Is the OnePlus 11 Waterproof? What the IP64 Rating Means

The OnePlus 11 goes back to the OnePlus drawing board. Their phones usually undercut Apple and Samsung while making meaningful compromises to cut costs. They typically skip out on a proper water resistance rating and omit wireless charging.

To expand into the flagship territory, OnePlus began making Pro models with the OnePlus 7 Pro. The phones were noticeably more expensive than the normal ones, and they couldn’t only make a Pro version since their business model began with flagship killers.

For example, the OnePlus 8 Pro model came with 30W wireless charging and an IP rating. The 8 skips the telephoto camera and has no IP rating and wireless charging.

Again, the OnePlus 9, that phone didn’t have wireless charging in some regions, came with a plastic frame, and had no OIS on the primary sensor.

And they didn’t pay for an official IP certification for the vanilla OnePlus 9. As you might have already guessed, the OnePlus 9 Pro has wireless charging and an IP rating.

Weirdly, there was no OnePlus 10, and the OnePlus 10 Pro skips the IP rating for the standard versions. The T-Mobile version has the IP68 certification, so it’s possible that T-Mobile paid for that. OnePlus, on the other hand, did not.

Now, with the OnePlus 11, they don’t give you wireless charging. However, they didn’t entirely omit the IP rating. We still get IP64. IP64 isn’t as good as IP67 or IP68, but it’s better than no water resistance.

Paying for a higher IP rating would’ve made the price of the OnePlus 11 shoot up, and they didn’t want to do that since this phone goes back to the flagship killer pricing of 699$.

What is an IP Rating?

British international standards define IP Ratings for electronic consumer devices. IP Ratings have been widespread on smartphones since 2017. IP ratings have the letters “IP” followed by two numbers.

The first number indicates dust, scratch, and physical resistance. The second number portrays how resistant the device is to water.

People often confuse the terms waterproof and water resistant. If a product is waterproof, you can theoretically use it in all kinds of wet environments at any depth for any period. Currently, we don’t have such a smartphone on the market.

If a product is waterproof, either no water can pass through it, or the product won’t suffer any damage if it does. Smartphones are water resistant, not waterproof.

To some extent, they can resist water without any noticeable long-term damage or usability effects. The least we’ve seen a smartphone is IPX2. This means there’s no dust or physical damage protection, but it’s slightly safe from vertical drops of water.

The term IP68 isn’t very reliable either since iPhones are tested at 6m depth and are rated the same as other phones, which only get tested at 1.5m.

Standard ratings on smartphones are IP53, IP54, IP67, and IP68. We usually see the IPX8 rating on foldable phones, which means there aren’t any guarantees about dust resistance and durability.

But, there’s extreme water resistance, and the foldable phones successfully survive under depth for a long time.

IP53 and IP54 signify good dust protection but are not dust-tight like IP68. They differ when it comes to water resistance. If a phone has the IP53 certification, it’s splashproof. The phone can survive a 6.3mm water nozzle for 3 minutes at a distance of 3 meters.

If there’s an IP54 rating, it can theoretically survive water splashes from all directions for 5 minutes. Now, what’s the IP64 rating on the OnePlus 11?

What exactly is IP64?

According to OnePlus via GSMArena, the OnePlus 11 has the IP64 certification. This means that the phone has the same water resistance capabilities as a phone that has IP54. However, they differ in terms of dust resistance.

IP64 signifies that the phone is protected from dust to the maximum possible extent. However, in terms of water resistance, it’s only splashproof.

It survives water splashing from all directions in carefully controlled lab environments for five minutes. This implies that OnePlus did not officially test the phone for water submersion, and it’s unsafe to do so.

OnePlus 11: Is it Waterproof?

The OnePlus 11 is not waterproof. While it may survive an accidental splash or a few raindrops, it’s in no way safe in the shower or a swimming pool.

We don’t recommend testing out the water resistance on your own. Companies conduct these tests with fresh water in laboratories and don’t have water damage in the warranty. If you damage your phone due to contact with water, then the company isn’t responsible.

The primary purpose of an IP rating is to give consumers a little peace of mind that their device was tested for accidents before. The intention was never to push the limits of water resistance capabilities.

The lack of IP67 or IP68 shouldn’t significantly deter buying the OnePlus 11 since the phone remains an excellent package overall. 1440P 120Hz AMOLED with the 8 Gen 2 and excellent cameras are difficult to find at that price segment.

Sudhanshu, a tech writer at DealNTech, is a tech enthusiast who loves to experiment with the latest gadgets and software, especially mobile devices and operating systems. He shares his findings on mobile technology in informative and engaging articles. Email: [email protected]

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