Checking the temperature of your phone is an important way to monitor its health and performance. An overheating phone can cause damage, slow performance, and decrease battery life. Thankfully, monitoring your phone’s temperature is easy with the right tools and knowledge.
Why check your phone’s temperature?
There are a few key reasons you may want to check your phone’s temperature regularly:
- Overheating damages phone components – High temperatures can damage delicate electronics inside your phone like the processor and battery. This can lead to permanent performance or battery issues.
- Overheating causes throttling – To prevent damage from overheating, your phone may throttle performance. This means it will run slower, disabling features to cool down.
- Heat decreases battery life – Heat causes lithium-ion batteries to degrade faster. Regular overheating will noticeably shorten your battery life over time.
- Overheating causes crashes/shutdowns – Excessive phone heat may cause apps to crash or your phone to shut down unexpectedly to prevent damage.
- Identify problematic apps – Checking temperature can help identify if a specific app is causing overheating when used.
By monitoring temperature, you can take steps to cool your phone and prevent long-term issues. A normal phone operating temperature is between 32°C/90°F and 35°C/95°F.
What causes a phone to overheat?
There are several potential causes of phone overheating to be aware of:
- Using resource-intensive apps – Apps that use a lot of CPU power like 3D games can heat up your phone.
- Multitasking – Having many apps open or running in the background raises resource usage.
- Bright display settings – High brightness levels make the display work harder, generating more heat.
- Direct sunlight – Leaving your phone in direct sunlight will cause the internal temperature to rise.
- Poor signal areas – Poor reception makes the modem work harder to maintain a signal, heating the phone.
- Charging – Fast charging and wireless charging create heat from the battery and charger.
- Old battery – An aging battery may run hotter or have difficulty regulating temperature.
- Hardware issues – Defective components can cause abnormal heat generation.
Being aware of these potential triggers can help you manage your phone’s temperature. Simple steps like closing apps, lowering brightness, and avoiding direct sunlight can help cool down an overheating phone in many cases.
How to check the temperature of an Android phone
There are several handy ways to monitor the internal temperature of an Android phone. Here are some options:
Use a temperature monitoring app
One of the easiest ways is to install an Android app designed specifically for monitoring your phone’s temperature. Helpful options include:
- CPU Temperature – Simple app displaying current CPU and battery temp.
- AIDA64 – Popular diagnostics app with temperature readings.
- 3C Toolbox – Battery manager app with temp monitoring.
These apps can display a live read out of component temperatures within your phone. CPU and battery temperatures are most important to track.
Check in system settings
Many Android phones display temperature data within the Settings app. You may find it under Device care, Battery, or Diagnostics data depending on your device and Android version.
For example on a Samsung Galaxy S21, you can access temperature readings under Settings > Device care > Battery > More battery settings > Thermal information.
Use a hardware monitor
Small USB temperature monitors can be plugged into your phone’s charging port to get direct readings from built-in sensors. Models like the Kuman Digital USB Temperature Monitor display both ambient and internal phone temperature.
Use a thermal imaging camera
A thermal camera can see and photograph heat given off by your phone. Though expensive, thermal imagers can be a useful way to identify hot spots exactly where excess heat is being generated.
Models designed for spotting heat issues in electronics are your best bet for thermal imaging a phone. The Seek Thermal CompactPRO works well for identifying phone hot spots.
How to check the temperature of an iPhone
iPhone users have a few options to check on their device temperature as well:
Use a temperature app
Apps like Battery Life – Check Runtime display current component temperatures for your iPhone. Installing one of these battery utility apps provides a quick readout of temps.
Pair with wireless thermometer
Connecting a Bluetooth enabled wireless thermometer can allow iPhones to read temperature data from the sensor. Probe thermometers like the Inkbird IBT-6XS can stay in contact with your iPhone to monitor changes.
Check in analytics
The Apple Battery Health analytics tool reports maximum operating temperatures for your iPhone battery. Open Settings > Battery > Battery Health to view historical data and peaks.
Use thermal camera
As with Android phones, thermal imaging cameras can also help identify hot spots on an iPhone’s exterior for troubleshooting. Just aim the thermal camera at the phone while it is exhibiting heat issues.
How hot is too hot for a smartphone?
Once you have checked your phone’s temperature, how hot is too hot? Here are some temperature thresholds to watch out for:
- 90°F – 100°F (32°C – 38°C) – Normal range for a phone in use.
- 100°F – 105°F (38°C – 40°C) – Acceptable short term peak range.
- 105°F – 113°F (40°C – 45°C) – High temperature, risk of throttle or damage over time.
- 113°F+ (45°C+) – Critical temperature where damage or shutdown may occur.
Note these thresholds are for the internal SoC/processor temperature, not external housing temp. Sustained peaks over 105°F (40°C) can degrade your battery and performance. Reaching 113°F (45°C) risks an emergency shutdown.
How to cool down an overheating phone
If you find your phone regularly overheating, there are ways to cool it down and prevent issues:
Close unused apps
Apps running in the background generate heat. Close all apps you aren’t using to reduce load.
Lower brightness
Turn down your screen’s brightness level to reduce energy use and surface temperature.
Enable airplane mode
Airplane mode stops network activity that could be causing excess heat from a faulty antenna or modem.
Remove or block charger
A charger can heat up your phone – unplug it or move it to block contact with hot surfaces.
Point fan at phone
Use a fan to provide active cooling. Just avoid very high fan speeds that could damage the phone.
Apply ice pack
Place phone in contact with an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to soak up excess heat.
Avoid direct sunlight
Keep your phone out of sunshine and hot cars to prevent environment-related heat gain.
When to be concerned about overheating
Occasional mild overheating is normal, but take note if your phone is often hot or reaching dangerous temperatures. Signs your phone may have a heating issue include:
- Frequent high temperature alerts from apps
- Apps crashing or phone shutting down unexpectedly
- Diminished battery life over time
- Performance throttling during use
- Very hot surfaces while charging
An overheating phone that’s hot to the touch warrants concern. The issue could be a faulty battery, clogged cooling vents, malware, or a deteriorating processor. Continuing to use an overheating phone risks permanent damage.
When to replace an overheating phone
If your phone overheats persistently, replacement may be the safest option before catastrophic failure occurs. Consider a new phone if you experience:
- Repeated overheating with normal use
- Severe battery life or performance decrease
- Phone won’t power on due to heat damage
- Melted ports or distorted phone case
A phone that’s reached this point likely has irreparable heat damage. Component or battery failure could happen suddenly, so backup your data and start shopping for a replacement.
Conclusion
Checking and managing your smartphone’s temperature is an important part of maintaining its health and performance. Monitor your phone with specialized apps and equipment to catch overheating issues early. If your phone regularly overheats and reaches unsafe temps above 105°F (40°C), take proactive steps to cool it down or replace the device if damage is suspected.