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Apple updates heat advisory for iPhone 3GS
Last week, Apple revised a support document about iPhone temperature to include the iPhone 3GS. The June 25 document cautions iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS users to operate their handsets within acceptable temperatures. It makes the following recommendations:
Recommended operating temperatures
Operate iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between zero and 35 degrees Celsius (32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Low or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly.
Recommended storage temperatures
Store iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperature is between -20 and 45 degrees Celsius (-4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit). Don't leave the device in your
car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.
Symptoms of overheating
- iPhone will no longer charge
- iPhone display will dim
- Weaker cell signal
- iPhone temperature warning screen appears (see below)
iPhone temperature warning screen pops up if the phone is overheating.
(Credit: Apple, Inc.)According to reader reports we've received, the iPhone's internal and ambient temperatures can spike when it's performing multiple functions simultaneously. Specific instances include using the iPhone while it's charging, using Wi-Fi during phone calls, and accessing data services during phone calls. Yet, we've also heard the iPhone can get warm during very long phone calls and during normal charging. Reports of discoloration on white iPhone 3GS models have been blamed on overheating.
Tips for keeping your iPhone cool
- Some external cases--especially those that were designed before the iPhone was released and were not properly tested--can prevent heat from dissipating properly. Be especially wary of silicone covers, as they tend to act as insulators.
- Power down various internal circuitry by putting the device in Airplane mode. Go to the Settings menu and slide Airplane Mode to On.
- Don't leave the iPhone in a car on a hot day or in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time.
- Use of certain applications like mapping and gaming for extended periods might lead to the iPhone overheating. Limit the length of these activities if possible.
Meanwhile, the iPhone user manual states:
"You cannot use iPhone while the temperature warning screen is displayed except to make an emergency call. If none of the above measures succeeds in lowering the internal temperature, iPhone automatically goes into a deep sleep mode until it cools. You cannot make an emergency call when iPhone is in this mode. Move iPhone to a cooler location and wait a few minutes before trying to use iPhone again."
A Fox News video covering the iPhone overheating issue can be viewed on Comcast's Web site. According to that video, your iPhone will shut down if the temperature inside the iPhone reaches 113 degrees.
While it is clear that overheating can happen, in all fairness, this is true of just about any electronic device. What's more, talking on a cell phone for a long period has caused other handsets to heat up, too. Is your iPhone 3GS overheating? Has the case shown any discoloring? Let us know in the comments.
So anywhere in southern United States and along the equator - during the Summer months, you're iPhone shouldn't be used? That's insanity. 95 is NOT that hot. That's terrible!
Really? I mean, you're free to your opinion, and you can hate on Apple if you like, but picking "cheap design" as your argument is... well, I gotta say it's fairly asinine, Pad. Try price point or elitism as your argument and you might get more traction.
Kinda trashes your credibility right off the bat, Pad.
Thanks, though. Maybe someday Apple will design a phone that breaks every sales record for smartphones, introduces a completely revolutionary concept like, I dunno, maybe an "App Store" that changes the world of mobile phones.
This issue may be only in few phones. Looks like mine is one of them.
At any rate, my phone got REALLY hot, especially towards the top. I kinda freaked out - I could actually see the % numbers in the battery indicator tick down, like about 30 seconds per percentage point. (I've had every version of iPhone and have never seen anything like that before... they get warm, but that was really odd.)
I thought maybe I found a bug or got a lemon phone... but I just restarted the phone, and the issue went away. That was over a week ago, and my phone has worked fine since then, and i haven't noticed any loss of battery life.
Then I started to see headlines about iPhones overheating - so I'm still a touch worried about mine, but so far it seems like it was an isolated incident (I'm thinking maybe the phone got stuck in some computational loop and kept running a process, but I'm not enough of a techie to say with any authority.)
The one thing I will say is that its rediculous to say that one can't use his device (its more than a phone) to do more than one thing at a time... it eliminates alot of the value of the iphone. If that is the case I can return the 3Gs and go get a touch for my music and return to the old 1Gen iphone. It was a great phone (while a little slower) it was very reliable.
Apple is a good company and I trust that they will do what is right for the consumer.
JBNN
Electronics heat up- I think we forget that these devices in general haven't been around that long and we really expect a lot of them. For instance, before I got 3GS I a first gen iPhone... we were trying to figure out where something was- sitting in a parking lot goggling the destinations website and getting a route from our current location with the map app. It was taking FOREVER i thought...
I had been trying to convince myself of why I needed to upgrade to the faster 3GS. As I complained about the fact it was taking so long- I laughed had to laugh at how ridiculous that complaint was when I remember the slow, olden days, BiP (before the iPhone) when I would have had to walk my lazy a$$ into a gas station, pick up a phone book, figure out what our destination would be listed under, and try to steal a route from a map before the clerk screams at me to buy it or get out.
And maybe there was a defect in production- whatever- Apple will give you a new phone if something like this happens. Maybe its a hassle to have to return something, and I agree paying that much for something- one would expect it to be flawless, but relax folks! Is it really all that necessary to run a million apps and listen to music while having a three-way, four hour conversation? I guarantee that with all that multi-tasking, you aren't even performing one of those tasks better than average so why expect a machine to?
People RUSH OUT TO STAND IN OBSCENE LINES just to get something HOT off the press and then whine about how long they had to wait in line and issues usually related to the fact its the debut of a new toy. Anytime I've ever had a 'buggy' issue with any product I bought from Apple, they try to fix it or the give you a new one with few questions asked. The phone data gets backed up every time you plug it in so it's not like your have re-enter or repurchase anything. If you have to replace a phone the new one will restore everything- including your text messages as soon as you connect to iTunes again.
By now we should all have learned to ignore the hype, have patience and get this 'new' technology after they work out the bugs- or realize that when its not working up to your expectations remember that Apple could have postponed the release to work out such things (if one wants to argue they knew it would happen) and you would have had to wait anyway.
Be glad you aren't in the "slo'den" times when a blow out on the highway meant you'd be there for a few hours till someone drove by... be grateful for how far we've come and remember this when they can implant chips right in your head to do all this stuff. Wait to make sure early adopter's heads don't explode.
Also i can feel the warmth through the fabric of my jeans trousers when i place it inside my pocket. Also i usually use it in a well air conditioned room but still i can feel the temp going up.
i also noticed that it heats up faster when i was using yahoo messenger and gtalk on 3G and then i also called my friend.
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by lcurry12
August 21, 2009 2:09 AM PDT
- Confirm overheating and rapid battery drain on 3GS 32 gig. Waiting for winter to use it for a hand warmer.
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