Being an iPhone user, very often we encounter our iPhone is overheating or it is hot to touch, even though we have not been using it for a while. If you are also experiencing the same issue without knowing the causes of that and want to fix it, then this article is for you! There can be many reasons that cause your iPhone to overheat and trust me, it is no fun to use a hot phone! In this article, I have come up with several reasons and solutions that are proven to save your iPhone from getting hot.
Why does my iPhone get hot? 13 Reasons why!
Like other computers, an iPhone does not need any cooling fan to cool it down while its CPU is in full use. An iPhone is designed in a way that it can erode heat automatically whenever it starts to overheat or get hot. But many times, an iPhone may fail to dissipate heat automatically. A faulty battery, too many running background apps, or iPhone CPU heating fast can be some of the major reasons that cause your iPhone to overheat. Below, the main reasons (with solutions) for your iPhone getting hot are explained:
1. Defective iPhone Battery
A defective or faulty battery is the most strong reason to cause your iPhone to overheat. While putting on charge, a faulty battery does not let your phone charge properly rather it gets hot. This may also cause high power battery usages and drain the battery in a very short time. To know why your iPhone’s battery is draining so fast and tricks to save your phone from the issue, please visit this effective article. There you can also find more efficient ways to save your iPhone’s battery from draining fast.
You should check your iPhone’s battery health more often and Apple lets you do this easily as follows:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down to open Battery.
- Open to see Battery Health.
Fig. Check iPhone’s Battery Health
The iPhone’s Battery Health checking is a useful feature to know what changes your battery is in need for solving any battery-related issue. There you can also check if the battery is at its peak performance capability or not. If not, you might need to change the battery or get it repaired.
2.CPU is in Full Use
The iPhone’s CPU is one of the powerful CPUs among all of the other mobile devices. Using rarely 5% of its power, an iPhone’s CPU can work efficiently and perform every task of your phone. If any functionalities of your phone are damaged (be it any hardware issues like an old or faulty battery or software issues like running background apps, excessive screen brightness, etc.,) – it lets your iPhone’s CPU process with its 100% capacity. This may even rev up to 100% of your iPhone’s CPU even when you do not use it and causes overheating. If your phone is getting hot due to its CPU heating fast, it (iPhone) should go for a repair.
3. Too many Background Apps Running
Many users leave their phones while not properly closing down the applications. This lets applications keep running and processing from the background and makes devices hotter. If you also do this, you should close background apps, and here is how:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down to open General.
- Open Background App Refresh.
- Open Background App Refresh again.
- Select Off.
Fig. Turn OFF Background App Refresh
4. Direct Sunlight
iPhones are designed to perform best in an environment that is around 16°c to 22°c. As Apple is concerned, you are suggested to keep your iOS devices in a place where the temperature is not too extreme. So if you are out somewhere over or around 35°c, you should make sure your iPhone does not get direct sunlight. As the direct sunlight will definitely overheat your device.
5. Unadjusted Screen Brightness
If you use your iPhone with a constant high brightness, its screen exhausts a lot of battery power. It lets your battery process with high power and causes your iPhone to overheat. To save your phone from this, you should auto-adjust your iPhone’s screen brightness.
To adjust brightness automatically:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down to open Accessibility.
- Open Display & Text Size.
- Scroll down to toggle on the Auto-Brightness feature.
Fig. Turn ON Auto-Brightness
6. Heavy Streaming
Online streaming is one of the most power-consuming acts that your device performs. For watching videos on YouTube, Netflix, or listening to audios on Spotify, iPhone users spend hundreds of hours on online streaming. But at times when it becomes so frequent, it may damage your iPhone’s capability of eroding heat and cause it to get hotter.
7. Watching High Definition Videos for long
As same as streaming online audios, videos, or games, watching HD videos continuously runs in full power that causing your iPhone to get hot.
8. Using and Charging iPhone at the same time
While using a device, it runs a lot of processes at the same time. And when it is on charge, its battery is in the full running process as well. That means unsurprisingly your phone can damage when all the functions are in run! So if you use your phone while charging, stop doing that as it may put your phone at the risk of exploding. Thankfully, an iPhone is designed to shut itself down before getting dangerously hot but you should always be aware of any risk. Therefore avoid using your phone while charging.
9. GPS turned ON
Keeping turned ON your iPhone’s location service consumes a lot of battery power and lets many apps locate your location from time to time. As a reason, your phone overheats while processing or running for allocating locations continuously. Regarding this, you should turn off GPS or location service on your iPhone or allow it when you need it.
To optimize Location Services:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down to open Privacy.
- Open Location Services.
- You can switch off location or select individual apps that you want to optimize sharing your Location with.
- Choose Never, Ask Next Time Or When I Share or While Using the App (according to your needs).
Fig. Optimized GPS/Location Service
10. Gaming
Games with high-quality video graphics are so fun to play. But frequent gaming causes your iPhone to heat up as it needs a lot of processing power and battery life.
11. Downloading Several Applications Simultaneously
Downloading a lot of apps at the same time demands good quality Wi-Fi connectivity and your iPhone keeps looking for that connection. Thus, it may cause iPhones to start heating up.
12. Using Older Versions of Software or Apps
There is a high probability of iPhones not working properly if it is not updated to their latest software versions. Using older versions of applications can do the same. So if iOS launches a new version of the software, you should update it, and here is how:
- Go to the Settings app.
- Open General.
- Open Software Update.
- Choose the latest version if there are multiple updates available.
- Tap Install Now.
Besides this, you should update your applications to their latest versions when launched. To do that, follow:
- Go to the Apple App Store.
- Open your Account icon from the upper right corner.
- Under the Upcoming Automatic Updates category, tap Update All.
- Tap Done from the upper right corner after finishing.
13. Using Corrupted Applications
If you have noticed your iPhone overheating recently after installing an app then you should consider uninstalling or deleting it, as the app might be corrupted that damage your phone systems. To delete the app:
- Tap and hold the app.
- Tap the Delete App option on top.
- Press Delete to confirm deleting the app.
How to prevent your iPhone from getting hot? Useful tricks that always work!
Now that you know the software and hardware-related issues that cause your iPhone to get hot a lot and found out some of the best solutions; you should also try these below-mentioned tricks to easily prevent your phone from overheating.
Remove your Phone Case
If you use a phone cover or case and your phone is overheating then you should remove that case asap! Separating your iPhone from its case can surely help in releasing some heat into the air.
Keep your Phone at Normal Temperature
I have already mentioned earlier in this article that – iPhones are designed to work well in an environment where the temperature is not too cold or hot. Thus you should make sure you keep your phone at a normal temperature. For example, if you are in a car and its seats are hot, stop keeping your phone there. You should also not expose your phone to direct or scorching sunlight. Moreover, it also does not mean that you should place your phone inside a refrigerator! Sarcastic! Though you can fan your phone to quickly regulate the heat. Do not use water at any cost!
Enable Low Power Mode
Low Power Mode is one of the coolest features of an iPhone that lets automatically – turn off all the background apps running, – cancel auto-downloads, – cancel fetching notifications or emails, and helps your device to run effectively with the lowest consumable power. That is why using the iPhone with its Low Power Mode turned ON prevents your phone from getting hot. Enable Low Power Mode with the following steps:
- Go to the Setting app.
- Scroll down to open Battery.
- Toggle on the Low Power Mode feature.
Leave your Phone for a time being
While using, if you notice your phone is getting overheated, you should immediately stop using it in order to prevent it from getting hotter. It is better if you switch it off for a while and turn on Airplane mode when you turn it on next time.
Stop charging your Phone
If your iPhone is getting hot while it is on charge, you should avoid charging it until it cools down. Take action to immediately unplug the charger.
Do not place your Phone near other Devices
Electrical devices like the oven, stove, freezer, or other computerized devices may change the environment’s temperature and your iPhone is not different while keeping them nearly surrounded! Thus do not keep your iPhone so near to other devices, give it sufficient space and prevent it from getting overheated.
Do not leave you Phone under the Pillow or inside a Pocket for long
Very unusual but true that your iPhone may need to breathe sometimes to exhale heat in the air! So, if your phone has been stuck under pillows or inside pockets for a very long time, it might not release heat. In this case, make sure you do not leave your phone somewhere stagnant!
Wrapping up!
Using a mobile device that is like a mini-computer with high processing power and smooth performing systems, without any interruption is a blessing and an iPhone is full of such experiences. So none wants to get into a problem while using an iPhone. That is why it is very important for iPhone users to know why they have an overheating issue with their phones and how they can get rid of it. The above-mentioned reasons and solutions regarding iPhone getting hot are a total help for all the iPhone users out there! Hope you have found your compatible solution too.