Smartphones, like any modern device, can heat up regardless of their class or price. The primary sources of heat are the processor and the battery, which heat up the entire body. In most cases, this doesn’t pose any critical problems and doesn’t lead to breakdowns, but it’s better not to abuse it.
Why a Smartphone Heats Up
There are many common scenarios in which a smartphone heats up noticeably. The reason may be:
- Intensive use of the device: playing casino games, long video recording, watching high-resolution videos, or using apps that require significant computing resources.
- Fast charging: especially with a non-original charger.
- Network problems: constant searching for a network signal or working in poor coverage conditions.
- Background load: many apps running in the background can constantly overload the processor, causing it to heat up.
- Software problems: bugs in the software, including the operating system or applications, also lead to excessive processor load.
- Battery problems: if the battery is damaged, it can lead to improper distribution of energy and, accordingly, heat.
- High ambient temperature: using a smartphone in a hot environment can also contribute to overheating.
What the Dangers of Smartphone Overheating Are
Smartphone overheating can lead to a number of negative consequences. The main and most harmless one is a decrease in performance. This is because many devices automatically reduce the processor frequency to protect against overheating, which can lead to a slowdown in the operation of apps and the device as a whole.
At the peak of heating, many smartphones simply turn off or reboot. This may be preceded by a notification about excessive heat with a request to reduce the intensity of use.
The most negative scenario of overheating, though unlikely, is damage to hardware components. For example, constant heating of a smartphone can increase the wear of the battery, reducing its capacity and operating time from a single charge. Moreover, prolonged heat exposure to the display can lead to color distortion.
Normal Smartphone Heating Temperature
Today, many manufacturers try to equip their smartphones with a cooling system. These can be heat pipes and graphene sheets for heat dissipation, evaporation chambers for steam, and even active coolers. All these solutions allow smartphones with the same components to differ in their heating level.
Given the variety of cooling systems, the allowable heating temperature for popular smartphone models can vary greatly, but most often it is in the range of 40-45 degrees Celsius under active use. This means that when performing resource-intensive tasks, such as gaming, using video conferencing applications, or long video recording, the device can heat up to these values without the risk of damage.
As for using the device in the heat, manufacturers usually provide recommendations for operating the devices in a certain temperature range, usually from 0 to 35 degrees Celsius. If the smartphone heats up above this, it’s worth taking measures to cool it down.
How to Cool Down a Smartphone Quickly
- Stop actively using the device, especially if it’s related to resource-intensive tasks.
- Close all active apps, including background apps.
- Disable functions that can cause heating: GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile Internet, and Bluetooth.
- Alternatively, you can enable airplane mode to instantly disable all wireless connections.
- If the smartphone is in a case, remove it to improve cooling by increasing the heat dissipation area.
- Move the smartphone to a cooler place, avoid direct sunlight and high ambient temperatures.
- Make sure that the operating system and all applications are updated to the latest versions, as updates may contain fixes that improve temperature management.
- If possible, don’t use the smartphone while charging, as this leads to additional heating.
Sometimes a reboot can help to close background processes that are stuck and the constant network search of the device. If this and all the previous tips did not help to lower the temperature of the device, then this may indicate a more serious problem that requires contacting a service center.
How to Prevent Overheating
To prevent smartphone overheating, you can try to avoid prolonged use of resource-intensive applications, but in today’s world this seems like not the best advice. At least, do not forget to take breaks when “stuck” in YouTube and TikTok, when filming videos for a long time or using GPS navigation.
More rational may be the banal control of the use of applications in the background: some services can constantly load the processor, even if the smartphone is in your pocket and not in use. Unload those tasks that will not be needed in the near future.
If it seems that some background tasks are active even after closing all processes, check the device with a mobile antivirus. It’s possible that there is an app masquerading in memory that you can’t see, but it’s running 24/7, collecting and transmitting some data.
Also, many smartphones have a power saving mode that can help reduce resource consumption and prevent overheating. It will be especially useful during the hot season, especially at the beach.