IP Rating Explained - Protection against Dust and Water

Welcome to another interesting article and in here we are going to talk about “IP Rating” of the mobile phones. So, what is this IP rating? May be this is the first time you heard about this word. When it comes to the electronic items that we use our day-to-day life, there is a Rating system. In this article you can learn about what is this “IP Rating” system and what is the importance of this rating. 

What is IP Rating Means

The Smart phone is the major device that we all possess that go under this rating system. So other than mentioning “Waterproof” or “Dust Proof” how much of protection that the device offers or accurate measurement towards water and dust is mentioned by this IP rating also known as “International Protection Rating / Ingress Protection Rating”. Hence this is really important when it comes to have a better idea about the device’s protection that you are going to buy.

So, first thing that you need to know is how to read this “IP Rating”. When you buy your mobile phone there is a code that shows with “IP” and another two digits. In here the letters “IP” describes as “International Protection” by the first digit it describes how well your device is protected against Solid materials and second digit describes how well your device is protected against Liquids.

IP Rating Numbering Structure

Reading the IP Rating Codes

So, if you can read these readings well you can have a better idea about the devices you are going to buy, and it is very important to know these ratings so you can use your devices in different environments without having a second thought.

Down here you can see there are two charts, and it will help you to identify IP ratings for Solid and Liquids of devices.

In here you can see Solid IP rating table. This is also known as Dust Proof IP rating.

IP Ratings for Solids

So, in here we have given numbers from 1 to 6 and each number has given specific definition. All the numbers have been elaborated in this chart. As you can see number 5 and 6, both numbers are the numbers which elaborate the rating of “Dust Protected”. For Smart phone it is recommended to go for number 5 or 6. Number 1 to 4 rates a limited protection against the dust.

Next you can see Liquid IP rating table.

IP Ratings for Liquids

As you can see the liquid IP rating table is showing the numbers from 1 to 8. You can see that from number 3 to 8 the protection is getting better against liquids. So, if your mobile phone or smart watch has the IP rating 68, that is the best IP rating that a device can get.

Conclusion

Do not get mislead when you see advertisements on IP ratings because the devices are tested in controlled labs and not in rough sea water or desert. But it is better to have good IP rating. So now you have a better idea about what kind of protection you have for your device or the device that you are going to buy.