Technologies

Is My Phone Waterproof? IP68, IPX8 Ratings Explained

What does IP67, IP68 or IPX8 mean? And can you take your phone swimming? Here’s what you should know.

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.

Water resistance used to be something found on beefy, rubber-sealed rugged phones designed for construction workers or downhill mountain bikers. But things have changed, and in 2023 you’ll find some kind of water resistance built into most mainstream phones, including the iPhone 14 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google’s Pixel 7 Pro.

The value of water-resistance in a phone is clear to anyone who’s ever spilled tea, coffee or soda over their device. It can mean the difference between a quick wipe with a napkin and an expensive trip to the store.

Not all phones can withstand a dunk in water, and some shouldn’t be near liquid at all. Almost no phones should be taken swimming in a pool, and sea swimming is out of the question. If you’ve shopped for a phone recently, then you’ll have come across terms like «water resistant» as well as the now common IP67, IP68 or IPX8 ratings. But what do those ratings really mean and, crucially, how waterproof is your expensive new phone?

Let’s break down the jargon and find out.

What does IP67, IP68 and IPX8 mean?

IP, or ingress protection ratings (aka international protection ratings), are a standard set forth by the International Electrotechnical Commission. According to the organization, the codes are designed as a «system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment.»

The first number in the rating code represents the amount of protection provided against the entry of foreign solid objects, such as fingers or dust. These protection levels range from a low of 0 to a high of 6.

The second number represents the degree of protection against the entry of moisture or liquid, with protection levels ranging from a low of 0 to a high of 8.

Nothing's earbuds in a small puddle — Nothing’s earbuds are IPX4 rated, which is enough to keep them safe from sweat during your workouts.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sometimes you’ll see an IP rating with a number replaced with an X, such as IPX8. In this instance, a company hasn’t provided testing details so the rating number is replaced with an X. An IPX8-rated device can survive being submerged in water, then, but it hasn’t officially been rated for any protection from dust.

The iPhone 14 Pro has an IP68 rating, meaning it’s protected from dust getting inside and can withstand being submerged in water. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is also IP68 rated. So they’re equally water-resistant, right? Well, no. That’s where it gets confusing.

For an 8 on the IP rating, the IEC demands a device can withstand being submerged in at least 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Beyond that, it’s up to the manufacturer. The S23 Ultra can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes, while Apple says the iPhone 14 Pro is safe in up to 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. So while any phone with an IP68 rating will have had to hit that 1 meter-30 minute minimum threshold, it’s important to check the fine print and see exactly what your phone offers.

For further details on all the IP ratings, you can see charts at the end of this article outlining the protection levels set by the IEC.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max can be submerged in water up to 6 meters deep for up to 30 minutes at a time.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Can I go swimming with my iPhone?

While the iPhone 14 Pro’s advertised 6 meters of water-resistance might make it seem like you can slip one into your swim shorts and hit the pool, you’d be well advised to leave it out of the water. The IP rating is tested in controlled conditions — in water with no movement. Moving your phone in the water will add more water pressure, making it more likely that water could find its way inside and do irreparable damage to your phone.

The IP tests are also done using fresh water; most pools will have additional chemicals such as chlorine, which could make a difference to your phone’s resistance. And you should absolutely keep your phone out of the sea: Salt water could cause a lot of trouble, including degrading the metal parts in your charging port.

Even if your phone has the top IP68 resistance rating, it’s good practice to treat the feature as a backup in case of emergencies. Your phone is not designed to go snorkeling, so don’t try using the camera to snag pictures of starfish or whatever. Nor should you try to record TikTok videos of yourself jumping off the high dive into the deep end. It’s there for accidents like spilling a drink or emergencies like making a call in the pouring rain.

The OnePlus Nord 2 does not have any stated resistance to water — keep phones like this extra safe when you’re around liquids.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

My phone doesn’t have an IP rating. Can it get wet?

In order for a company to advertise that their product has an IP rating at all, it needs to have undergone strict tests to ensure it meets the requirements. These tests can be timely and costly, so it’s understandable that some companies simply don’t want to spend the cash, particularly when it comes to budget-focused models.

Some phones — including Motorola’s Moto G50 — use terms like «water-repellent» or «water-resistant» without an official IP rating. These handsets may make use of methods like rubberized seals or water-repellent nano coating to keep moisture at bay. While these phones may well survive an accidental dunking, it’s worth keeping them safe from being fully submerged in water. But you shouldn’t need to worry too much about taking calls in the rain.

If your phone makes no mention of water resistance, then it’s best to assume that it has none and you should take as much care as you can around liquids.

Solid protection

IP Code	Protection	Object size
0	No protection.	N/A
1	Protection from contact with any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand. But no protection against deliberate contact with a body part, such as a finger.	Less than 50mm
2	Protection from fingers or similar objects.	Less than 12.5mm
3	Protection from tools, thick wires or similar objects.	Less than 2.5mm
4	Protection from most wires, screws or similar objects.	Less than 1mm
5	Partial protection from contact with harmful dust.	N/A
6	Protection from contact with harmful dust.	N/A

Moisture protection

IP Code	Protection	Test duration	Usage
0	No protection.	N/A	N/A
1	Protection against vertically dripping water.	10 mins	Light rain
2	Protection against vertically dripping water when device is tilted at an angle up to 15 degrees.	10 mins	Light rain
3	Protection against direct sprays of water when device is tilted at an angle up to 60 degrees.	5 mins	Rain and spraying
4	Protection from sprays and splashing of water in all directions.	5 mins	Rain, spraying and splashing
5	Protection from low-pressure water projected from a nozzle with a 6.3mm diameter opening in any direction.	3 mins from a distance of 3 meters	Rain, splashing and direct contact with most kitchen and bathroom faucets
6	Protection from water projected in powerful jets from a nozzle with a 12.5mm diameter opening in any direction.	3 mins from a distance of 3 meters	Rain, splashing, direct contact with kitchen and bathroom faucets, outdoor use in rough sea conditions
7	Protected from immersion in water with a depth of up to 1 meter (or 3.3 feet) for up to 30 mins.	30 mins	Rain, splashing and accidental submersion
8	Protected from immersion in water with a depth of more than 1 meter (manufacturer must specify exact depth).	At least 30 mins	Rain, splashing and accidental submersion

This article is updated periodically to include new devices.

Technologies

Skip Your iPhone’s Lockscreen: Here’s the Hidden Flashlight Trick You Need to Know

A couple of taps can really make a difference on your iPhone.

Not long ago, your iPhone’s lockscreen would only allow two app shortcuts that you couldn’t change: camera controls and a flashlight toggle. However, iOS 18.2 allows you to customize these shortcuts to almost anything you might want. This small but impactful change is one of many ways iOS 18 supercharges customization for iPhone and iPad users. But what if you still want an easy-to-access way to toggle your flashlight without unlocking your phone?

Apple introduced an accessibility feature in iOS 14 that, once enabled, allows you to perform actions by just tapping on the back of your phone. The feature is called Tap Back and it remains a sleeper feature that’s sneakily hidden away in your settings menu. Enabling Tap Back essentially allows you to create a button on the back of your iPhone to perform an action without needing to take up any space.

Once you have Tap Back enabled, it doesn’t take long to see how much of a game-changer it can be with its added convenience. Below, we’ll show you how to set it up so a couple of taps on the back of your iPhone will let you launch just about anything you want.

For more, check out what’s in the latest iOS 18.4 release.

How to set up Back Tap on iPhone

Whether you want to link Back Tap with your flashlight, camera or launch a different iPhone app, the path through your iPhone settings begins the same way.

On your compatible iPhone (iPhone 8 or later), launch the Settings application and go to Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Now you have the option to launch your action (in this case, your flashlight) with either two or three taps. Although two taps is obviously faster, I would suggest three taps because if you fidget with your phone, it’s easy to accidentally trigger the accessibility feature.

Once you choose a tap option, select the Flashlight option — or a different action if you prefer. You’ll see over 30 options to choose from, including system options like Siri or taking a screenshot, to accessibility-specific functions like opening a magnifier or turning on real-time live captions. You can also set up Back Tap to open the Control Center, go back home, mute your audio, turn the volume up and down and run any shortcuts you’ve downloaded or created.

You’ll know you’ve successfully selected your choice when a blue checkmark appears to the right of the action. You could actually set up two shortcuts this way — one that’s triggered by two taps and one that’s triggered by three taps to the iPhone’s back cover.

Once you exit the Settings application, you can try out the newly enabled Back Tap feature by tapping the back of your iPhone — in my case, to turn on the flashlight. To turn off the flashlight, you can tap on the back of your iPhone as well, but you can also just turn it off from your lock screen if that’s easier.

For more great iPhone tips, here’s how to keep your iPhone screen from dimming all the time and canceling all those subscriptions you don’t want or need.

Technologies

All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

Bad news: Mario Kart World will cost $80. Good news: These classic games will get free revamped versions for Switch 2.

Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch event on Wednesday has upset some fans for one key reason: pricing. The new console will be released on June 5 at a starting price of $450, and it will have new games, like Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders and Donkey Kong Bananza. But those games could cost as much as $80 (and that’s before factoring in possible tariffs).

Fortunately, Nintendo has also announced that some Nintendo Switch games will get free updates to improve playability on the upcoming console.

«By connecting your Nintendo Switch 2 to the internet, you can download free updates that may improve performance or add support for features such as GameShare in select games,» the company posted.

Here are all the Nintendo Switch games that can get a free update for the Switch 2.

Nintendo also announced that other Switch games will have upgraded versions of the base game, called Switch 2 Editions. These games, which include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, may offer improved graphics, unique ways to play the game with the Switch 2 hardware, and other features.

You can buy a digital or physical copy of these games if you’re purchasing them for the first time. But Switch 2 Edition games are not free if you already own the Switch version of one of these games, so you’ll have to buy an upgrade pack to play the updated version.

It’s unclear how much Switch 2 Editions of games and upgrade packs will cost, and it’s also unclear how upgrade packs will work with physical versions of Switch games.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will also be backward compatible with certain games. While we don’t know all the Switch games that will be playable on the Switch 2, we know some Switch games have startup (PDF) or in-game (PDF) compatibility issues with the upcoming console.

For more on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, here’s what we know about the upcoming console and what to know about games like Mario Kart World and Duskbloods.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 4

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 4.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword about knocked me out. I struggled with 1-Across, «Elphaba’s broom in ‘Wicked’ or Aladdin’s lamp in ‘Aladdin,’ thinking it was a word like «magic» but with one less letter. And I was also stumped by 4-Down, «kibble nibblers,» which I thought for sure was «dogs» or «pups.» Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Elphaba’s broom in «Wicked» or Aladdin’s lamp in «Aladdin»
Answer: PROP

5A clue: Thorough investigation
Answer: PROBE

6A clue: Metaphor for an unquestioning rule-follower
Answer: ROBOT

7A clue: Harvard and Yale, for two
Answer: IVIES

8A clue: ___ Wearhouse (department store chain)
Answer: MENS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Definitively determine
Answer: PROVE

2D clue: Herald of spring
Answer: ROBIN

3D clue: Orchestral reeds
Answer: OBOES

4D clue: Kibble nibblers
Answer: PETS

5D clue: Fastidiously proper
Answer: PRIM

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.