The iPhone is a pretty hot tech gadget, but when it gets too warm it can start to misbehave. Overheating isn’t a huge problem for the iPhone, especially here in the UK, but it’s always a bit of a worry when it happens.
This guide to keeping your iPhone cool will help prevent overheating problems.
How hot should the iPhone be?
The iPhone is designed to operate correctly in areas where the temperature is between 0º C and 35º C. This is a fairly good range for UK users, as our temperature rarely strays far above or below those two points.
However, it is possible for the iPhone to experience temperatures outside of these two areas. You should be especially careful taking the iPhone into either refrigerated environments (such as ice-bars or cooling areas), or leaving it in a parked car. Both of these can push the temperature outside of its operating norm.
What happens when the iPhone overheats?
When the iPhone starts to overheat it will display a warning message. This will say that “the iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it”. Normally this will be displayed on a black background, although if you’re using Navigation it will appear as an overlay alert.
To resume use of your device as quickly as possible, turn it off, move it to a cooler environment, and allow it to cool down. The following things will happen when your iPhone is in ‘cool down’ mode:
The device stops charging.
The display dims or goes black.
Cellular radios will enter a low-power state. The signal may weaken during this time.
The camera flash is temporarily disabled.
This can be a bit unnerving when you first see it. But aside from the inconvenience of not being able to use the phone temporarily, there is usually no further problems. You should place the iPhone somewhere cool until it starts to
Tips to keep the iPhone cool
If you find yourself frequently suffering from iPhone ‘cool down’ modes then you should look into where and how you are using the iPhone. These tips will help you keep the iPhone running:
Remove the case. Sounds obvious but taking the iPhone out of a case will help it keep cool.
Don’t leave it in a car. Temperatures can rise in parked cars quite rapidly. Take the iPhone with you when parked.
Avoid sunlight. Unless you’re somewhere extremely hot this may be a bit extreme. But if you’re on holiday then keep the iPhone in a bag.
Avoid playing games. Games tax the processor, which heats up the device.
Stop using Bluetooth. Turn off bluetooth because it provides an additional source of heat.
Turn off Location Services. GPS is one item that heats up the iPad the most. Turn it using Settings > Privacy > Off.
Avoid using Map directions. Using the Maps turn-by-turn directions mode adds a lot of extra heat to the iPhone.
Avoid charging. Charging heats up the device, so avoid charging if you’re in a hot area.
Turn on AirPlane mode. You can keep the iPhone running cooler in AirPlay mode, which turns off GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and Cellular data.
Turn it off. It’s a bit extreme but if you’re worried about overheating then keeping the iPhone switched off when not in use can help. Hold down the Sleep/Wake button and slide to power off the device.
Hopefully all these tips will enable you to keep the iPhone running at an acceptable temperature.
