I thought it would be kind of fun to test the IPX7 water resistance of the Moto G (3^rd Generation). The IPX7 certification translates to a water resistance of up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. It’s really important though to have the back cover completely sealed and attached to this device as this is basically what keeps the bulk of the water from causing any sort of internal damage. We don’t have any sort of protective flaps over the micro USB port or the 3.5mm headphone jack as they are treated with a nano coating. So with that said, let’s just go ahead and go outside and see how it does.

The first test is just to see how it does in rain or simulated rain since it is summertime and we are in a drought. I just used a hose to spray water on the Moto G but just go ahead and pretend it’s rain. It’ll add to the experience. With that said, the Moto G did very well. This device was obviously very wet, as you can see. But it still functioned flawlessly.

The second test I did was just with a container of water. In this test, I decided to leave it submerged underwater for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes were up, I pulled it out of the water, gave it an initial test and then I dried it off to test the device again. And it didn’t show any signs of water damage. It worked perfectly fine. I did pry off the back cover to see if any water got inside and it did. But the SIM card and the microSD card slots were bone dry. And that’s really the section that needs to be dry.

But still I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to simulate an accidental drop in deeper water to see if it would survive. I wanted to drop it in my hot tub in a section that is between 2-3 feet deep with water that is not only around 104 degrees Fahrenheit but also filled with bromine and minerals.

So I dropped it in. it did some acrobatic flips and then after a few seconds, I went right in after it as if this whole scenario were an accident. And to my surprise, it still worked and it actually worked just as well as if it hadn’t been dropped in a hot tub.    

So overall, the Moto G is apparently an amphibian. I’m not in the business of destroying smartphones but I did want to test if it could live up to Motorola’s claim of an IPX7 water resistance and it does live up to that claim. So well done Motorola.