird, with spotty touch inputs. I checked the screen and sides for any signs of water or moisture, but none were visible.

My guess is that water seeped through tiny gaps and reached the digitizer or flex cable, which eventually caused the display panel to misbehave.

I initially thought the IP67 rating failed because I had dropped the Galaxy A54 a few times prior, and some internal parts had become loose. Or perhaps the rubber seal had deteriorated around the display and chassis. Who really knows?

However, I had been using a protective case for over a year, leaving little chance of those components failing.

Admittedly, that is not a good look for Samsung, especially given how heavily they advertise this device's waterproofing.

Still, I let it pass and had the A54 fixed before trading it in for the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Even pricey tech fails the real-world test

Now I start to question almost every durability claim

My ordeal did not end there.

I daily drove my Galaxy Z Fold 5 for a year, being extra protective of it despite its IPx8 water resistance rating.

During a weekend trip to a resort, I had the Z Fold 5 in my pocket while sitting on the baja ledge of the pool. The water was less than a foot deep, and I was not overly worried about accidentally dropping my foldable in it.

Unfortunately, it slid out of my shorts pocket when I was about to lie in the reclining lounge. It fully submerged and hit the tiles, but the water slightly dampened the impact.

Initially, the physical drop to the shallow pool bottom was my biggest concern because I knew the Fold 5 was IPX8-rated, which supposedly provides protection from submersion up to 5 feet in fresh water for 30 minutes, as Samsung states on its website.

That is on par with many standard smartphones, despite missing a dust rating that Samsung has yet to crack for its foldable smartphones.

I quickly rinsed it with fresh water, knowing the pool contained a mixture of salt and chemicals that could corrode internal parts.

The sad part is that I never expected my Fold 5 to die on me after that minor water exposure.

After quickly drying it with a hairdryer in the room, my phone worked normally for a day. However, when I tried to charge it the next day, it started acting up and overheating.

Subscribe to the newsletter for real-world waterproofing tests

Want clearer answers on smartphone waterproofing and durability? Subscribe to the newsletter to get more hands-on tests, straightforward explanations of IP ratings, and real-world findings that help you judge manufacturers' water-resistance claims and pro

Get Updates

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

I turned it off and applied drying measures again to ensure any trapped moisture was cleared. I was out of luck. It refused to turn on and became fully unresponsive.

Eventually, I had to get it fixed, which cost me an arm and a leg. I sold it shortly after and switched to a Google Pixel device.

PSA: Whatever you do, don't take your smartwatch into the ocean

Taking any electronics into the water is a bad idea, even water-proof ones

Posts 4
By Mark Jansen

Water resistance is not permanent

I started losing trust in smartphone brands

Following that incident, I questioned why an expensive $2,000 smartphone fails to deliver on its advertised waterproofing. Is it because these protective seals have an expiration date?

It is incredibly frustrating when you have invested in such pricey technology.

These two cases left a lasting negative impression of the advertised waterproofing features. Sure, I can blame Samsung for the failures, and I can even blame myself.

However, it has come to the point where I can definitively conclude that water resistance in gadgets is not permanent. These protections will eventually fail after a certain amount of time or usage.

Brands should make it explicitly clear to every user what the true limits of water resistance are.

I would love to see clear warnings about the risk of protection failing over time, because slapping these IP figures on a spec sheet should not directly mean your phone is permanently protected.

Even so, I think this is a massive ploy, and companies have not genuinely provided proper context for these rugged features.

Until my Pixel 9 Pro XL survives the same kind of accidental abuse, I can confidently say I am not trusting these claims ever again and that my phone is staying in the drawer for every beach trip.

OnePlus 15
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
RAM
12GB / 16GB
Storage
256GB / 512GB
Battery
7,300mAh
Operating System
OxygenOS 16
Front camera
32MP
The latest OnePlus 15 features full IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance certification, which is higher than that of most other flagships.
$900 at OnePlus
Expand Collapse
Like
Follow
Followed
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
$800 $1100 Save $300
SoC
Google Tensor G4
RAM
16GB
Storage
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery
5,060mAh
Ports
USB-C
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is on sale at major retailers. It's a cheaper flagship alternative tot he latest Pixel 10 Pro.
$800 at Amazon
Expand Collapse