Florida is hot. July in Florida is hotter. This particular July is shaping up to be a broiling one, with “feels like” temperatures in triple digits becoming commonplace, and a “significant heat wave” expected in some parts of the state this week, according to the National Weather Service.
That kind of intense and lasting heat can have dangerous effects on people. Also, on your phone.
It’s not unusual for your phone to run a little warm, depending on what you’re doing or how you’re charging it. iPhones and Android phones are designed to shed heat and keep going, but in the Florida sun that can be asking a lot.
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A few simple habits can help prevent an unexpected shutdown and extend the life of your device.
1. Keep your phone out of direct sunlight
If it feels hot outside to you, it will feel hot to your phone.
Keep your phone in the shade or in a loose pocket. If you’re on the beach, use it sparingly and keep it in your shadow, under a fold of your towel or under a t-shirt. Most recent phones will shut down to protect themselves when they overheat, but it’s best not to let them get that far.
Be mindful of how long your phone is in direct sunlight when shooting pictures or video outside and let it rest somewhere shady when you can. If you regularly keep your phone mounted to your vehicle’s dashboard or windshield to use a GPS app or hands-free communication, avoid leaving it in direct sun for too long, even if your interior seems cool.
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2. Don’t leave your phone in a hot car
If Floridians know anything, it’s how hot dashboards (and steering wheels, and seats) can get, very, very quickly.
Apple recommends keeping your phone stored between -4 degrees to 113 degrees, which is a pretty impressive range. But depending on the make and color, the temperature inside your car can reach 125 degrees within minutes.
If you must leave your phone in your vehicle, make sure it’s covered or in the glove compartment, but really try to avoid leaving it in there at all. It gets hot in there.
3. Take off the case
For the paranoid and/or accident-prone among us, this is crazy talk. But that hard-plastic, metal or silicone case may be preventing heat from escaping from the battery or other internal bits. Taking it off can help your phone cool down more quickly.
If you must have a case, look for one designed to dissipate heat more quickly.
4. Don’t make your phone work so hard
You don’t feel like working hard in the noonday sun, why make your phone do it? Anything that puts stress on your battery should be reduced or avoided to give your poor phone a fighting chance.
5. Cool it off slowly; do not put it in a refrigerator or freezer
Seems like a no-brainer. Phone’s hot, fridge is cold.
Don’t do it. Dropping your phone’s internal temperature quickly could damage it from shock to the components or from moisture building up inside.
Instead, cool it slowly by getting it out of the sun, putting it in front of a fan or your car’s a/c vents, putting it near something cold like the side of your iced drink, or just turning it off and putting it in the coolest place nearby to let it rest.
Take care of your phone and keep it cool. After all, in a Florida summer, nobody wants to lose their phone just because the weather is doing what Florida weather does best: getting dangerously hot.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 5 ways to stop your phone from overheating in Florida heat
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Pensacola News Journal
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By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
