What does it mean when a product is referred to as splashproof or waterproof? Will it survive a pool party? Can you submerge it in water? Will your sweat destroy it? A lot are wondering, so we’re answering!
First let’s clarify, 100% waterproof products will always have some limit to them, such as how deep in the water they can go and for how long. That’s why the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) created International Protection Ratings or IP ratings to refer to how much water, moisture or dirt a product can stand (assuming people will push the product to the limit).
What do the ratings mean?
IP ratings are a standard rating across all brands and products for how much solid and liquids an item is protected from. The first number after IP refers to the solid/dust resistance. The second number refers to the water protection.
Is it waterproof?
We often get asked - is a product waterproof. Our products have different water resistance ratings.
Here's some common IP ratings used in headphones and what it means:
- IP44 - Withstands solid material over 1 mm; Protected against water splashed from any direction.
- IP55 - Protected against dust; Protected Against low pressure jets of water from any direction.
- IP66 - Totally protected against dust; Protected against strong jets of water from any direction.
- IP67 - Totally protected against dust; Protected against immersion up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.
The max solid rating is 6. The max water rating is 8. Some brands may not test for the dust rating, so you can see an IPX6 rating, for example.
True Wireless Collection
For a more in depth understanding check out CNET’s article here, where we got our own lesson on IP ratings!