How much does it cost to get an IP rating?

Freezanator · November 25, 2017

Many recent mobile flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG V30, iPhone X, HTC U11 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium and share one thing in common. They have an IP (Ingress Protection) rating. A quick Google search would reveal what each of the numbers stand for in their respective ratings. One other thing which also comes to mind when you hear the name of these flagships is their high price. Part of the reason why they are expensive is the cost to obtain an IP rating. So, really, how much does it cost to get an IP rating?

Lurick · November 25, 2017

There isn't really a set price.

It mostly depends on the type of certification the manufacturer is willing to pay to get a device certified and how rigorous they want the testing to be. Higher ratings cost more obviously but I'm sure it's in the millions to get a device certified.

Freezanator · November 26, 2017

9 hours ago, huilun02 said:

So are you implying that every phone actually has the same water resistance?

You know this isn't some test paper that you can cheat or bribe your way to a higher score. Because when you get a certification, people who buy the phone can actually test to see if it is up to snuff.

What I meant was how much it costs the manufacturer of a phone to get their devices tested and get them certified (if they pass).

SunnyRFF · August 31, 2019

On 11/25/2017 at 10:09 AM, huilun02 said:

So are you implying that every phone actually has the same water resistance?

You know this isn't some test paper that you can cheat or bribe your way to a higher score. Because when you get a certification, people who buy the phone can actually test to see if it is up to snuff.

Most likely yes, the IP(Ingress Protection) rating was developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission and other organizations and officially became IEC Standard 60592 in 1998. The IEC is based in Switzerland and is 1/3 of three sister organizations that are responsible for setting global standards. The other two are ISO(International Organization for Standardization) and ITU(International Telecommunications Union). There are 162 countries that are members of this coalition, and every country gets a single vote when deciding new worldwide standards.

The U.S. like many countries, have our own standardization organizations, such as NEMA, NTS, OSHA, NFPA, etc... that set standards for our country, but the standards they set, at their base, follow the global standards, and then may be stricter or have added regulations or codes. Private companies can do IP testing, but the majority of it is done by NTS(National Testing Systems), who test for a very wide range of industries, and products. Including medical equipment, fiber optics, ballistics, national defense weapons, UL testing, hardware/software testing, and lots more.

I rambled on about this (partly because I just retired and am bored..lol) because to get the IP testing and standardized stamp on your product, like @Lurick stated above, is very expensive and time consuming. Plus if you get a good(high) rating, it's a double edged sword, it means that you can tout it on your product and charge a little more than your competitor, but it also means the prototypes you made with all the expensive materials with, have to be used when the product goes into production, raising the company's bottom line. I also believe (and don't quote me) that before the product ships, the NTS re-tests random number of the product before it ships, for quality control. Lastly, if a company just stamps an IP rating on their product without having it tested by a recognized organization, they can be heavily penalized and/or fined by the IEC.