Starting from the Xperia Z, which was unveiled in the first half of 2013, all Sony flagships have featured IP certification that made them waterproof. With their recent flagships, Sony further improved the dust and water resistance capabilities of its phones to IP68 — the highest possible certification possible for a consumer device.

Despite an IP68 certification though, Sony has changed its stance on the water and dust related damages to its products. The updated support pages from the company now says that its devices should not be used underwater and that the IP certification of its devices was achieved under laboratory conditions. Thus, it strictly recommends users not to use their Xperia device underwater for taking pictures or just about anything else.

“Sony devices that are tested for their waterproof abilities are placed gently inside a container filled with tap water and lowered to a depth of 1.5 metres. After 30 minutes in the container, the device is gently taken out and its functions and features are tested.

Moving or operating the device while it is submerged is not tested during the laboratory tests. There are also many environmental factors which we could not assess (e.g. water movement or water pressure changes during the movement), if a device is used underwater. Therefore we recommend not submerge our Xperia Z5 in water.”

An IP58/68 rating means that the device can easily survive in up to 1.5m of fresh water for up to 30 mins. However, it looks like Sony is not confident that its products will survive those claims or possibly, it has had to replace a lot of devices due to water damage which ultimately forced it to change its stance on this matter.

Sony had first issued these warnings for the Xperia Z3+/Xperia Z4, but now also includes its latest flagship: the Xperia Z5.

Considering that Sony has heavily advertised the waterproofing capabilities of its smartphones, it makes little sense for the company to tell owners of its devices to not use their device underwater. Heck, Sony itself has shown its smartphones being used underwater for clicking pictures in advertisements, and now, it is recommending users to not do the exact same thing.

Will you be buying a Sony handset in the future for its waterproofing capability, even though Sony suggests not to use them underwater?