Summer temperatures are not always just fun for smartphone users. How can consumers avoid heat damage?
Extreme temperatures are bad for most devices like smartphones and tablets. Not only freezing temperatures can be harmful, but also the summer heat. But what to do to avoid possible damage?
These temperatures are still okay
Google, like Apple on its iPhones, specifies for its pixel smartphones that, in the best case, devices can only be used at an ambient temperature between 0 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius. While Google warns that higher temperatures "can damage the product, overheat the battery or increase the risk of fire", Apple points out, among other things, that use under "very warm conditions […] can permanently shorten the battery life".
Ralf Diekmann, product safety expert at TÜV Rheinland, sees things even more strictly. "Temperatures between 10 and 30 degrees Celsius are ideal for lithium-ion batteries that are usually installed in mobile devices," he recommends in a press release. If it "gets considerably warmer, for example in direct sunlight at lunchtime, chemical reactions can be triggered in the battery". As a result, batteries age faster and therefore lose their performance. Diekmann also warns that excessive heat can also damage the display and housing, among other things. Plastic parts could "irrevocably deform".
Get out of the sun
Both Apple and Google also recommend storing devices in a temperature range from -20 degrees Celsius to a maximum of 45 degrees Celsius. Among other things, the companies explicitly warn against leaving smartphones in parked cars. TÜV Rheinland also sees it this way and explains that the interior of vehicles can heat up to around 70 degrees Celsius in the summer, especially in the afternoon.
If a smartphone gets very hot, the manufacturers recommend disconnecting the possibly connected device from a power source and switching it off if possible and bringing it to a cool place. Consumers should only use the smartphone again after it has cooled down. However, graphically complex apps can also be to blame for significant warming. In particularly bad cases, an iPhone seals off everything and shows a message such as: "The iPhone must cool down before it can be used." Then it is temporarily only possible to make emergency calls. And Google also faces a temporary deactivation in an emergency.
Diekmann accordingly recommends: "Programs and functions that are not currently required should not be allowed to continue running unnecessarily in the background. This always costs battery power – and that always means heating up." Since the charging of devices also provides additional heating, it is recommended to connect smartphones to the mains, especially in the morning or in the evening. On very hot days, it is also advisable to check shortly after the start of charging whether a tablet or smartphone is getting unusually hot. This could indicate an already damaged battery or a beginning defect.