ATEX & IECEx Explosion Proof Tablets
Explosion Proof Tablets for ATEX and IECEx Zones
A tablet that leaves the office and enters a refinery, a chemical plant or an offshore platform stops being an ordinary IT purchase and becomes safety equipment. The explosion proof tablets in this category are certified under ATEX and IECEx, which means an independent certification body has verified that the device cannot act as an ignition source in an explosive gas or dust atmosphere. That is the difference between a rugged tablet and a certified one: rugged survives the environment, certified protects it.
Android, Windows or iOS
Most hazardous area work runs on one of three platforms, and this range covers all of them.
Android. The Tab-Ex series by ecom (a Pepperl+Fuchs brand) is built on Samsung Galaxy Tab hardware, so it feels familiar and fits into existing device management. The i.safe MOBILE IS940.2 and the fully rugged Getac ZX10-EX complete the Android line-up.
Windows. The Getac K120-EX and UX10-EX bring full Windows to Zone 2/22, which matters when your field engineers need the same SCADA clients, inspection software or Office environment they use at their desks. For heavier workloads there is even an explosion proof laptop, the F112 LT.
iOS. The XCRiPad line places a standard Apple iPad inside a certified enclosure, giving teams that are committed to the Apple ecosystem a compliant route into the field.
Match the tablet to your zone
The single most important line on any datasheet is the zone rating. Zone 1 and Zone 21 are areas where an explosive atmosphere is expected to occur in normal operation; Zone 2 and Zone 22 are areas where it is unlikely and short-lived. A device certified for Zone 1/21, such as the Tab-Ex 05 DZ1, may always be taken into Zone 2/22, but never the other way around. Most tablets here are Zone 2/22 devices, because that is where the majority of inspection rounds, maintenance work and logistics actually happen. Several models additionally carry a Division 2 rating for sites that follow the North American NEC system.
Many of these devices achieve their certification as intrinsically safe tablets: their circuits are designed so they cannot release enough electrical or thermal energy to ignite a surrounding atmosphere, even under fault conditions. Intrinsically safe tablets use the same protection principle as Ex-rated radios and gas detectors, applied to a full touchscreen computer.
ATEX, IECEx or both
ATEX is the European directive: mandatory for equipment placed on the EU market. IECEx is the international certification scheme built on the same IEC 60079 standards, widely accepted in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. For companies running global projects, IECEx tablets simplify acceptance across borders because one certificate travels with the device. Nearly every model in this category carries both approvals, and every product page states the exact marking, so you can match it against your site classification before ordering.
Choosing in practice
Three questions settle most selections. Which zone is the device actually entering, not the plant's strictest zone but the zone where the work happens? Which platform does your software require? And does the team need built-in barcode scanning, 5G or hot-swappable batteries for full shifts? The answers usually reduce twelve options to two or three. If you are unsure, send us your area classification and use case; advising on this is our daily work, and recommending the right ATEX tablets costs you nothing.
Every device ships with its certificate, all IECEx tablets in this range hold current certificates that can be verified in the official IECEx database, and each listing links the documentation so your safety officer can verify the approval before the order is placed. Stock items ship in 1-3 working days across Europe and worldwide. Where hazardous areas once meant paper checklists carried past the gate, certified ATEX tablets now bring the digital workflow to the work itself, and with the right explosion proof tablets, safety and productivity stop being a trade-off.