Is the OnePlus 12 waterproof?

Best answer: No, OnePlus has only rated the OnePlus 12 to IP65, which is dustproof and “protected against water jets.” It is not protected against submersion, nor is it protected against “powerful” water jets, such as power washers or higher-pressure sink/shower sprayers.

Once upon a time, waterproofing was rare on a smartphone, but these days, not only do the best Android phones you can buy have IP68 waterproofing, but the most worthwhile budget Android phones do, too. When OnePlus was the scrappy upstart “flagship killer,” it would have the seals to try and keep water out but not pay for the official certification because of the costs involved. It couldn’t advertise its phones as being waterproof, but owners could be pleasantly surprised if their OnePlus phone took an impromptu dive into the bathtub.

These days, OnePlus isn’t as scrappy or cash-strapped, so it does pay for IP certification on its phones, but even on flagships like the OnePlus 12, OnePlus is only rated IP65, not IP68 like the vast majority of phones over $500. Rather than waterproof, the OnePlus 12 is what I’d call “faucet-proof,” which in most instances will be just fine — but it can be better.

IP65: What the OnePlus 12’s ingress protection rating actually means

IP ratings — Ingress Protection — registers how well an electronic device can protect itself against solid particulates (dust) and liquids (water) from getting inside the device’s enclosure. This standard, first established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1976, has been used to grade everything from the smallest earbuds to factory machinery and industrial vehicles. It also used to be used to measure impact resistance, but that’s been replaced by other dedicated standards, like the MIL-STD-810 drop testing case makers abuse to call cases “military-grade.”

The IP rating system these days includes two digits and optional letters, and for smartphones in particular, we want to see both numbers as high as we can. The 65 in the OnePlus 12’s IP ratings equates to the following:

1st numeral: 6 — Dust-tight

The first digit of an IP rating indicates how well a device is protected against “solid particulate” matter, AKA dust, dirt, and sand. IP6X means that dust cannot get into a device’s inner enclosure and disrupt the device’s performance. Officially, it’s called dust-tight, but the more common term is dustproof.

And common it is; outside folding phones, almost all phones without removable backs or folding hinges are IP6X protected these days. Sealing a device against any liquid for water resistance overlaps greatly with the processes for keeping dust out, so dustproof has become table stakes for traditional “slab” phones.

2nd numeral: 5 — Protected against water jets

Water resistance and electronics is just a wonderful little quagmire between “splashproof” IPX4 and “continuous immersion” resistance — which is IPX8 “waterproof”. Last year’s OnePlus 11 was only tested to IP64, or protection against water splashed against the phone from any side. At least that level is a pretty straightforward definition, while IPX5 and IPX6 are both protection against water jets, the difference being the water pressure involved.

IPX5 can withstand spraying water of at least 4.4 psi (12.5 liters per minute through a quarter-inch nozzle) while IPX6 can withstand at least 15 psi (100 liters per minute through a half-inch “jet” nozzle). What does that actually mean? The OnePlus 12 will be fine if you have to briefly rinse it off under a kitchen faucet or a soft sprayer after smearing it with something sticky or grimy. Just don’t go blasting it with a power washer.

Can the OnePlus 12 survive being dropped in the bathtub, pool, or toilet?

OnePlus 12 teardowns like JerryRigEverything show the same rubber seals around the device’s inner edges and coating of vital interior circuits as we’d see with IP68-certified phones, so it could be perfectly fine in the water. It’s just not certified for it, and neither the standard nor the extended warranty on the OnePlus 12 will cover liquid ingress damage. The only OnePlus Protection Plans that cover water damage are the Accidental Damage Protection Plan and the top-tier OnePlus Care, which offers comprehensive coverage for your OnePlus 12.

That said, if it’s shallow/quick enough, then promptly drained and dried, you should probably be fine if it falls in the tub while bathing your toddler or slips off the kitchen counter into a relatively clean sink. It would also likely survive falling into a toilet, but cleaning off all the…stuff…it fell into might be trickier as it’s not rated against “powerful” water jets.

If you spend copious amounts of time around pools, lakes, or any large body of water, you’ll probably want to go with something that’s properly IP68 certified, but if you just need to be sure it won’t die in your pocket if you get caught in a monsoon, IP65 is fine.