AARP Hearing Center
How to Stay Cool When Your Smartphone Is Hot
These measures may help prevent a cooked handset from overheating
Phone feeling hot? Here's what to do before it gets worse
AARP (Getty Images)
My smartphone recently overheated and shut down. I’m concerned it may have been permanently damaged. Why did this happen, and what can I do?
Paraphrasing (and with apologies to) George Gershwin, the livin’ isn’t always easy in summertime, at least when it comes to your smartphone.
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As your question suggests, smartphones aren’t built for sweltering heat. But don’t sweat it.
Devices can roast at the beach or bake in a scorching hot vehicle for prolonged periods of time. These are no-no’s, of course, and you should always be mindful of your smartphone when the mercury rises. The somewhat-obvious-but-not-always-possible remedy is to seek shade and cooler temperatures.
You’ll also want to power your phone off, assuming the device hasn’t already shut itself down. If left on, lower the brightness, and turn off the Bluetooth GPS apps and Wi-Fi if you’re not using them.
Six reasons your phone is heating up
Blistering outdoor heat isn’t the only reason your smartphone may be running hot. Among other causes:
- The device’s CPU or processor may be overtaxed. This can occur when too many apps are open. Some apps may be running in the background, and graphics-intensive games and augmented reality apps are both resource hogs. Video streaming can also strain the phone.
- You’re using a charger from a less-than-reputable brand.
- That charger and/or its charging cord are damaged.
- You’ve been juicing up the phone by placing it on a wireless charging pad.
- The operating system software and/or apps need updating.
- The handset has been infected with a virus or malware.
Instances where a phone gets warm may be worrisome at times but are not uncommon, and while it is possible to permanently damage the device and/or shorten battery life if it’s exposed to heat too long, oftentimes the phone will cool off by itself and, um, weather the storm.
The Apple iPhone is designed to function properly between ambient temperatures of 32°F and 95°F, same as the Samsung Galaxy and other Android handsets. Both companies note that their devices can also heat up when you’re setting them up for the very first time, or when transferring data or restoring them from a backup.
Some safeguards are already in place to keep your device from overheating. In the case of an Apple iPhone, you may see a message that reads “Restore paused. Restoring from iCloud will resume when this [device] cools down.”
If your phone does overheat, a temperature warning will appear on the display, and certain features will be disabled until the device cools down. Even if it continues to operate, the screen may dim, and the phone may run sluggishly.
Under dire circumstances, you may still be able to make emergency phone calls on an overheated iPhone by tapping the Emergency button.
Six steps to avoid the boiling point
Removing your device from heat is pretty much the only thing to do when a phone has already overheated, especially if you’ve been out in the sun. But you can take proactive measures to keep your phone cool.
- Ensure that the operating system and all the apps on the handset have been updated.
- The antivirus software company Norton says to avoid placing your phone on top of other electronics in order to improve airflow. Heat can be passed from one device to another.
- Norton also recommends charging the device on a cool, flat surface rather than, say, a bed or cushion, which could trap heat.
- Take the phone out of its case while charging; it might dissipate the heat.
- If you’re in an area with spotty internet, your phone may work extra hard to attempt to connect to a network — which not only raises the temperature of the device but also drains the battery. Turning on Airplane Mode might help, says Asurian, a company that insures phones and provides extended batteries.
- Avoid sudden and dramatic temperature changes, Asurian warns, and never place your phone in the freezer or fridge. It can cause condensation and damage the circuitry. I’d steer clear of putting it too close to an air conditioner as well.
Bonus tip: Avoid the cold, too. Summer heat won’t last forever, so keep in mind that extreme cold is also kryptonite for a phone. Do what you can to keep it warm, at least within reason. Just as you should avoid extreme temperature changes to cool the device on a hot day, apply the same precautions when you’re trying to warm it up. Condensation is not just an issue going from hot to cold; it can happen from cold to hot as well. Steer clear of blowing hair dryers and portable heaters, too.
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