12 Tips to Keep Your iPhone Cool on a Hot Day
Credit: Getty Images / Unsplash+
The temperature is always rising, and many places in the world have set new records for the hottest days or months in history.
While really hot days suck for humans, they're even worse for your devices, and that includes your iPhone. Even if it's just a phone, your iPhone can't take the heat.
Not only that but if you're not careful, you might damage its hardware permanently. So what can you do? Well, luckily, there are many different ways to keep your iPhone cool, even during the summer. Read on for a dozen tips to help your iPhone keep its cool.
Lower Your iPhone's Brightness
Depending on your iPhone model, your screen can be as bright as 2,000 nits. That looks great outdoors, but the brighter the screen is on a hot day, the more risk you have of overheating your iPhone.
Since your iPhone will automatically adjust your screen's brightness based on how bright it is, you'll need to disable auto-brightness. This is how:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and go to Accessibility.
- Tap on Display & Text Size.
- Scroll down to the bottom and disable Auto-Brightness.
Next, you'll need to lower the brightness manually. To do this, open your Control Center. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top right corner of your screen. For iPhones with Touch ID, swipe up from the bottom of your screen. Next, drag the brightness bar down.
Besides lowering the brightness, you can also use Dark Mode. This will make all first-party apps and many third-party apps use a darker background, making it less intense for your iPhone and for your eyes. You can turn it on by going to Settings > Display & Brightness and tapping on Dark.
Avoid Using Your iPhone in Direct Sunlight
Sunlight can be harmful to both humans and phones. If your iPhone is under the sun for too long, it can overheat.
The best solution is to try using your iPhone inside or in a place with shade. That way, your iPhone will not suffer as much from the heat.
Don't Leave Your iPhone Inside Your Car
Even if it's for a few moments, you shouldn't leave your iPhone inside your car, especially if your car is under direct sunlight.
The temperature, the sunlight, and the lack of ventilation could cause your iPhone to overheat, and it might even damage it in the long run.
That goes for really hot rooms at home, too. If you have a room that's too hot or where you know your iPhone will be in the sunlight, it's best to avoid it.
Avoid Putting Your iPhone Inside Your Pockets on Really Hot Days
If the day is really hot, your iPhone might overheat just by carrying it with you.
The lack of air flowing in your jeans, combined with your own heat on a hot day and all the background activities your iPhone is doing, might be too much for it.
Overall, it's best to keep it in a bag. It'll have more breathing room and will not be in direct contact with your body.
Don't Use Your iPhone While It's Charging
We've said it before, and we'll say it again: using your iPhone while it's charging will most likely cause it to overheat.
Overall, it's best to let your iPhone charge by itself. If it's a really hot day, chances are it's going to get warm by itself. And if you are also using it while it's charging, it will definitely overheat. Not only that, but it might directly damage your battery.
Of course, you won't have a problem if you need to make a quick phone call or check a notification. But if you plan on browsing social media while your iPhone is charging, it's best to give it a rest and do something else.
Remove the Case and Accessories
If your iPhone is constantly getting warm for no apparent reason other than the extreme heat, you should temporarily take it out of its case. Depending on the case you use, leaving it on might cause your iPhone to overheat.
The same goes for other accessories. If you have a MagSafe wallet or any other accessories connected to your iPhone, they could be preventing heat from dissipating properly. So it's best to remove these accessories at least until your iPhone cools down again.
Avoid Demanding Tasks on Your iPhone
If the day is too hot for you to handle, chances are your iPhone feels the same way. And if you want to make sure that it doesn't overheat, you should avoid demanding tasks.
Anything from browsing social media while watching a video to playing intense and demanding games will cause your iPhone to get warm. Additionally, if the temperature in the environment is too high, your iPhone will most definitely get really hot.
Try to do simple tasks with your iPhone until you're in a cooler place or the temperature drops.
Turn on Airplane Mode
One reason why your iPhone gets hot seemingly out of nowhere is because of all the background activities that you don't even notice.
Simple things like keeping an app open to search for the closest cellular tower can cause your iPhone to get warm suddenly.
A quick way to solve this problem is to turn on Airplane mode. If needed, you can still have a Wi-Fi connection available for work or friends, but you'll give your iPhone some rest while it tries to cool down.
To turn on Airplane mode, open the Control Center on your iPhone and tap on the Airplane mode button — the one that looks like a plane — in the top left corner of your screen.
Of course, if you can't disconnect yourself with Airplane mode, you can still disable Bluetooth, Airplay, and Wi-Fi or Cellular, depending on what you're using.
Turn on Low Power Mode
As we just mentioned, background activities can make your iPhone get hot. While you could manually disable features like Location Services and Background App Refresh, both of which run in the background, you can simply use Low Power Mode.
When Low Power Mode is turned on, your iPhone reduces all background activity. For instance, some apps might not update as fast as they usually do, and location services might not be instantly available.
The good news is that your iPhone will stop doing so many things at once, allowing it to stay cool even on a sunny day. What's more, you'll also get more battery life, which is always a plus.
Turn Off Your iPhone
If your iPhone is already too hot and you can't be in a cooler place right now, you can help it cool down by turning it off.
After you turn it off, disconnect it from the power source and remove any accessories or cases it has. Wait until it cools down and turn it on again.
To turn your iPhone off, if you have an iPhone with Face ID, press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons at the same time. For iPhones with Touch ID, simply press and hold the side button.
Then, slide the Power Off Slider to the right. Wait until your iPhone cools down, and then turn it on again by pressing and holding the side button until the Apple logo appears on your screen.
Place Your iPhone in a Cool Place
If your iPhone is already hot, try to keep it in a cooler room that will help it cool down.
A room with great ventilation is a good option, but you can also put your iPhone near a fan to help it cool down.
Of course, it goes without saying, but don't put your iPhone inside the fridge. It might seem like a good idea, but the sudden change to a much lower temperature can damage your iPhone by rapidly contracting internal parts or creating condensation inside.
Use a Phone Cooler
Yes, computers aren't the only ones that could use a fan during a hot day; you can also get a phone cooler for your iPhone.
Phone coolers do exactly what you'd expect. You can connect one to your iPhone's USB-C or Lightning Port, and then a small fan will start cooling your iPhone from the back.
There are many phone coolers in the market, but you can try this phone cooler by Black Shark. What's cool about it is that it comes with a temperature display to let you know how cool or hot your iPhone really is.