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Does your phone often feel too hot while charging? Overheating can shorten battery life and damage your device. However, understanding why it happens can allow you to take action to help prevent issues. Many factors contribute to overheating, from poor-quality chargers to environmental conditions.
We will explore the common causes and provide practical tips to protect your device, improve its performance, and ensure safe charging. We will also offer advice on how to cool it safely if it does get too hot.
Let’s take a look.
Common Reasons Why Your Phone Overheats When Charging
1. Poor Quality Chargers
Buying cheap chargers or adapters not designed for your device often causes overheating. They may use inferior materials or the incorrect power for your device. They are also prone to being faulty and getting damaged more easily, causing further issues.
2. Fast Charging
Fast chargers are an excellent option for those in a hurry, offering the ultimate convenience for busy people. However, they draw power so fast using higher voltage, so they often generate more heat than regular charging, mainly if used with a substandard adapter.
3. Overcharging
When your battery is on the charger and reaches 100%, it does not always stop charging. Since the battery is already full, if it keeps taking in more energy, that energy has to go somewhere. It ends up dissipating as heat, causing significant heat issues.
4. Poor Ventilation
People often charge their smartphones under their pillows at night or in other areas without space or ventilation, which can cause considerable overheating. Smartphones need air around them while they charge to dissipate the excess heat.
5. Using While Charging
Using a charger to charge your phone causes it to heat up due to electrical conduction. That heat is made much worse when you use intensive apps like Facebook or play interactive or highly graphical games while on the charger since they also use a lot of power. This makes your device heat even faster, so try to leave your phone while it charges.
6. Old Batteries or Faulty Chargers
Aging batteries can also cause heating issues since they degrade over time, making their ability to recharge more inefficient and reducing their capacity. It can also cause your device to heat up, and you may need to replace your battery. Also, even high-quality chargers can be faulty or get damaged and cause issues.
6 Helpful Tips to Stop Your Phone From Overheating When Charging?
Avoid Overcharging
Overcharging causes excess heat, so never leave your device plugged in overnight, even though many people do. Leave it on for a couple of hours until it’s full or nearly so, then unplug it. It’s far better to charge your device to 80% than to constantly charge it to 100% and leave it on.
Use High-Quality Adapters and Cables
Use only high-quality adapters and cables designed for your smartphone to ensure safe and efficient charging. Cheap models might seem appealing, but they can do far more harm and make you need to replace your battery, or worse, your phone, just because you tried to save a few dollars.
Wireless charging can also sometimes cause heat issues. Use only high-quality, qi-certified wireless chargers like the EcoFlow RAPID Power Bank. They’re excellent for charging on the go, whether or not you have access to electricity.
If you’re going off-grid for more than a day, use an EcoFlow RIVER 2 to charge devices while camping. These are great for those who like to go off-grid and still stay powered up. You might be surprised at what the EcoFlow RIVER 2 can do.
If you plan to be off-grid for more than a couple of days, check out the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Series Solar Generators. You can buy ones with larger capacities, and they also come with portable solar panels, so you can recharge them and stay off-grid as long as you want.
Use Airplane Mode
If your phone constantly overheats while charging, put it in Airplane mode so that it turns off connections like Wi-Fi, Location Services, and Bluetooth, which all use power and heat your phone.
Charge in a Cool Place
Don’t charge your phone on your car’s dash, in a sunny window, or next to any source of heat. Instead, place it in a cool, shady spot with lots of airflow to keep the temperature around it as low as possible.
Use a Different Charger
Try a different charger to see if yours is faulty. If the problem goes away, toss out the faulty one. Another thing to try is using a wall charger rather than always using a USB cord. Wall chargers may reduce overheating because they provide a more stable power output without sudden surges or drops.
You can also plug your wall charger or USB cord into an EcoFlow RIVER 2 + 110W Solar Panel. Since it contains a solar battery unconnected to the grid, it won’t produce any power surges. The best part is that it’s powerful enough to give you multiple recharges and lightweight enough to put it in a backpack and go off-grid for days at a time while still keeping your devices powered up.
Remove Your Case
Finally, you can also remove the case to allow better air circulation around your phone while it’s charging. If this is a persistent problem, consider investing in a breathable or heat-dissipation case that can protect your phone while dispersing heat.
Effective Ways to Cool Down an Overheated Phone
If your phone is already overheated, there are some things you can do to cool it off quickly to prevent lasting damage. Never put your phone in the freezer or fridge to cool it off, as it could damage your phone.
1. Close all Apps
Apps use power, and some, like Facebook and other social media apps, often use a lot of energy. Close selected apps or choose the close all apps option on your smartphone, and it will cool off much faster than if you leave them running.
2. Get it Out of the Sun or Away From Heat Sources
If your smartphone is in the sun or next to a heater, stove, or other heat source, move it immediately to a cooler, shady location.
If you’re outdoors and need to charge your smartphone, use a small solar generator and place it in the shade. Don’t leave it charging on the picnic table or in the sun.
3. Turn on Airplane Mode
Turning on Airplane Mode will shut off Wi-Fi, mobile data, Bluetooth, and GPS. These connectivity and location settings draw extra power when constantly searching for connections. Turning them all off will also cool it faster.
4. Remove Your Case
Your device will cool much faster without the case on, so take it off and place it in a cool location with good air ventilation.
5. Use a Fan
While you should never use a fridge or freezer to cool a device, there’s nothing wrong with using a fan. Hold it up in front of the fan, or just let it sit near it; the air blowing around it will help it cool faster.
6. Turn Off the Phone
If your phone is really hot, you should just turn it off. It’s simpler than putting it in airplane mode or turning off selected apps. It will cool much faster when nothing is running. Wait until it cools, then turn it back on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Charge your phone in a cool, ventilated location, and only use high-quality chargers. You can also turn on Airplane mode while it charges so that nothing keeps trying to connect, which only adds more heat. Finally, never leave your phone charging after it’s full; overcharging can cause heat issues.
Never put it in the fridge or freezer. Instead, close all power-intensive apps, put it in Airplane mode, or turn it off completely. Then, allow it to sit in a cool, shady, well-ventilated location. You can also remove your case and use a fan to direct air at it so it cools quickly.
If you are not using the correct charger designed for your iPhone, it could cause overheating issues. Also, if you are using your phone during its charge cycle or you just have a lot of apps running in the background, checking for updates and notifications, this can also cause significant overheating.
Final Thoughts
Preventing your smartphone from overheating when charging is essential to maintaining good performance and enhancing the longevity of your device. You can keep your device safe and functional by using high-quality chargers, avoiding overcharging, and ensuring proper ventilation.
For those needing reliable power on the go, consider solutions like the EcoFlow RAPID Power Bank, which offers the convenience of wired and wireless charging methods. If you plan to be off-grid for more than a day or are worried about power surges at home, use the EcoFlow RIVER 2 for a stable and efficient power source to help protect your devices from heat-related issues.
These tips and tools will allow you to enjoy stress-free charging and extend your device’s lifespan.