Ways to Avoid Hot Smartphones!

Nine (9) Reasons Why Your Smartphone Gets Too Hot!

The following may be the reasons why your smartphone gets too hot easily.

Smartphones have replaced dogs as man’s best friend, if not his closest companion and this is thanks to technology, which has advanced so much that anyone who gets hold of another person’s device has more than enough data about the person.

It can, however, be frustrating to see your phone get unnecessarily hot or overheated and our good friend, Android Operating System (the most popular operating system in the world), is the main culprit. The question then is, what do you do about an Android OS that gets unnecessarily hot?

I have compiled below, a list of the most common reasons why your smartphone heats up and possible simple solutions that may help out. Here we go:

1. Malware and viruses

This is probably the biggest reason why someone’s smartphone might get hot unnecessarily, and it is because malware and viruses seat in the background, wreaking havoc while the phone’s systems are working hard. The level of work these viruses perform behind-the-scene depends on what they are designed to do. As an example, a malware designed to capture every single data on smartphones will certainly exert more pressure.

To solve this issue, download apps from trusted sources only and, scan your phone with a good anti-virus regularly. Do your best to keep these harmful agents out by ensuring you avoid clicking on unknown links or downloading any suspicious file. If you suspect a stubborn virus or malware, simply do a factory reset and start afresh.

2. Out-dated operating system

Assuming you are using a smartphone running Android 4.4 KitKat in today’s world of Android 7.1 Nougat, then, you are likely to experience it get hot when you try to run certain kinds of apps. Remember, some of these apps have already been patched and updated to work with the latest version of the OS and the likely effect is that it becomes outright difficult for your good old OS to work smoothly with them.

3. Bad battery

A bad battery can also be a source of overheating of a smartphone. If the battery itself is not heating up, then, it is less likely that your battery is causing the problem, but if your battery is old or malfunctioning, then, you may want to consider replacing it. You may also consider taking your battery out of your phone, (if your phone has a removable battery), to check and make sure that it is not bloated or warped.

Unfortunately, some smart OEMs have handed us smartphones without removable batteries such that if you experience any battery related issues, then you would have to either live with the issue or simply replace the phone.

4. Multiple background apps

Let’s tell ourselves the truth; out of all the hundreds of apps on our phones today, we rarely use up to 10. If you use more than 10, then you certainly are not an average user and your likes are very few. Some apps simply enjoy running in the background; no harm with this but if your smartphone gets warm or starts overheating or unexpectedly gets hot, then, it means that the phone may need some help. Doing a quick restart at this point may help greatly.

By the way, you should make it a habit to remove apps that are not useful every now and then.

5. Heavy streaming

Watching movies and streaming content task a phone’s processor more. So, when you combine the load of playing a video with the load of a data connection or wifi when streaming content along with other processes running in the background, obviously, your smartphone will get hot.

The solution to that is simple: shut down the video and allow the phone cool off for a while before proceeding again.

6. Playing games

I typically do not play all types of games because some games simply add no value to me but I have a few games on my phone. I can say for sure that some gaming applications require more processing power than others depending on the features and complexity of the game.

This is basically why more game developers state the basic specifications a phone must possess if it wants to smoothly run their games. Always confirm your phone can actually run a particular game before downloading.

7. Phone case

This is one common problem that quite a number of phone owners overlook and I do not blame them because the phone case must have cost money and besides, it also protects against damage. If your phone is already overheating, take your case off. If your phone is hot, your case is probably trapping the heat. Thus, taking the case off will allow the phone’s heat vents to do their job fully without being blocked.

8. Heavy load time

Smartphones have become some sort of hardworking horse that we use to play games, watch videos, listen to music, capture pictures, watch movies, carry our research, send messages, and do other things. All of these things are just done on a single device. Come on! Your smartphone will definitely be hot every now and then while trying to carry out all of these functions.

9. Exposure to direct sunlight

Africa is naturally a hot region. So, you need to avoid putting your phone right under direct sunlight. I know sometimes we place it directly under the sun for one reason or the other such as on the dashboard while driving or on the field, if your job is field work related. Note that your phone can retain heat from the sun and gets hotter the longer it remains exposed directly to it. My suggestion is that you avoid exposing your smartphone directly to sunlight.

Put succinctly, if you want your device to last longer, then you must take good care of it.