What the Tech: Smartphones and the heat
You’ve probably seen it happen: leave your phone in the sun too long and it suddenly shuts down with a warning that it’s too hot to use. But your phone doesn’t need to be sitting on a pool chair to overheat. The summer heat, combined with everyday use, can put your device at serious risk, and most people don’t realize how much damage it can do until it’s too late.
Let’s start with the car. It’s one of the most common places people leave or use their phones. Maybe you toss it on the passenger seat or mount it on the dashboard to follow GPS directions. Even with the air conditioner running, direct sunlight through the windshield turns that area into an oven. You may have even gotten the “too hot” notification while the phone sits next to the driver’s seat.
Apple warns that using your phone for GPS navigation, streaming movies, or playing games while it’s charging causes the internal temperature to rise. Add heat from the sun or a hot car interior, and your phone is in trouble. Not only can it shut down temporarily, but repeated overheating will wear down the battery, reducing how long your phone lasts on a charge, and how long it lasts, period.
And if you’re using a bargain-bin charger you picked up at a gas station? That’s even worse. Cheap or off-brand charging cables and adapters often lack temperature control protections, which can make overheating more likely and more dangerous.
So, what do you do if your phone displays that high-temperature warning?
- First, move it to a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
- Take off the case to help it cool down faster.
- Once it turns back on, power it off again and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- Avoid plugging it in right away. Charging a hot phone will only make things worse.
- And please, don’t stick your phone in the fridge or freezer to cool it down.
I tested that last one just to see what would happen. After putting an old phone in the refrigerator for five minutes, I found condensation not just on the outside, but likely inside the phone too. That moisture can damage the internal components and lead to long-term issues.
One overheating incident may not destroy your phone, but let it happen too often, and your battery will pay the price. Keep your phone cool, even during the hottest months, and you’ll keep it running strong for a lot longer.
