You grab your smartphone and feel that it’s burning up. You can hear it whirr with effort. You try to scroll through your home screen, and the performance is at a snail’s pace. You can’t seem to log out of your apps.
Why is your phone overheating? There are a few potential reasons for this malfunction.
Article Breakdown
Heat
Follow the principle of Occam’s razor. Look to the simplest explanation for your smartphone overheating. It could be overheating because it’s in a hot environment. You left it sitting on a windowsill, soaking up the sunlight. You charged it close to a running radiator. You slept with it tucked firmly underneath your pillow.
Smartphones are meant to be kept at a comfortable indoor temperature. They won’t work well when they’re physically hot.
What can you do about this problem?
Remove your smartphone from the heated location and let it cool down. Close any running apps and shut the device off if you can. Do not use it until it feels more comfortable to the touch.
Whatever you do, don’t try to rush this cool-down process. Do not put it in a cold environment, like your refrigerator. Your smartphone doesn’t handle extreme cold any better than it handles extreme heat. You could permanently damage your phone by storing it in your fridge.
Malware
If your smartphone overheats often, it might not be the environment causing the problem. Frequent overheating is a sign that it could be infected with malware. Malware can cause apps to run in the background, forcing your smartphone to use up more energy and overheat.
What can you do about this problem?
Malware typically gets into your smartphone through corrupted apps that you’ve downloaded. So, look through your recent downloads to see which apps could be the culprits for this trouble. Delete the suspicious options. If you’re not sure which apps could carry the malware, you should download top-quality anti-virus software and run a scan. It will help you find the sources of infection and clear out your smartphone.
Old Battery
Sadly, if you’ve had your smartphone for a while and the other options on this list aren’t causing your problem, then it could be your battery. As your battery gets older, it will require more energy to run your phone’s programs. As it struggles to handle that workload, it will overheat and drain quickly.
What can you do about this problem?
Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that you need a new smartphone—it just means that you’ll need a replacement battery. Replacing a battery is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other types of smartphone fixes. Depending on your device, you can expect to pay around $100 for the service.
What if you can’t afford the repair out of pocket? If you don’t have enough savings in your emergency fund, you could go to a website like CreditFresh and see whether you’re eligible to apply for a fast online loan with a quick application in your state. If you’re eligible, you should take a few minutes to fill out an application for the fast loan online. You just might get approved for it. Then, you can use the borrowed funds to get your smartphone fixed.
You should only use online loans for emergencies. Do not use them for smartphone services you can save up for.
Overheating is a sign that something is wrong with your smartphone. Use this list to figure out what that could be and how to fix it.