When the sun is beating down and temperatures hit 30 degrees or more, smartphones quickly get hot. And heat is something the devices can’t handle at all. As with humans, their performance decreases and they run out of breath more quickly. If you still use them like any other day, you risk permanent damage or even a heat exhaustion. For example, Apple states that the iPhone should only be used in a range between 0 and 35 degrees. At higher temperatures, functions may slow down or the device may turn off the display to protect the battery, CPU and other components from damage. What can be done to prevent this from happening?
avoid the sun
Basically, you should never use a smartphone in the blazing sun or leave it lying around, especially not in the car behind the windshield. That’s why it’s better not to use smartphone holders that are attached to the glass in the vehicle in summer.
It is also better not to use the cell phone in the shade for too long, as it generates a lot of heat itself. It doesn’t have an active cooling and hardly any heat is dissipated via the case at high outside temperatures.
Rarely use
If there is no other option, at least reduce the display brightness or disable the automatic adjustment. Energy-intensive games or navigation are taboo in high heat. Also, it helps to remove protective covers. In addition, you can put the smartphone into energy-saving mode, disable background updates and WLAN.
The best way to listen to music is through wired headphones, because using Bluetooth also generates heat. If you don’t want to be disturbed anyway, you can switch on flight mode right away.
Finally, you should avoid charging a smartphone at temperatures around 30 degrees or higher – not even slowly with a battery pack. An absolute no-go is to use the device while it is charging.
bag and shadow
You shouldn’t carry your smartphone in your trouser pocket on hot summer days, because body heat heats up the device. A cool bag is a good place to store your smartphone when you go to the beach. But then you must not fill the container with ice-cold drinks or cooling elements. Because of the extreme cooling, condensation can form inside the device, which is fatal for the electronics. It is best to simply put the bag in the shade or at least cover it with a light-colored cloth. This also works with a backpack or a conventional bag.
First aid for overheating
If a smartphone has already gotten very hot, you should switch it off and cool it down slowly. Because, as already described above, an overheated device could be destroyed by condensation if it gets cold too quickly. That’s why a hot smartphone has no place in the fridge.
It’s also not a good idea to give a waterproof phone a refreshing dip in the 25-degree pool. The temperature difference may not be that great, but water dissipates heat much better than air, which in turn causes the device to cool faster and condensation to form. In addition, the air inside the smartphone contracts, which leads to a negative pressure that the seals may not be able to withstand.
It is best to take the device to a cool room and place it on a surface such as metal or glass that dissipates heat well. If you want, you can also point a fan at the smartphone.
