If there are two words I can use to accurately describe my experience in the UK this summer, they would be: too hot.
The grass is wilted. The leather car seats are sticky. And I’ve definitely noticed my laptop and phone overheating much more quickly than usual.
Turns out I’m not alone. The Evening Standard shared that high heat can create some serious problems with tech, ranging “from causing a phone to shut down when it overheats to causing permanent damage to touchscreens and casings, even causing the screen to crack”.
This comes after warnings to keep your phone well away from your pillow and other soft surfaces while you’re charging, as the extra heat combined with a heatwave can cause a serious fire risk.
And while it can be tempting to keep your phone at full brightness on sunny days, it could be worsening the overheating problem even further.
So we thought we’d share why having your brightness on full can make your phone more likely to enter lava mode and suggest other methods to cool down your dearest device.
Why does my brightness matter so much?
We get it, we get it – using your phone in the sun can feel impossible without 100% brightness on.
Especially as when you’re outside, your phone might automatically try to crank up its brightness so you can see the screen easier.
But The Washington Post notes that while this is helpful, “it also means your phone is expending more power, which increases the odds that the phone will shut down to protect itself”.
It’s an overheated catch-22. You’re out in the sun, so your brightness switches up; this makes it hotter, compounding the effects of the rays.
OK, so what should I do instead?
The trickiest, and most common, advice? “Moral of the story is to keep devices from direct sunlight,” shared Jon-Erik Hylle, from the tech repair website iFixit.
In fact, it’s probably a good idea to switch your phone off entirely while you’re out in the sun.
If you truly cannot stand the thought of going completely off-grid while outside, other pro-approved cooling hacks include:
- Removing your phone case,
- Dimming your screen,
- Only using your phone in the shade,
- Using the correct charger for your device,
- Removing any unused apps,
- Moving it out of direct sunlight ASAP,
- Keeping your apps and software updated,
- Avoiding using your phone while it’s charging,
- Using battery saver and/or aeroplane mode.
No matter how overheated your device gets, though, don’t be tempted to put it in the fridge.
As Hylle shared with The Washington Post: “I would not recommend putting a device into a refrigerator to cool it. Rapid cooling in a moist environment could cause condensation and short the device. Also, going from very hot to very cold in a short amount of time creates its own risk.”
Ah, the joys of summer...