How to protect your smartphone in a heatwave (and what to avoid)

The UK and much of Europe have been experiencing record temperatures in recent months, and there is another heatwave predicted in parts of the country this week. One of the more banal but irritating ways in which this persistent heat is affecting everyday life is by interfering with how you use your smartphone. If you’ve noticed your phone becoming too hot to handle or slowing down in the stifling heat, there’s a reason for that. Here’s the full lowdown on why your phone is struggling in high temperatures, followed by some tips on what to do (and what not to do) with your handset when the heatwaves hit. What’s the problem? Put simply, phones do not like extreme heat. Both Apple and Samsung – the two biggest smartphone makers – state that their phones are designed to be used between 0C and 35C. If a phone exceeds that maximum temperature, it will be forced to adjust its behaviour in ways that might affect your general use. Apple’s iPhones are known to dim their screens when things get toasty, which can prove counterproductive on sunny days. You might also find that your phone gets slower due to so-called ‘throttling’. This is the term for when your phone’s internal chip reduces its processing speeds in an attempt to generate less heat.