Ingress Protection

IP Ratings what do they mean?

IP57, IP58, IP54, we often hear these foreign phrases thrown around the smartphone world
but how many of us actually know exactly what they stand for? To be precise, the IP (Ingress
Protection) rating is given to a piece of electrical apparatus to indicate the degree of
protection its enclosure affords it. It is recognisable by the preceding IP abbreviation
followed by two digits ranging from 0-6 and 0-8. A third digit is sometimes used and an X is
used for one of the digits if there is only one class of protection; i.e. IPX4 which addresses
moisture resistance only.
The first digit recognises the mechanical protection as detailed below:

The second digit illustrates the the level of water ingress protection the device offers, as
detailed below: