Water Resistant vs Waterproof. What is the Difference?

Our cellphones and electronic devices carry some of the most important information to us. Whether it be notes, contacts or high scores in a game… we want to keep all of these vital things intact. Phones are susceptible, as we all unfortunately know, to bumps, bruises, scratches, scrapes… and flooding. Have you ever dropped your phone in water? Gotten it wet? It can be a HUGE issue for the inner workings of your electronic other half. Phones that become exposed to water can malfunction and shut down, and if you don’t have anything on back up, you can be in a very messy situation.


There are so protective cases made waterproof now. There are also accessories that are made water resistant and it’s important to know the difference between the two so when you’re on the hunt for gadget shields, you can be sure you’re getting the best in defense.

WHAT IS WATER RESISTANCE?

This means that your device is able to resist water, but it’s not 100% full proof. Of the three ways you can protect your phone, iPad, electronic device from water, this is at the bottom of the totem-pole. Watches are often made water resistance due to unforeseen weather conditions attacking your wrist. They’re actually considered to be on a different rating scale than most other electronics. Scuba-diving watches are the only watches that can be identified in the market as “waterproof”.  A withstanding argument is that nothing is actually “waterproof” but just varying in degrees of water resistance.

WHAT IS WATER REPELLENT?

Water has an extremely difficult time getting in on this sealing.  Not much of a difference between Resistant and repellent.  If your device is water repellent, that means that there are properties inside its construction that repel water. A lot of businesses will say that their products are water repellent when in actuality they’re water resistant because these properties are so hard to define.

WHAT IS WATER PROOF?

This means that your device can be submerged in water for some time and remain unaffected. It is not a permanent condition. After some time your “Water proof” protective shield will have reached its limit of defense.

WHAT IS THE IP CODE?

This is the Ingress Protection rating scale. It measures the effectiveness of eliminating waters entry into the product. It’s on a scale from 0-8. The international electro-technical commission established this standard. The first number in the IP is for foreign objects like dust and the second number is for water. So, for instance IP58 means that it has an average defense against dust but a stronger defense against water. An “X” can be placed in the section not meant to be rated, for instance:

• IPX1 – Not protected.

• IPX8 – item can go under water.

Most products defined as “water proof” tend to have a rating of IPX7. This system is extremely effective in finding out whether or not your electronic device is a good swimmer.