Prevent your phone from overheating

It’s getting hot out there, and as the planet warms from climate change, it’s bound to get even hotter.

That also means your phone is becoming more susceptible to overheating — which can spell trouble. A hot phone can quickly drain your battery, damage internal components or even start a fire. Not good.

Before you throw your phone in the pool to cool it down, we’ll show you how to keep your smartphone from overheating in the first place and keep it working properly during these hot summer days.

First thing’s first, if your smartphone displays a warning screen that it is overheating and you want to use your device as quickly as possible, immediately turn off your device, move it to a cooler location and let it cool down.

However, you can take some easy steps to prevent it from overheating in the first place. Here’s how:

Avoid direct sun

It’s easy to forget that you’ve left your smartphone in the sun, especially at the beach or outside with friends or family. Luckily, if you have a newer phone, it should automatically shut down to protect the internal components — but at that point, it may be too late.

The easiest way to prevent your phone from overheating is to beat the heat. Keep your phone out of direct sunlight when you’re outside. If you’re feeling hot, then your phone is, too.

Don’t leave your phone in a hot car

Likewise, a hot car can spell trouble for your smartphone. The inside of a car parked in direct sun in the summer can reach temperatures of over 150º F. That’s why most phone manufacturers recommend that you do not leave your phone inside a hot car, either.

Apple, for example, recommends that your phone should be stored at temperatures between -4º to 113º F, and that you should not “leave the device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.” Samsung states that the temperature of your Galaxy device may be affected if you are “using your devices in an environment outside of normal operating conditions (between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit).”

Remove your case

If you have a case on your phone, it may be trapping some thermal energy from the battery or other components.

Take off your case and let your phone begin to cool down.

Switch up the settings

There are a few steps you can take inside your phone’s settings to keep your device from getting too hot, especially if you’re already in a warm environment:

• Turn on Airplane mode and/or turn off data
• Turn down screen brightness
• Turn on Power Save Mode or Low Battery Mode
• Keep your phone’s operating system and apps updated

Use a fan — not the freezer

Popping your smartphone in the freezer after overheating may damage internal components since rapidly cooling your phone could create condensation and moisture that can wreak havoc on your device.

Instead, try putting your phone in front of a fan. It should cool much more slowly and hopefully protect your device from cooling too quickly.

Give your phone a rest

If you’re worried that your phone might overheat — or it’s already getting warm — try giving your phone a rest. Certain tasks and applications, like gaming, streaming, video editing or even high speed charging can increase processing power or warm your battery. Try sticking to scrolling social media or putting your phone in the shade for a little while to cool your device down.

Use recommended chargers

Some users report that inexpensive, so-called “off brand” chargers can cause a phone to overheat, which could damage your device. While other chargers may work perfectly fine, we typically recommend that you use chargers and cables made by the manufacturers of your phone. You can find replacement accessories at Apple, Samsung or Google.

Still overheating?

If your phone is continuously overheating, you may need to contact the manufacturer or take your device to a professional to diagnose the problem. The overheating may be caused by a faulty battery or other device components and may be covered by a service plan or warranty, depending on the issue or the age of your device.

It might be a great time to consider upgrading your phone, too! At CREDO, we offer the best phones on the nation’s best network. And just by using our phones and services, you can help us contribute more to great nonprofit organizations fighting for climate justice, like 350.org, the Sunrise Movement, and Friends of the Earth. In fact, we’ve donated more than $20 million to climate justice organizations — and over $94 million in total to progressive nonprofit groups since 1985.

Visit CREDOMobile.com and find which phones and plans work best for you!