There’s a difference between an iPhone that’s warm, and an iPhone getting hot. If you have models like the iPhone 7/7 Plus, 8/8 Plus, and X, they can overheat due to different factors.
Depending on the health of the iPhone and how you use it, an iPhone can get hot or overheat beyond the normal warmth levels due to reasons including:
- Using and charging your iPhone simultaneously
- Watching video of high-quality over a long period
- Using GPS for long hours
- Streaming video-intensive apps or playing video games
When your iPhone is warm, it’s normal. Let it cool down and use it later. However, if you find the iPhone getting hot while you’re using it, stop using immediately and power it off.
What to do when you find your iPhone getting hot
- Remove any heavy case around your iPhone to check if it is causing overheating and test it for a day or so. Don’t put the device in a fridge to cool it as it may create condensation in the phone causing water damage internally
- Check for crashing apps that could cause overheating. Go to Settings>Privacy>Analytics and check Analytics Data. You can delete apps that crash often and download again or find a different app
- Update iPhone apps that are outdated as some don’t automatically update. They can drain the phone’s power and cause the iPhone to get hot
- Check apps that drain the battery and CPU. Go to Settings>Battery to see the list. Delete or replace any such apps
- Install any new updates to your iPhone. If its outdated, the CPU can be overloaded and overheat eventually. Update with each new update released
- Check the network connection of your phone as bad connections can cause overdrive performance while searching for signals
- Change brightness as sometimes maximum levels can cause overheating
- Remove widgets that could be running in the background as they can overload the CPU making the iPhone overheat
- Turn off background app refresh. When all apps refresh at the same time, the CPU can drain. Turn it off by going to Settings>General>Background App Refresh and tap Off
- Reset iPhone settings to ensure none of these cause overheating. You won’t lose any data but it can find problematic settings or rogue apps
- Try a factory reset if you find the iPhone getting hot and can’t be fixed using the above steps. A forced restart can also help
- Check your charger. If it isn’t Apple-certified, it could be defective and cause overheating
If all else fails, call an Apple expert.
Elsie is a tech writer with 8+ years professional experience. For Tech News Watch, she brings rich experience contributing to topics such as Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS among others. In her spare time, she loves checking out the latest tech trends, gadgets, and news, listening to music and cars.