We’ve all done it, left our cell phone in a hot car during the blazing summer heat. When you park your car outside in the summer, the temperature inside your car can reach 150 degrees or more. Leaving a battery-powered device in your extremely hot car for more than about 2 hours can not only permanently shorten the battery’s life but also damage other parts of the device, including the LCD screen, the plastic case, and the glue holding it together.
Heat is one of the worst enemies of all gadgets, including laptops and smartphones. Batteries age more quickly when they’re hot for a long period of time. Cell phone heat damage can destroy other hardware parts, causing system freezing and worse problems. Before leaving your cell phone in a hot car, always turn it off. Also follow these tips to protect your smartphone from hot weather and overheating.
Know whether your smartphone is at the right temperature.
It’s perfectly normal for computers and smartphones to get warm—thanks to the battery heating up. However, there is a limit to how hot these devices can get before they start overheating. Some smartphones offer built-in temperature sensors that can tell you if the phone or battery is getting too hot, and many smartphones will automatically shut down if the phone gets too hot. The general recommendation is the ideal temperature zone of 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and stored unused between -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
An even easier rule of thumb: Keep your room at a comfortable temperature for you, which will likely be as close to room temperature as possible. The recommended ideal temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep your smartphone out of direct sunlight and hot cars.
In direct sunlight or in a hot car, your cell phone will quickly start baking. Any area that gets hot very quickly—too hot for people or animals to be in—is dangerous for tech devices. Make sure your cell phone is turned off in those burning hot areas and try to only use your devices in the cooler shade. When moving from a hot area to a more temperate one, wait until your smartphone has cooled off a bit (returned to normal room temperature) before turning it back on.
Consider these tips for keeping your cell phone cooler in a hot car:
- Turn the cell phone off and place it in the shade and keep windows open a crack. If possible, park the vehicle in the shade or use light or reflective-colored windshield shades. This will help to reduce the heat that stays in the car.
- Usually the trunk (or a well-insulated bag) will lag the passenger compartment many tens of degrees and warm up several hours slower than something in the main cabin.
North Georgia Cell Phone Repair offers assessment and repair services for all cell phone problems, including overheated devices. If your phone is not working at top performance, contact us today and let us fix your phone fast. Call 770-569-2002 to get a free estimate for repair if you left your cell phone in a hot car. We can fix that phone!
