Type the code on your phone, watch, or speaker — IP68, IP67, IPX4 — and get which test each digit passed and what the rating cannot guarantee you.
Example filled in above: — type your own code over it.
IP68
Solids6
Dust-tight
No dust ingress (vacuum test, up to 8 hours).
Water8
Continuous immersion
Continuous immersion under the manufacturer's conditions — beyond level 7.
Position on the scale shows how high the digit ranks.
In short: dust-tight; withstands continuous immersion, under the manufacturer's conditions.
The two digits are two separate tests. The first says what keeps dust out, the second which water test it passed — and X means untested, not zero. The 8 names only the category: the maker sets the depth and duration, from 1.5 m to 6 m.
Two tables, the same values the decoder uses.
| Digit | Protection | The test |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No solids protection | No contact or object-ingress test. |
| 1 | Large objects, over 50 mm | Keeps out the back of a hand; no protection against deliberate touch. |
| 2 | Fingers, over 12.5 mm | Keeps out fingers and similar objects. |
| 3 | Tools, over 2.5 mm | Keeps out tools and thick wires. |
| 4 | Thin wires, over 1 mm | Keeps out thin wires, screws, large insects. |
| 5 | Dust-protected | Some dust may enter, but not enough to harm operation. |
| 6 | Dust-tight | No dust ingress (vacuum test, up to 8 hours). |
| X | Not tested for solids | X does not mean zero: the solids axis was not tested or published. |
| Digit | Protection | The test |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No water protection | No water test. |
| 1 | Vertical dripping | Vertical drops for 10 minutes, no harmful effects. |
| 2 | Dripping at 15° | Dripping with the case tilted 15° from normal. |
| 3 | Rain, spray at 60° | Spray up to 60° from vertical — ordinary rain. |
| 4 | Splashes from any direction | Splashing from all sides, no harmful effects. |
| 5 | Water jets | Jets from a 6.3 mm nozzle, from any direction. |
| 6 | Powerful jets | Powerful 12.5 mm jets: waves, hose-downs. |
| 7 | Immersion 1 m / 30 min | Temporary immersion: 1 m deep, 30 minutes. |
| 8 | Continuous immersion | Continuous immersion under the manufacturer's conditions — beyond level 7. |
| 9 | Hot jets, 80 °C | Close-range high-pressure jets at 80 °C (industrial wash-downs). |
| X | Not tested for water | X does not mean zero: the water axis was not tested or published. |
The IEC 60529 standard gives enclosures a shared language: instead of “water-resistant” — vague and unverifiable — each digit points to a precise test with a nozzle, a pressure, and a duration. That is why one IP68 phone is tested at 6 m and another at 1.5 m: the digit names the category, the maker names the conditions.
But the rating is not a usage promise. Tests run in a lab, in fresh water, on new devices — salt water, chlorine, wear, and pressure from movement are outside what the code guarantees. And past 6, water tests do not accumulate: an IPX7 (immersion) is not automatically good against jets.
Not as a rule. 8 means “continuous immersion under the manufacturer's conditions”: Apple tests its iPhones at 6 m / 30 min, the Samsung Galaxy S25 at 1.5 m / 30 min. Check your model's spec sheet.
At dust they are level: both dust-tight (6). At water, 7 means temporary immersion at 1 m / 30 min under fixed conditions; 8 means continuous immersion under the manufacturer's conditions — more than 7, but the conditions vary by model.
The rating does not cover swimming: tests run in still fresh water, on a new device. Salt water, chlorine, pressure from movement, and seal wear are outside what the code promises — and makers say resistance decreases over time.
That the dust axis was not tested or published — not that protection is zero. IPX4 speaks only of water: splashes from any direction.
Not necessarily. Past 6, tests do not accumulate: 7 tests immersion, 5 and 6 test jets — different dimensions. Devices passing both carry a dual rating of the form IPX5/IPX7.
The heavy wash-down version: close-range high-pressure jets at 80 °C — machinery, food equipment. The K comes from the automotive ISO 20653 standard; in IEC 60529 the equivalent test is digit 9.
They are two different standards: IP6X only says it is dust-tight (water untested in the IP system), while 5 ATM comes from the watch standard ISO 22810. They do not convert into each other.
Yes. Apple writes in its spec sheets that water and dust resistance is “not permanent” and may decrease through normal wear. The rating describes the new device, tested in a lab.