Have you ever had a hot phone? You know, when your phone suddenly overheats for no reason, and it’s like you’re handling a piece of burning coal. Yes, it’s uncomfortable to the touch – and a bit disturbing.
Electronics are overheating all the time, whether it’s because the processor is overloaded or something is blocking the fan. Usually this isn’t a major problem and the device prompts you to let it cool down – when you charge your phone, for example. But for some reason, a hot pocket (no, not the one you microwave) from a phone you’re carrying makes the issue even more of a concern.
Although it is not the end of the world, you had better resolve the issue before it happens again.
Why do smartphones heat up in the first place?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It cannot be kept, transferred or changed from one form to another. In this case, the energy used by your phone is electricity. The battery stores electricity inside your smartphone.
Electricity from the battery flows to the circuits of your smartphone to activate them. It will light up the screen, trigger vibrations, etc. However, the circuits are not a simple, linear route. They curl, curl, curl to the side and return to their destination. Needless to say, the electricity that flows through a circuit passes through several components. However, when electricity passes through these components, some of the energy behind it is lost due to the material used.
The resulting amount of electricity coming out of your smartphone will always be less than the amount of electricity going into the component. The lost electricity turns into other forms of energy – because it has to go somewhere according to physics – mainly, heat.
In other words, electricity that is not used to “run” your phone is converted into heat. Sometimes the electricity produced is such that the heat is overwhelming.
Android vs iPhone overheating
Androids have been known to overheat to the point where it is very hot, but there is never just one explanation for this. Unfortunately for this operating system, if you experience overheating frequently, it could be because you installed malware or malicious application. You can scan for malware with third-party applications such as Malwarebytes.
We don’t know that iPhones get viruses, so if your iOS device is overheating, you don’t have to worry that this is the problem. Well, good for iPhones! However, we still have to fix your Android!
Common causes of Android overheating
Apart from the “big bad wolf” reasons – a virus – your phone is most likely overheating for one of the following reasons. Do not worry; you can quickly resolve these issues. I suggest leaving your phone alone for a while to let it cool completely.
Peripheral devices
What makes more heat than small circuits? Bigger circuits! Smartphones are made up of several different devices assembled into a single product, like a Lego. More circuits means more active devices. This means that the phone will generate more heat.
Here are some devices that could make your phone too hot to handle.
Screen refresh rate
Some phones are more high-tech than others and have screen refresh rates of 90Hz or even 120Hz. The faster rate uses more power. More power means more heat.
You can disable or adjust the screen refresh rate by going to Settings> Display> Refresh rate. Lowering your refresh rate will also increase your battery life.
GPS
Standard GPS will use your phone’s connection to communicate with three satellites to locate your position. High-precision GPS will use both mobile data and Wi-Fi to send additional signals to nearby satellites and routers. No matter what type of GPS you use, it uses enough power to heat your phone.
Turn off GPS when not in use by simply swiping down on the notification bar and tapping on the GPS icon.
Hotspot mode
Hotspot mode essentially turns your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot. You allow other people to use your phone connection as long as their phones are connected to your phone over Wi-Fi.
You can turn off hotspot mode by sliding the notification bar down and tapping the hotspot icon. The icon looks like a radio tower.
Sensors
Have you ever wondered how to steer a car in a game with your phone tilt? It’s a spin vector sensor in play. There is a surprisingly high amount of sensors inside your phone. Accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, luxmeter, gravity sensor, step counter and many more. It looks like a physics lab!
You can disable these sensors (including your camera) by going to Developer mode> Quick settings> Developer tiles. Then deactivate the sensors option.
Applications
Some apps heat your phone while you use it, such as games and benchmark apps. However, what we’re looking for is the kind of playful app that likes to run while you’re not looking – yes, the background app. Apps that are running in the background will use up your phone’s resources, such as RAM and processing power.
This doesn’t mean that all the apps that are running in the background are bad. Your phone is designed to keep a few important apps running, like WhatsApp or Gmail. However, too many of these will undoubtedly eat away at your phone too much, causing your device to suffocate under normal use and its heat.
These methods will help you identify and remove the apps that heat up your phone when you are not using it.
Monitoring the running application
By going to Developer Mode> Running Services, you can see all types of processes that are running in the background. You can also see how many resources they are consuming. Look carefully at the list; see if any apps should not exist or be active. For example, the game you played and completed 2 hours ago should not appear on this list. Consider changing the game settings. Or, if possible, uninstall that game.
Do not keep activities
This feature will forcefully close any apps you just closed. It’s not great when you’re multitasking, but it will do. Use this feature wisely.
You can enable this feature by going to developer mode. Activate the option “Do not keep activities”.
Installation of third-party application manager / monitoring
Third-party apps can help you monitor and destroy apps that are misbehaving. But some can inflate the device by consuming too many resources when it is active. I recommend Greenify For the job. Just open Greenify, then select the apps you want to hibernate. Once you are done using the app, it will remain inactive until you open it again.
Conclusion
Your phone will always heat up because it is still consuming power. The key is to understand what is causing your phone to overheat. If you are playing games and your phone is heating up, this is normal. If your phone heats up when you are not using it, this is not normal. Turn off your GPS, your hotspot, or reduce your screen refresh rate.
If that doesn’t work, tweak developer mode options or download Greenify to kill those malicious, misbehaving apps. Take care of your phone and it will take care of you.