What the rating actually measures
IP ratings come from IEC standard 60529. The second digit is the water figure: 7 means temporary immersion at one metre for thirty minutes, and 8 means immersion deeper than one metre under conditions the manufacturer specifies. That last clause matters, because 8 is not a single fixed standard. Apple states the depth and time for each model rather than the number carrying it for them.
Broadly, iPhone 7 through iPhone X are rated IP67 at one metre for thirty minutes. IP68 arrives with iPhone 11 at two metres, its Pro models at four, and iPhone 12 and later at six metres for thirty minutes. Check your own model's specification page rather than assuming, since the figure changed several times across that range.
| The test assumes | Real life usually is |
|---|---|
| A brand-new device | A phone that is a year or three old |
| Still water | Moving water, a splash, a wave, a flush |
| Pure fresh water | Chlorinated, salted, soapy or sugary |
| A controlled temperature | Hot shower steam, a cold lake |
| No pressure beyond depth | Jets, taps, a dishwasher, a washing machine |
| An undamaged, unopened body | Drops, a replaced screen, aged adhesive |
Resistance is not permanent, and Apple says so
Apple's own guidance states that splash, water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and that resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. The seals are adhesive and gaskets, and both age. A phone that genuinely survived a pool at six months old may not survive the same pool at three years old, with no visible change to tell you the difference.
Anything that stresses the body accelerates it. Drops flex the frame and can break a seal without cracking the glass. A screen replacement, official or otherwise, is only as watertight as the adhesive used to close it. Apple also asks you to minimise exposure to soap, sunscreen, lotions, perfume and solvents, all of which degrade the seals chemically rather than mechanically.
The liquids that fall outside the test entirely
The certification is run in pure water. Pool water is chlorinated, sea water is salted, and both are outside what the rating describes. This is not a technicality: chlorine and salt attack seals and leave conductive residue behind when the water evaporates, which is why a phone can survive a swim and then fail to charge two days later as the residue does its work.
Soapy water is worse than plain water in a way that surprises people. Soap lowers surface tension, so soapy water flows through gaps that plain water would bridge. A phone in the shower is exposed to hot steam, soap, and moving water at once, which is three departures from the test in a single situation.
If your exposure was anything other than clean fresh water, rinse the phone briefly with clean fresh water while it is off, then dry it properly. Apple recommends this for its own watches after salt water, and the logic is identical: get the corrosive material out before it dries in place.
Why rated and covered are different things
The complaint arrives constantly and it is a fair one: how can a phone be rated for six metres of water and then have liquid damage excluded from its warranty? Both statements are true because they answer different questions. The rating describes how a new device performed in a laboratory. The warranty describes what Apple will pay to fix. Apple excludes liquid damage regardless of the rating, and AppleCare+ exists to bridge exactly that gap by covering it as accidental damage for a service fee.
That gap has drawn legal attention, including a suit in the United States over marketing that consumers read as waterproofing, and regulatory action elsewhere over similar advertising. Whatever the outcomes, the practical advice is unchanged: treat the rating as a safety margin against accidents, never as permission to swim with the phone.
What to do when a water-resistant iPhone gets wet anyway
The rating changes nothing about the response. Power the phone off, dry the outside thoroughly, and get any water out of the speaker grille with a low-frequency tone, because surface tension holds it in the mesh where airflow reaches it poorly. Then dry the phone properly with moving air, and avoid charging by cable until any liquid detection alert has cleared.
The one thing an IP68 phone earns you is calm. A splash on a recent, undamaged iPhone is genuinely unlikely to cause harm, and the panic responses, rice, hair dryers, and charging to check it still works, cause more damage than the water usually would.
Step by step
- 1
Power it off and dry the outside
Turn the phone off and wipe every surface with a lint-free cloth. Remove the case, which traps water against the body.
- 2
Rinse first if it was salt, pool or soapy water
Briefly rinse with clean fresh water while the phone is off, so corrosive residue leaves before it dries onto the seals and pins.
- 3
Clear the speaker with a low tone
Point the speaker at the floor and play a 165-250 Hz eject sweep at 60-80% volume for 30 seconds.
- 4
Dry port-down in moving air
Stand the phone with its openings facing down in front of a fan at room temperature. No heat, no rice.
- 5
Wait for any liquid alert to clear before charging
Use wireless charging in the meantime. Charging through a wet or residue-coated port is what turns a wet phone into a damaged one.