Is your Android phone overheating? Is your Android phone overheating while charging? Cell phone overheating is a common problem these days. However, several troubleshooting tips and solutions help stop phone overheating issues.
For me, I first had to answer the question “why is my phone overheating?” After which, I realized that my phone only overheated when charging. So, the question I had to solve was “why does my phone get hot while charging?” Luckily, I resolved both issues.
This article teaches you all the ways that you can prevent overheating on your Android smartphones. Furthermore, another closely related matter, battery draining problems on Android, is addressed here. Yes, your phone overheating and dying quickly sometimes stem from the same cause.
BEFORE WE GET STARTED – ANDROID’S CAN GET WARM
The fact is that your Android Smartphone will get warm. After all, they are electronic devices. This is why you should not panic if your Android Smartphone is getting a bit warm. However, your Android Smartphone should never get HOT! If your Android Smartphone is getting hot so much so that it is overheating, then you might risk damage to your device, yourself or those around you. What you need to do is figure out what is causing the problem and learn how to prevent your device from overheating.
WHERE DOES YOUR ANDROID SEEM TO BE GETTING HOT?
The first thing that you can do is to find the location where the device is getting hot. It does not necessarily have to be the phone that is getting hot, but it could be the battery or the charger and even the speakers that are causing the problem. So, where exactly does your Android Smartphone have overheating problems?
BACK OF THE ANDROID GETTING HOT
When your device starts to get warm does it seem to be the whole phone or does it appear to be mostly in the back area where the battery sits? Perhaps it’s not the device that’s overheating but the battery inside.
BOTTOM OF THE ANDROID GETS HOT
Is the device getting warm towards the bottom where you plug in the charger? Is your device only getting warm while being connected to the charger? If so, then there might be an issue with the charger itself. Make sure to try a different charger, preferably one approved by the manufacturer of your device, to see if your device continues to heat up.
If a new charger fixes the problem, then you can get rid of your previous charger and enjoy work with the new charger. If it’s not the charger, then continue the guide.
ANDROID GETTING HOT ON THE BACK ABOVE THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT
If the back of the device seems to be getting hot and it isn’t really where the battery sits, then there is a good chance that the Android Smartphone itself is overheating. If this is the case, then there can be a few reasons why this is happening. Read on for a bit of info on this.
ANDROID HEATS UP BY THE SPEAKER
If the part of your device that you hold up to your ear or where you hear music/sound from is getting hot, it can indicate a high possibility that there is an issue with the device itself. Don’t worry we’re going to the troubleshooting tips soon.
CELL PHONE SCREEN SEEMS TO BE TOO HOT
Your device’s screen can get warm of course, but if the touch screen or display screen is getting too hot or even boiling, then this is another indicator that there is an issue with the device itself.
The tips outlined below will help resolve the issue with your device as it pertains to overheating and burning.
HOW TO FIX A CELL PHONE THAT KEEPS OVERHEATING?
Now that you have narrowed down the overheating issue to the device and not necessarily a problem with the battery or the charger, it’s time to find out what you need to do to get the heating down. Below is a list of the most common reasons and best resolutions that you can use to combat overheating on your cell phone.
TO MANY THINGS RUNNING
Things on your Android Smartphone are the same as any other thing that you have around your household. Things can get cluttered and become overwhelming for your device. If your device has started to get warm or hot unexpectedly, then there is a good chance that your cell phone has processes, such as applications, that are running in the background and you don’t even know that they are running. Some of which might even start running as soon as you power on your phone.
If you’ve read the article from the top, then you already know that you need to uninstall a few of these apps or put them in hibernation mode whenever they are not in use. As suggested, Greenify is a great app for getting this done.
TO HEAVY OF A LOAD FOR TOO LONG OF A TIME
The Android Smartphone is a powerful device! That’s one thing we can be certain of. However, you probably think that you can use Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, and other social media apps all at once without slowing down your device while streaming media from Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, Fox Sports Go, Starz, or the ShowTime Anytime app continuously without problems. Heck, you’re probably browsing your favorite dating apps, using Google Chrome to do research on your next adventure, and so much more.
While all this is good, there is a limit that you need to pay attention to. This restriction affects how long and how often you can do the same things over and over before they take a toll on your Android Smartphone’s performance. Let’s have a look at a couple of the things that your Android Smartphone can do well but which might cause it to overheat in the long run.
EXTENSIVE STREAMING
Watching videos and other media content is one of the things that can make your Android Smartphone a great device. Looking at a movie when traveling can make the time it takes to get to your final destination go by a lot faster. Watching movies and playing videos constantly however, can indeed require more work from the Android Smartphone processor and not only can it consume a lot of battery power but it can cause things to get warmer over time as well, especially as our standards for media consumption moves to using streams that offer clearer picture with a higher definition.
Combine a load of playing a video with the burden of a data connection when streaming content along with other processes running in the background (and over time your phone might start to get a little warm to the point of overheating.
HEAVY GAMING
The Android App store has a pretty wide selection of some pretty fun and entertaining games and more and more applications are being created and released every day. Some of these games and applications require more processing power than others depending on the complexity of the app, and when you add this required processing power with extended usage, then things can start to heat up a bit.
What you have to remember is that many of these games might very well require you to use other resources on your Android Smartphone. Many of them require a data connection which means that your Android Smartphone now has to maintain an active internet connection via mobile data or Wi-Fi connectivity, the app might need to access your contacts both on your device and social media accounts, etc. All these things add up, and your device can get sweltering over time.
DEFECTIVE BATTERY
If the battery itself isn’t heating up, then the problem is less likely your battery that’s causing the problems, but if your battery is old or malfunctioning (even if it passes the battery test mentioned above), then you might want to consider replacing the battery.
If your battery is defective or malfunctioning and you have had it (and your device) for less than a year, then you might be able to get a free replacement battery/device. If your device is a little older and no longer covered under warranty, then you might be able to find a great deal on a new replacement battery/device online from stores like Amazon or eBay.
VENTILATION
HOT IN THE POCKET/BAG/ETC.
If your Android Smartphone seems to start overheating when it’s in your pocket/bag/etc., then take it out of the confining area to let it have a bit of fresh air. If you need to keep your device nearby, then you can keep it in a backpack (non-cluttered), locker, or in a protective case on your waist.
ANDROID HOT IN CASE
Protective cases
OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS
Other less common but possible reasons an Android Smartphone can get hot.
WATER DAMAGE
Do you listen to music from your device while taking a shower? Do you keep your device in a sweaty pocket? Or has your device simply had an accident where you dropped it in some liquid? Power issues and overheating are common problems that a water damaged Android Smartphone can experience.
You might want to try and locate the LDI (Liquid Damage Indicator) sticker(s) on your device just to make sure that your cell phone is not experiencing any side effects of moisture or liquid damage. Your phone may very well have moisture damage, and you might not even know it.
NO REST
When was the last time your device got to rest for a few minutes? Does your Android Smartphone remain turned on continuously throughout the day then remains on and plugged into a charger all night? It might just need to be powered off to rest for a little bit.
As Androids get used apps and processes can start to run and continue to run until they are manually stopped or the device reboots (which was mentioned above) but being continuously powered on can also cause minor software problems which can often be solved by just restarting the phone.
DISABLE UNNEEDED FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
This suggestion kind of goes hand in hand with too many things running at once but if you have an animated wallpaper with 10 different widgets such as a clock widget, a weather widget, a favorite contacts widget, an alarm widget, a calendar widget, a music widget, etc. then these things are going to be running all at once, and they are going to be causing your Android Smartphone to work harder, and could be causing your device to heat up. Chances are your Android Smartphone has some widgets on its home screen(s), and you didn’t even know it.
OVERCLOCKING
If you don’t know what overclocking means, then you can likely disregard this little piece of advice altogether, but your device is just like a computer. If you have manipulated or customized the software on your Android Smartphone to get it to go faster or run differently, then you may have inadvertently caused the overheating on your device.
Just remember that if you choose to overclock your Android and as a result, it’s getting hot, heat can lead to a shorter lifespan for your device and can even cause hardware damage depending on how hot your phone is getting.
OUTDATED SOFTWARE
Outdated software is not likely the culprit for your phone heating up, but I thought that I would add this to the list of updated software can help a cell phone run smoother which can cause less strain on your phone and might help to lower its average temperature.
HARDWARE
Much like the possibility of liquid or moisture damage if a part of the device itself has become corrupted then that part may need to be repaired or replaced for your device to function properly again; in this case for your device to stop overheating.
Try to think back to when your mobile phone started to get hot. Can you remember anything happening to the smartphone around that time that could shed light on the recent overheating issues? Was the device dropped accidently? Are there any signs of physical damage on the cell phone? If so, then this might be the culprit and fixing it might be more of a challenge as the damaged piece that’s causing the device to heat up would have to be located and repaired or replaced.
SOFTWARE
Just like a possible hardware issue can you remember downloading any new applications or programs etc. around the time that your Android Smartphone started to get hot? If so, then you may want to locate that application and disable it or even temporarily uninstall it just to rule out the possibility that it’s not that app that’s causing any problems on your device.
This should go hand in hand with checking your running applications, which was mentioned earlier. If you notice that an individual application is running every time that your phone starts to heat up, and you have to force stop or force close that app to get your phone to cool off, then you might need to decide if it’s worth it to continue to use that application. You might want to rule out that application completely by temporarily uninstalling it. If you uninstall it, and your device seems to stop getting hot, then you will have located the issue, and you could try re-installing it to see if a fresh copy helps but if not you might need to decide to keep that app (or apps) off your phone.
If you have done everything that you can think of to try and get your Android Smartphone to stop heating up, and it’s still getting hot, then you might also want to consider backing up all of your device’s relevant information and then perform a hard reset on the unit. A hard reset or factory data reset all user data from the device and it back to like new condition. This can help rule out the possibility that something found its way onto your device and is causing problems as the reset would help remove that “something” (whatever it may be) from the Android Phone. The only catch is that it removes all of your other information as well.
WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN YOUR ANDROID IS OVERHEATING
Do NOT put your device into the fridge or worse a freezer. Exposing your cell phone to extreme temperatures coupled with moisture is just a bad idea all around and is not recommended.
CELL PHONE STILL GETTING HOT!
If you have tried ALL of the suggestions in this article, then chances are your device is experiencing a hardware malfunction or another issue that cannot be resolved through standard troubleshooting and at this point you will likely need to look into your possible repair or replacement options.
Luckily if your Android Smartphone is still less than a year old and doesn’t have any physical or liquid damage, it is highly likely that your device is still going to be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. If so, then your cell phones manufacturer may be responsible for the repair or replacement of your unit.
If you have confirmed that your Android Smartphone’s battery is at fault and is getting hot to the point of overheating, then you may need to consider a replacement device. You don’t want a hot battery to cause damage to your cell phone and cause even more trouble later on.
Thanks for reading our Android Smartphone Battery Drain and Overheating Fix tutorial, I hope you have enjoyed it and that you will be able to get the most out of your ANDROID battery. Please share the post with your friends so that they too can have optimal battery performance and so that they may also learn how to prevent overheating issues on their devices. Android Smartphone Battery Drain/Overheating Problems/Fixes.