Why Your Phone Is Overheating and How to Fix It

Have you ever experienced intense hotness when using your Android or iOS phone? Does your phone constantly get heated up and disrupt usage? Well, this article on Naijaknowhow explains everything you need to know and how to fix the issue of overheating.

All smartphones warm up a little during intense use which is not entirely uncommon and nothing to be alarmed about. During intensive use, the phone draws a lot of power from the battery, which causes it to heat up.

What is abnormal is when the phone heats up tremendously and becomes extremely hot. Sometimes, the only thing to fear is a burning sensation when in contact with your body. In worse cases, the phone may shut down, become unresponsive or even reboot abruptly. In the worst-case scenario, the device may combust – burst into flames.

Also, note that heat drains your phone battery faster. The hotter it gets, the quicker your battery drains, so you won’t get the most out of it if you keep your phone from heating up too much.

Reasons Why Your Phone Is Overheating:

Before we dive into what to do if you ever get stuck in this mess, let’s highlight the reasons why your mobile phone is heating up in the first place. In my years of using different smartphones, these are some of the reasons I have noticed:

• Using an incompatible or faulty charger (this includes the charging cable).
• Fast or Quick Charging functionality also makes your phone heat up.
• Simultaneously charging and using your phone. This right here is one of the most common reasons why phones heat up.
• Battery performance over time could lead to your device heating up tremendously. This is particularly common when your battery is old, faulty, or has been replaced with an inauthentic one.
• Intensive usage such as gaming, streaming or even running multiple apps at the same time.
• Exposing your device to sunlight or leaving it in an environment with extreme heat.
• Software generally could affect your phone’s temperature if there are bugs, viruses, malware and unwanted or background apps running without your notice.
• Also, pay attention to the installation of new software. In rare cases, a recent software update could be one of the major culprits when it comes to phones heating up.
• Internet and data usage also play it part in keeping your device hot. Generally, internet usage is a key power drainer in any smartphone especially when it is fixed at 5G. Downloading and uploading files are also heat generators.
• Old or faulty devices can come with heating issues. These types of devices typically experience issues due to the wear of internal features such as the memory, processor etc.

What To Do If Your Phone Gets Hot

If your smartphone gets hot during use, it’s essential to take steps to cool it down and prevent any potential damage. Here is what you can do to control and eliminate overheating:

Charge Responsibly

• Use Recommended Charging Component: Use the OEM chargers and cables or a compatible replacement in case it is missing or faulty.
• Unplug Charger: If you have a hot phone while charging, remember to unplug it. Charging your phone normally generates heat, and doing so while the phone is already hot can make matters worse.
• Turn off Fast Charging: Choosing charging speed over safety can undoubtedly be an irrational decision with Fast Charging. Sometimes, it is better to go slow and avoid unnecessary heating issues associated with this feature.
• Don’t Use Phone While Charging: Simultaneously charging and using your phone is one of the most common reasons why phones heat up, so this is a behaviour you might want to avoid at all costs.

Replace Old and Faulty Battery

• Replace Bad/Ageing Battery: Older and faulty batteries tend to heat up more quickly due to reduced efficiency and may pose danger, hence it is necessary to take the phone to a professional to get the battery replaced with a new one. Make sure it is the recommended battery and not a cheap replica.

Close Unnecessary Apps

• Limit Resource-Intensive Apps: If you engage in activities such as gaming, streaming or even running multiple apps at the same time, it is important to control this behaviour because it could lead to your device busting into flames if you fail to do this.
• Optimise Gaming With Use Utility Tools: For mobile gamers, there are utility tools that can be installed on your smartphone to help you enhance your device’s performance during gaming. This essentially helps in avoiding overheating and hardware-related issues. An example of this tool is Game Turbo on your Xiaomi phone and tablet.
  
• Close Background Apps: Navigate to App Manager on your phone’s settings and close apps running automatically in the background that you’re not using. This can tremendously improve your device’s performance and reduce overheating.
  
• Uninstall Unwanted/Unused Rogue App: Sometimes, the problem is a rogue app – a badly written app – running in the background. Find it and uninstall it. Do not be merciful.
• Turn Off Battery-draining Apps: These are usually apps that run in the background and use your internet connection. These may include location apps (such as Google Maps), email apps, and social networking apps such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.

Don’t Use Phone in Hot Environment

• Move to a Cooler Place: Don’t use your phone in extremely hot conditions e.g. near ovens, cookers, hot cars, in direct scorching sunlight or any environment with extreme heat. Move your phone to a shaded or cooler area.

Turn Off Unnecessary Features

• Turn Off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS: If you’re not using any of these features, turning them off can reduce the load on your phone.
• Activate Airplane Mode: If you don’t need internet or network connectivity, enabling Airplane Mode can help reduce heat.
• Reduce Brightness: The brighter your screen, it more susceptible your device can heat up, so lowering the brightness can help reduce temperature.

Update Software and Scan For Malware

• Check for Updates: Ensure your smartphone’s operating system and apps are up to date, keeping your phone updated can fix bugs that cause overheating.
• Run a Scan: If you suspect that the heating issue comes from malware, you can use your phone’s built-in security software or a third-party app to scan for malware, which could be causing overheating.

Try These Additional Fix For Overheating

• Take the Phone Out of Its Case: Having a case on your phone case helps to prevent screen and body damage during accidental falls, however, it comes with its problems. It can sometimes entrap heat when your device is overheating so removing the case can help your phone cool down more quickly.
• Install A Mobile Cooling Fan: Gaming is an activity that some people cannot do without. If you fall under this category, then a mobile cooling fan sounds like a great investment especially if you spend most of your time gaming, streaming or carrying out activities that take a lot of processing power.
  
• Restart Phone: Sparingly, simply restarting your smartphone can just be the answer to the heating-related problem you are experiencing, an app or software glitch may be the culprit and restarting your phone should fix it.
• Shut Down the Phone: If your phone is extremely hot and there is no way to bring it down, turn it off completely and allow it to cool down before using it again might just be the last resort.
• Factory Reset: If you still have overheating issues after trying out everything written here, you might want to do a factory reset, but ensure this is carried out as a last resort. Important: Make sure your files are backed up before doing this.

In Conclusion:

If you have tried everything listed above and yet nothing worked, it may be recommended to consult a phone technician or professional to examine the cause of overheating because prolonged overheating can damage the components of the phone’s hardware and reduce its lifespan. Let me know if there are other fixes you have tried that weren’t mentioned above, kindly share them through the comment box below to help others going through the same issue.