February 3, 2022 at 5:21 p.m.
- All lithium-ion powered devices function best at optimal temperatures.
- Cold temperatures cause atoms to slow down, which is the root cause of smartphone failure in frigid weather.
- Keeping your iPhone warm may extend its operating time in cold temperatures.
- If your iPhone becomes very cold, special care should be taken before turning it on to avoid damage.
- Some iPhone cases, such as those constructed out of neoprene, provide limited insulation for cold climates.
It’s been a cold winter for many people across the globe. Extreme weather seems to be the new normal. Unfortunately, electronic gadgets, particularly those powered by lithium-ion batteries, are not suited for temperature extremes. The iPhone is no exception. According to Apple, the iPhone 13 series, along with most Apple devices, operate best at temperatures between 0° to 35° C. These devices are more robust when turned off and can withstand temperatures from -20° to 45° C.
Those living in cold climates may be familiar with this situation. If one takes out an iPhone on a cold day, the battery life diminishes quickly. Within a few minutes, the battery can lose enough power to shut down the device. It’s not actually discharging. Instead, the lithium-ion battery simply cannot function at extremely cold temperatures. The lithium ions slow down under cold temperatures, diminishing the flow of electricity.
This is not a flaw with Apple products. This happens to any lithium-ion battery-powered device. There are a few things you can do to keep your iPhone working and protect it from permanent damage.
Turn Off Your iPhone
If you are walking (or riding your snowmobile) outside and don’t need your iPhone, turn it off. As mentioned previously, when turned off, the iPhone can withstand a much greater temperature range. Make sure to turn it off, and not just put it to sleep.
How you shut off your iPhone depends on which model you own. Newer iPhones, such as the 13 Pro Max, present the shutdown switch when users press the lower volume and side buttons simultaneously. This applies to all models with a notch. Models such as the iPhone SE (first and second-generation), iPhone 7, and 8 only require the user to press and hold the side button. You can also tap on Settings > General > Shut Down to display the “slide to power off” switch.
When you return to a warmer environment, don’t turn on your iPhone right away. This is true of every electronic device, and also some forms of media, such as video and audio cassettes. Turning on a cold device can warm it quickly. The rapid change in temperature can expand components too quickly, causing damage. Furthermore, your device is at risk for condensation to form. Any moisture inside the device can cause electronic components to fail. Simply wait for your device to come up to room temperature. With the new, metal-encased iPhones, this should happen within a few minutes. Just make sure it doesn’t feel cold to the touch.
Keep Your iPhone Warm
If it’s cold outside, chances are you are wearing warm clothing. You may have a thick, down-filled parka. If so, put the iPhone in an inside pocket. Between your body heat and the jacket’s insulation, your phone should remain within operational temperatures. If you can’t do that, try to put the device as close to your body as possible.
Of course, this limits the use of your iPhone. The buttons on Apple’s headphones actually allow users to control some iPhone functions. For example, one can invoke Siri simply by pressing and holding the center button on the headphones. I wouldn’t advise taking the phone out and returning it to its warm location repeatedly. It will present the same problem of expansion, contraction and condensation.
There are some cases that may provide adequate insulation for your iPhone. Neoprene seems like a good option. It is inexpensive and is the same material used in wet suits. You could probably even make one out of a mouse pad, since most are constructed from neoprene. Neoprene is also a great shock absorber. For those with the financial resources, a new, high-tech thermal protection case is coming soon…
Use a Cold Weather iPhone Case
Don’t Leave Your iPhone in the Car
Given the operational and non-operational temperature range for the iPhone, it makes sense not to leave it in a cold car. If you do, at least make sure to turn it off and wait until it warms up before turning it on again. The most sensible thing is to take it with you. It may be colder outside your automobile, but if your iPhone is tucked in a warm pocket, it will fare better.
Keep a Car Charger for Emergencies
Given the iPhone’s vulnerability to cold weather, one must be prepared for emergencies. If you get stuck in the snow, a cold iPhone that doesn’t work can be a life-threatening situation. Even though the battery may not perform well, you will probably get some power if you plug it into a charger. Make sure to keep a car-compatible iPhone charger in your automobile at all times. Some of these can plug in to the cigarette lighter. Most modern cars have a standard electric or USB outlet, so you can use just about any charger.
Ideally, you should use the charger provided by Apple. Rapid charging with too much current can damage the battery from overheating. Even if you are in a cold environment, a rapid charger could exacerbate the temperature extremes, causing damage to your device.
Use an Old iPhone
Prior to the iPhone 5, Apple’s iconic devices were sandwiched between two sheets of glass. Glass is an insulator. Given this insulating property, the iPhone 4 and 4S should operate better under cold conditions.
Officially, Apple recommends the same temperatures for these older, glass-sandwiched iPhones. The laws of physics would seem to indicate they will perform better in cold weather, due to the insulation. Of course, if the device is left in the cold for a long time, it won’t matter. However, if you take it out of your pocket to use briefly, it should remain operational longer.
Being an old iPhone, you might not get too upset if the temperature extremes ruin the device. I wouldn’t go out and buy an old iPhone for this purpose. You may want to keep your old iPhone 4 or 4S to use outdoors in the winter. Many carriers will allow you to keep your old device activated for free.
Buy a New iPhone
Apple revisited the glass sandwich design from the iPhone 4 lineup. Starting with iPhone 8, Apple re-introduced the fragile-but-thermally-stable glass back design. All new iPhones, including the latest iPhone 13 lineup, feature a glass “sandwich” design. Since glass is an insulator and metal dissipates heat, the “new” configuration should fare better in cold climates.
Keep in mind that the newer glass-backed iPhones are much more fragile than their metal counterparts. In fact, with the latest iPhones, the screen is far more durable than the glass back. Using Corning’s new Ceramic Shield technology, Apple finally solved the problem of cracked screens. However, the company constructed the back of the device with much less durable material. If you happen to drop your glass-backed iPhone on a hard surface and the back shatters, repairs cost upwards of $400 because the entire back unit, including the camera module, must be replaced.
Needless to say, putting your iPhone in a case or protecting the back with a “screen” protector is a smart move. I opted for the latter option, purchasing a tempered glass overlay to protect the back glass on my iPhone 13 Max Pro. If you’re a klutz, it’s probably best to go for a protective case.
Use the Apple Watch to Access iPhone Functionality
The Apple Watch may function better in cold weather. The device’s operating temperature range is the same as the iPhone — 32º F to 95º F (0º C to 35º C). Certain aspects of the Apple Watch may enable it to fare better in cold weather. Since the Apple Watch is worn on your wrist, heat from your body will keep it from getting too cold. If you wear it under a heavy coat and expose it only for quick glances, it should operate in cold weather.
Its material design may also keep the Apple Watch from getting too cold. The front of the device is sapphire glass, which acts as an insulator. The back is either a composite or ceramic material (depending on model) and metal. Body heat should keep the device warm enough to use, even in cold weather. A metal-backed Apple Watch will fare better in cold weather, as body heat transfers through the material.
Buy a Samsung Phone With an Exynos Processor
Samsung smartphones feature one of two brands of processors — Qualcomm or Samsung’s own Exynos chip. The best and fastest Samsung devices use Qualcomm processors. Since the company can’t get enough Qualcomm processors, it puts its own Exynos chips in some of the same models at a lower price.
Exynos processors are decent chips, but they tend to have thermal issues. This is actually a blessing in cold weather. A Samsung S20 with an Exynos processor will fare much better in cold weather than the same phone equipped with a Qualcomm processor. Models with Exynos processors are typically a few hundred dollars cheaper too.
If you’re constantly in cold weather and need to use a smartphone, an Exynos-equipped Samsung phone should work well. In warm weather, the processor simply slows down to stay cool, so you can still use your device.
Yeah, cause my sister has an 6s as well, and it works just fine, you’re probably right, the camera must be broken somehow. Now I’m going to change the camera and the battery, cause it’s already 2 year old, and the battery sucks now. Thanks for the help!
I have an issue with my iPhone 6s Plus rear camera. I live I South America, Ecuador. I used to travel almost every single weekend, from my home city which is at an altitude of ~9100 ft to another city at ~400 ft above sea level. You can deduce from these altitudes that the highest is colder that the lower one. The problem is that my iPhone 6s Plus rear camera works just perfectly when am at those ~400ft, it records 4K and it is awesome, but, once I get to my home city, things get darker, for real, the camera doesn’t respond and what I see in the camera app is nothing but a black screen. I would love to hear something, at least some joke, cause here, in any technical support center, they don’t know how to solve it. They say it may be the camera itself, but, also say if it’s not, I would have to pay anyway, please help me!
My hunch is that the change in altitude is causing problems, although my research shows that the iPhone functions well at high altitudes. People have even attached them to weather balloons and taken them up to 100,000 feet, without the camera failing. It may be that your camera is defective and the high altitude exacerbates the defect, rendering the camera useless. Does this happen to anyone else’s iPhone? If not, it must be unique to yours and is probably a manufacturing defect.
What about my iPhone 6? It got cold as soon as it cut off and won’t cut back on. And I’ve tried different people’s iPhone chargers to see if that would work and it didn’t. Then I tried to reset it so I held the power and home button and then it still wouldn’t work and all I was doing on my phone before it did what it did was on Facebook then it just cuts off. What does that mean?
It’s possible that your battery is completely dead. Perhaps the cold weather finally did it in, but it was on its last legs. Given that the iPhone 6 is a few years old now, if you used it heavily and charged it often, the battery may just be dead. The batteries don’t last forever. You can either replace it or get a new iPhone.
It’s also possible that there’s a lose connection to the battery. Cold weather causes metal to contract. It could possibly damage the device, but it would have to be very cold for that to happen.
My best guess is that the battery is shot.
Unfortunately, I work outside, and I have an iphone. Just 2 days ago, I had to make a call and my phone had to be exposed to the cold air for less than minutes while I talked. Before the conversation ended, the phone got too cold and shut down, so keeping it warm doesn’t make it possible to use, if we have to bring it to our ear to talk. An awfully expensive essential device that doesn’t work in an emergency. A $30 flip phone is my next buy.
One possible solution may be to use the included headphones. I actually prefer using it for calls, especially outside or in crowds. Using the headphones, you can keep it in your pocket while you make calls. Siri can be activated by pressing and holding the center button on the headphones.
I’m not sure any phone powered by a lithium ion battery will work in cold conditions. That said, a $30 flip phone may be worth a shot.
Today it was +7C. My iPhone still shut off. I was downtown looking for my sister and couldn’t possibly call her because I have a phone that I can only use indoor apparently. Completely useless. Apple should seriously consider a recall. I seriously need my phone to call someone. I can’t possibly use it in my pocket. It should have different kind of emergency battery life at least to call 911 in case of an emergency.
That’s interesting. It should work at that temperature. It’s possible that you need to calibrate the battery. Perhaps the near-0º temperature is causing it to fail because the battery needs to either be calibrated or replaced.
I have both iPhone 6s plus and iPhone 5s. My 6s plus turns off when the air temperature is +1 C, and my 5s still works when it’s -5 C (may be even lower).
It may be because the iPhone 6 is almost all aluminum and thinner. The metal dissipates heat faster and offers less insulating properties. The thinness may also cause it to lose heat rapidly compared to the older model. The iPhone 5S only has a panel that’s aluminum, but the front and top/bottom of the back are glass. Glass is a better insulator than aluminum.
I work outside everyday and iPhones dies the second I take it out of any warm pocket. Completely useless. Full waste of my money.
That will happen with any lithium-ion battery powered device. It’s not unique to the iPhone. I checked competing smartphone manuals, and they all have the same temperature ranges for operation and storage.
Not true. I have an Android – HTC to be exact and it operates in cold weather fine. I have an iPhone and you take it out in the cold it dies within 5 minutes. Android can last the day in the cold, no problems
Which HTC smartphone do you own?
If Apple already knows the problem, then why do they keep fabricating iPhones with these kind of lithium-ion batteries?
I read that they acquired a battery R&D firm, so the technology may be implemented in the future. As it stands now, lithium-ion batteries are the only viable option for smartphones and many devices. Every smartphone on the market uses lithium-ion batteries and they are all affected by both cold and warm weather.
So let’s get this straight. I turn off my phone in cold weather and when I need it for say an emergency it is still cold so it won’t turn on to be used. So the best idea is to leave it at home when you go out in the cold because even if you do need it it is still completely useless. Did you work for Microsoft?
You can put it in an inside coat pocket. That should keep it warm. For hands-free operation, you can use the earbuds to control Siri and talk on the phone. On page two of this article, I cover using a car charger to use a cold iPhone in emergency situations.
The point of this article is that, if it’s cold outside, don’t let your iPhone get cold. Don’t leave it in a cold car. Most of my cold weather jackets have inside pockets. That should be sufficient to keep it at operating temperature. If you take it out to use it, don’t use it too long.
Unfortunately, no one can change the fundamental laws of physics. Lithium ions slow down when it’s cold, which prevents the battery from functioning. This is true of all smartphones. Any device with a lithium ion battery can stop functioning in cold temperatures.
How can I use an iPhone in case of emergency in cold climate when I’m in danger and need help? The iPhone is useless and by skiing cross country it is not possible to keep phone warm.
Why you are not copying the technology from Samsung, Nokia etc.? They are working also in cold climate.
I would suggest putting the iPhone in an inner pocket in your coat. That should keep it warm, even if you’re outdoors in cold weather for a long time. I would suggest getting a neoprene case. Neoprene is the same material used in wetsuits, so it will help keep your iPhone warm. But you can’t expect to be skiing for hours with an iPhone externally exposed to cold temperatures. I wouldn’t expect someone to ski with an iPhone attached to their belt or on an arm band.
Which models of Samsung and Nokia phones aren’t affected by cold temperatures? All lithium-ion batteries are subject to failure under cold conditions.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 has the same operating temperature range as the iPhone.