During the summer there is a tendency to be outdoors much more and the smartphone becomes more and more a companion for taking pictures or shooting videos. Sea, mountains and swimming pools become pilgrimage destinations thus exposing our devices to a greater number of risks. According to CertiDeal, a company active in the refurbished mobile device market, 5% of users would be in the state of having to buy a new one when they return from vacation.
There are some measures to reduce the risks and, even if none of these can guarantee the total safety of mobile devices, adopting more than one reduces the danger.
Water, sun and sunscreen
Water, fresh or salt, is a enemy of mobile devices. It is true that the most recent smartphones have greater resistance to liquids, salt and chlorine, but it is also true that – as we will see – we tend to judge their waterproofness generously. It is not only necessary to protect them from water but, CertiDeal remembers, it would be it is advisable to handle them after having thoroughly dried hands. The same goes for the sun creams and oils, that mobile devices digest badly. Cleaning your hands is also in this case a condition not to damage them. Also there dust and sand play a role in exposing mobile devices to risk. For this reason it is advisable to protect them with a custody and keep them as much as possible in a bag or backpack.
Tutorial
How to secure tech devices while on vacation
by Antonio Dini
To safeguard the smartphone it is necessary take care of the battery too: under solar radiation the devices tend to heat up more than normal, it may therefore be useful to disable those services that are not strictly necessary, such as wi-fi. Do a not prolonged use of mobile devices is wise, as is not exposing them to temperatures above 45 ° C, as Apple explains. From this point of view forget them in the car, perhaps parked under the sun, could cause damage. CertiDeal also suggests not to charge the battery to 100% but to limit yourself to 60-80%, also in order not to expose the smartphone to prolonged charging cycles.
Other precautions
On the market there are plastic-coated cases and bags that aim to protect the devices as much as possible from liquids, dust and, in case, sand. Laminated envelopes might be inelegant and even a little bulky, but the affordable cost (they already start at 10 euros) would make it silly to risk spending a lot more on repairs or replacements. Waterproof cases have significantly higher costs and, regardless of the solution adopted, none of these is a panacea, using one increases the resistance of the smartphone but does not make it completely immune from damage.
To protect the devices from excessive temperatures, the coolest places are indicated, that is, bags, backpacks or shaded areas if there are any, perhaps protecting them with a t-shirt or a towel. Avoid placing them near cooler bags which tend to condense and disperse water.
Resistant or not?
Manufacturers tend to certify as “water resistant” the devices they sell. They don’t lie, it’s the concept of “water resistance” which needs to be clarified.
The ability to resist liquids and solid particles are expressed by the encode ip, an acronym that stands for Ingress protection, or “protection from inputs”. It is a fairly elaborate code that typically includes two digits from 0 to 6 for solids (the first digit) and from 0 to 9 for liquids (the second), where zero is synonymous with poor tolerance up to the maximum resistance. , expressed by the number 6 for solids and 9 for liquids. Where is it an X appears instead of one of the two digits, it means the manufacturer did not test specific. Newer smartphones have a degree of resistance IP68, which results in good resistance to liquids and solids even for prolonged periods. This, however, does not make them completely resistant also because, as Apple points out, the degree of resistance is strictly linked to the wear of the device mobile and is intended for decrease over time, especially in the event that after falling to the ground, the body or the display have suffered damage, albeit minor. Apple itself suggests that do not bathe with your smartphone, just as he suggests protecting it from splashes by stressing – like any other manufacturer – that damage due to liquids is not covered by warranty repairs.
To assign an Ip code to mobile devices, manufacturers do test under controlled conditions, with distilled water and in the absence of movement, because the greater the movement, the greater the pressure. On promotional messages with respect to the water resistance capacity, for example, of various iPhone models, the Agcm (Competition and Market Authority) fined Apple in 2020 since it was not specified that: “ownership is only found in the presence of specific conditions, for example during specific and controlled laboratory tests using static and pure water, and not in the normal conditions of use of the devices by consumers “. Even a high resistance code to liquids and solids, such as the Ip68 can be, does not mean that you can carry the smartphone in water.
Tutorial
How to secure tech devices while on vacation
by Antonio Dini