How to check phone temperature


How to check phone temperature

Given that your phone is essentially a small computer that you carry around in your pocket, it's important that you know how to check your phone temperature, and prevent overheating before it becomes a problem.

We may not all remember the problems that Samsung faced with the Note 7. But it cost the company billions, as phones overheated and burned, forcing them into a costly and embarrassing recall.

While this is something manufacturers are obviously very keen to avoid, phones do sometimes still get very warm, for a variety of reasons. And a phone getting warm may indicate a problem with your handset. So how exactly does one check one's phone temperature?

Below, you'll find everything you need to know about how to check phone temperature, so keep reading.

How to check phone temperature

If you want to check your phone temperature, there are a couple of different methods that may or may not work, depending on what device you are using.

On some Android devices, you can get information about your battery by typing the following code: *#*#4636#*#*. If your handset has this feature, it will open a menu, from which you can select Battery Information. One of the options within this menu is Battery Temperature.

Alternatively, in your Settings menu, the Battery or Battery and Performance menu may also allow you to see the temperature of the battery on your phone. Not all devices offer this though.

And finally, if neither of the above options works for you (or you have an iPhone) then you may need to download an app that measures battery information. Many of these are free and will measure your battery temperature for you.

Read More: How to check if your phone has virus

How To Cool Down Your Phone

If you need to cool down your phone, there are a few different measures you can take:

  • Either switch the phone off or put it into flight mode, to disable many of the features that are battery hungry - such as a data connection.
  • Close all the apps you have open. We can often find a situation where we inadvertently have all the apps we've opened left running in the background. Once you've finished with an app, close it.
  • Turn down the screen brightness. A screen needs a lot of power to stay on, especially if the brightness is turned up. A dimmer screen will therefore make fewer demands.
  • Try battery saver mode. This will reduce the number of background processes the phone is running.

What Increases A Phone's Temperature?

There are a lot of possible reasons that your phone may be getting hot. You've probably noticed your handset feeling warm if you've been using it for a long time, or have lots of power-hungry apps running.

But typical reasons include the following:

  • Streaming content - whether you're watching YouTube videos or streaming your favourite TV shows, loading video data and having the screen on for long periods is a sure fire way to increase your phone's temperature.
  • Gaming - this will work your phone's GPU as well as its processing cores.
  • Software updates can also be quite power-hungry, so you may well notice a warmer handset during an update, or just after it has finished.
  • Batteries are often the focal point for increased temperatures in your phone. A faulty battery was behind the issues with the Samsung Note 7 that we highlighted earlier. So if you overcharge your phone, or drop it, and damage the battery, it may lead to the temperature rising.
  • High ambient temperatures. Phones, like many electrical devices, have an optimal operating window. So if you leave your phone in the sun on a hot day, this can also make your device overheat.
  • Issues with malware, viruses, suboptimal settings and background apps can also contribute to temperature increases.

Why You Should Try To Avoid Overheating Your Phone

Going back to that Note 7, there is a small chance that a phone that overheats too much could actually explode. On that particular occasion, it was so serious that these handsets were banned from flights.

While the vast majority of handsets are not going to explode on you, an overheating handset can lead to damage to the handset, reduced battery performance, and reduced functional performance. In short, it isn't ideal.

It's well worth checking your phone temperature if you feel it is beginning to get warm. And if it does, then take the steps we mentioned earlier, to help bring the temperature back down again.

That's everything you need to know about how to check your phone temperature and why you should avoid overheating it in the first place.

Read our guide on when you should change your phone battery if you're looking for more phone tips.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Apple, How To, and Smartphones pages.