Your phone is rated IP68. The manufacturer's website shows it being dunked in water. You feel reassured. Then your speaker sounds muffled after getting caught in light rain, and it is confusing. Here is what your IP rating actually covers — and the one critical thing it does not.
What IP Ratings Measure
IP stands for Ingress Protection, defined by international standard IEC 60529. It is a two-digit system: the first digit rates protection against solid particles (dust), and the second digit rates protection against liquids. So IP68 means the highest solid particle protection (6) and the highest standardized liquid protection (8).
IP67 certifies protection against immersion to 1 metre for 30 minutes. IP68 certifies protection at greater depths — exact specifications vary by manufacturer. Apple tests iPhone 15 to 6 metres. Samsung Galaxy S24 is rated to 1.5 metres. These are tested under controlled laboratory conditions with fresh, still water at stable temperature.
What IP Ratings Do Not Cover
The certification conditions are significantly narrower than real-world use. IP ratings do not cover:
- Saltwater or chlorinated pool water, which are more chemically aggressive than fresh water and penetrate seals more effectively.
- High-pressure water from a tap, shower, or ocean wave — dynamic pressure exceeds the static pressure of the test environment.
- Devices with degraded seals — the water resistance of any phone decreases after drops, screen repairs, or simply aging gaskets. The rating applies to new devices tested before any wear occurs.
Why Your Speaker Gets Wet Even on an IP68 Phone
This is the key point. The IP68 rating protects your phone's sealed internal compartments — the battery, logic board, and camera assemblies, which are enclosed behind pressure-sealed gaskets. The speaker grille is not sealed, because it cannot be. Sound requires air movement, and a truly sealed speaker grille would produce no sound at all.
The speaker mesh is intentionally permeable. Water can enter through the same openings that sound exits through, regardless of IP rating. This is not a defect or a seal failure — it is physics. Every IP68-rated phone with a permeable speaker grille (which is every smartphone) can have water in its speaker after water exposure.
What IP68 Phones Need After Getting Wet
Even if your phone's internal components are completely protected by the IP sealing, the speaker grille almost certainly has water in it. Run Fix My Speaker immediately after significant water exposure — rain, poolside splashing, or any submersion — regardless of your phone's IP rating. The internal components are protected; the speaker is not.
This is normal and expected behavior for every waterproof smartphone on the market. The acoustic ejection step is simply part of the correct recovery process for any water exposure event.
Does IP Rating Degrade Over Time?
Yes, meaningfully. The water resistance of any phone is determined by the integrity of its seals — adhesive gaskets and rubber compression seals around the SIM tray, buttons, ports, and screen perimeter. These degrade with time, heat cycles, drops, and any repair that breaks the factory seal. A two-year-old phone with its original IP68 rating may have significantly reduced real-world water resistance compared to its tested specification.