Stop Bringing Your Phone In The Shower: How Steam Can Ruin 'Waterproof' Phones
Listen to manufacturers and keep your phone out of humid spaces.
Dorin Puha/Getty Images
Most current smartphones feature an IP67 or IP68 rating, with the second numerical digit representing water-resistance levels. Neither IP number should ever be confused with "waterproof," and hot steam is a different animal altogether. Phones are generally described as water-resistant, though the term "waterproof" is inaccurately tossed around quite a bit. Enough that some assume their phones can tolerate water in any scenario.
In a hot shower, that steam can turn back into a liquid, both on and around your phone. That sounds perfectly fine if your phone has an IP68 rating, but water is a relentless force of nature. It will find a way in and that way is through the charging port, speakers, buttons and seals. Combined with heat, it will gradually wear down the built-in protections that keep liquid out.
Phone manufacturers...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to www.engadget.com. To see the full text click HERE
