So I accidentally left my smartphone (Samsung S22) exposed to rain (to the point where it sat, almost soaked, for a while) and I’m getting contradictory info:
How can a phone be fine with submersion but not be fine with being rained on?
The ‘8’ part of IP68 specifies protection against continuous full immersion, or for ‘long periods’.
Generally, it’s also true that an ‘8’ rating for water implies all of the lower numbers too (so for example including 6, which is protection against water jets).
There is no contradiction because it’s solely a 'water ingress’ rating. It doesn’t guarantee anything about the externally-exposed parts of the thing not rusting or whatever.
Unless there’s something special about the S22 charging port, I think you’ll be OK. I take my Pixel swimming and hot tubbing all the time. And it gets rained or showered on frequently too.
On newer Androids you should also get a warning about the USB C port being wet or having debris in it. But even on the older waterproof phones, as long as you wait for the port to dry, it’s fine.
I’d probably try to keep it away from salt water though, or at least flush it with freshwater afterward.
There may be a mental disconnect with expectations vs. Samsung’s instructions then. Because almost all the documentation on Samsung’s website says that immediately after an immersion/getting wet, it’s a priority to carefully clean and dry the device.
So, especially if the water used has dissolved chemicals of note (salt water, chlorine, etc) it’s a great idea to do so, to prevent those additives from causing build-up, corrosion, or other damage.
The Samsung website also makes clear that all it’s ratings are based on “fresh” water, and not all liquids. Doesn’t seem to be a problem for the OP’s exposure, but might for others who have spilled booze on their phone, or god forbid some solvent!
A related note, the same website makes a point about NOT using the charging port while the phone is still wet (back to the first point). Can cause shorts and other long-term damage.
Samsung’s going to want to be cautious in their public wording to minimize support and warranty incidents. It’s like the pages of warnings that come with every appliance manual that no one ever reads. Sure, your vacuum can kill you if you’re not careful, and every plastic bag will chase down and suffocate your entire family if you look at it the wrong way, but somehow the human race survives.
My phone, like many, alerts me that the charging port is wet and refuses to charge. I suppose that functionality could fail.
Anyway, as someone said, that’s a water ingress protection, not an “immune to rust” protection, and it’s a good idea to dry off your phone is it gets wet. But you don’t need to do that immediately and carefully, wiping out with a thirsty towel within a few minutes and letting it finish drying in air is fine.
I’m probably excessively cautious then, comes from working in tech support back when water proof phones started becoming mainstream. But that was part of generation where there was a GIANT (*) next to the claims - because if you didn’t use the port seals, the ratings didn’t apply.
So I’m still very cautious about water/fluid exposure on smartphones.
I dropped my Android LG phone in a toilet ( clean water) in 2019 and thought it was a goner.
Took it all apart - back then you could take everything apart.
I let everything dry with a fan for 2 days and it’s still working to this day lol. I don’t use it as a phone - just an alarm clock and occasional internet browsing.
During peak covid, and especially when i spent time with my mom as she was dying of covid, i washed my Pixel 5 every time i came home. (When i came home from visiting my mom i also showered.) I literally washed it under running water with soap and water on a regular basis. That phone survived to have its battery and screen replaced a couple years later (after which i assumed it was no longer waterproof) and i finally replaced it about a month ago because the second battery was getting old, I’d chipped the screen, it was no longer eligible for software security upgrades, and, the thing that pushed me over the edge, the on-off button fell off. (But it worked while i shopped with that button taped into place.)
I’m pretty sure it really was water proof, until it was opened to replace the battery and screen. I mean, maybe the button fell off after 5 years of heavy use due to being washed, but i got my money’s worth out of it.
You probably are? For what it’s worth, my last few phones have gotten wet pretty much every day (I use them in the shower and while swimming). Sometimes I wash them just to clean them. I never did anything special to dry any of them, charging port or anywhere else. None of them ever had issues.
I don’t charge them until they’re dry, but other than that, I don’t worry in the slightest about water ingress.
I think it’s been a pretty standard feature on mid to high end phones for quite a while now.