Smartphones and heat | What the Tech?
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Is it ever too hot to use your smartphone? With temperatures rising, you may have noticed your battery dies quicker or stops working.
Heat can damage your phone but not just on 90 or 100° days either.
Apple says anything over 95° can permanently damage the smartphone battery. There are also a few things that cause the phone to heat up even more.
Playing games, watching videos, and taking and sending pictures will cause the phone to work hard and get hot. A protective case makes it even hotter.
Leave a phone in the car for a few minutes and you’ll get a warning that the phone is overheated. That can happen if the phone is in direct sunlight on the dash or in a console even with the AC going.
Is it ever too hot to use your smartphone? With temperatures rising, you may have noticed your battery dies quicker or stops working.
If it does overheat, bring it inside. Take the case off and let it reach room temperature. When it turns back on and turn it off for an hour or so.
On message boards, some people say they place their phones in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
That’s a terrible idea. Here’s what happens:
We took an old phone and placed it in the fridge for 10 minutes. When we took it out, condensation fogged the screen – and the same thing is happening inside the phone.
One hot summer day isn’t likely to cause your phone to crash and die. Over time, though, too much heat will permanently damage the battery.
This might not matter much if you upgrade to a new phone every year. However, if you tend to keep phones for several years, you will notice a difference in how long the battery lasts each day.
I’ll bet you’ve done this:
You might place the phone under a beach towel to keep it out of direct sunlight, but it won’t protect it from the heat. It may even get hotter. It’s also best to turn it off, stow it in a cool place, and enjoy the summer weather.
If you have an iPhone, Apple also suggests not keeping it in a pocket on a hot summer day. That’s because your body heat will make the phone run even hotter.
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