Experts are warning iPhone and Android mobile phone users that the cold can cause ‘permanent’ damage to their devices.
You head out the door, iPhone in hand, blasting some music. It’s freezing, you think, but your phone battery is on a solid 87%.
Minutes later, however, it’s down by 20%. Soon enough, you’re in the red. Then as you Google exactly how cold it is, your phone shuts off.
While we know smartphones can overheat when left out on a sweltering summer day, the same goes for the cold.
Britain is in the grips of a days-long cold snap, with five snow and ice yellow weather warnings in place today alone.
Tech expert Richard Dowden, of the comparison website Uswitch, says that prolonged exposure to the frigid elements can cause ‘permanent damage to your tech’.
‘If you’re cold, your tech is cold,’ he explains.
How does the cold affect phones?
Most phone batteries are made of lithium, which relies on chemical reactions to keep your phone running. In the cold, these reactions slow down or stop altogether – your phone then thinks your battery is dying.
Apple says that iPhone models work best between 0ºC and 35ºC. Anything lower can temporarily shorten battery life and impair the phone’s ability to regulate temperature.
Studies have shown at -30ºC, damage to phone batteries and screens can be irreparable. Lower than -40ºC, and the phone is basically a brick forever.
But scientists have no idea why lithium-ion batteries don’t handle the cold well. If left too long in the cold, alkaline batteries, meanwhile, can crack or even explode.
For the most part, however, phones switch back on when they are brought inside and get a little time to recover from their frostbite.
tThere are five things people can do to prevent their phones from getting frozen stiff, Richard says.
1. Don’t leave your phone in the car
‘This can cause permanent water damage to your phone once you bring it in from the cold, due to chemical reactions inside your device,’ Richard, who worked for 12 years in the telecoms sector, says.
‘If you do leave your phone out in the cold for a prolonged period, be sure to allow it to come back up to room temperature before you charge it again.’
2. Charge before you go
Battery drain – when your phone goes from fully charged to 0% in only minutes – is hard to avoid when phones are booted up in the cold.
So Richard recommends people ‘be mindful of this’ and fully charge their smartphones before leaving the house.
3. Put a jacket on it
We’re not talking about a puffer jacket and some mittens. ‘One of the best ways you can keep your phone warm and avoid battery drain is by keeping it in a protective case that’s insulated from the elements,’ Richard says.
‘Keeping it in a secure pocket can also help, as it will benefit from your body temperature.’
4. Power down
If you can, the easiest way to prevent your phone from shutting down in the cold is to, well, shut it down.
‘If you’re going to be exposed to sub-zero temperatures, help conserve your phone battery by turning on low power mode, turning off location services and closing down apps running in the background,’ Richard says.
‘You could also put it on Airplane Mode, which will still give you access to apps that don’t require an internet connection.’
Lower power mode for iPhones is also recommended.
5. Get them backed up
If you know for sure you need to head out and Arctic conditions like today, other than making sure your phone is charged, there’s one other thing you should do on the safe side.
‘Ensure your data is backed up to avoid any loss or damage to the battery life,’ Richard stresses.
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