BRITS need to take extra care with their gadgets this weekend – and definitely don’t leave any in your car.
All motorists risk a costly bill alongside a tech headache if they make a common mistake.
This weekend will see hot weather all weekend across the UK – and that’s bad news for your expensive gadgets.
It turns out that heat doesn’t just make your gadgets run more slowly and shut them down, but causes permanent damage too.
In fact, too much heat can permanently shorten the battery life of your phones, tablets, laptops, and even wireless headphones.
And one of the worst things you can do is leave them in your car, where temperatures can quickly rise to damaging levels.
OFFICIAL APPLE WARNING
Most rechargeable gadgets that you have at home or in your car use lithium-ion batteries.
These batteries degrade over time as you use them – leading to shorter battery life (and in some cases, slower performance as your device tries to protect the battery).
When your iPhone gets too cold or hot, the battery struggles to perform effectively, which can lead to problems and even total shut-downs.
But with heat, you also risk causing permanent damage to the battery cell.
An official Apple warning explains: “Use iOS and iPadOS devices where the ambient temperature is between 0º and 35ºC (32º to 95ºF).
“Low- or high-temperature conditions may cause your device to change its behaviour to regulate its temperature.
“Using an iOS or iPadOS device in very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life.”
It’s not likely to break 35C this weekend, but you’re still at risk.
That’s because your car temperature can go well above the outside temperature.
So if you’re leaving your phone in your car while you’re swimming at the beach, that’s a big mistake.
And the same goes for tablets, laptops, and your Apple AirPods too. You’re looking at gadgets worth thousands of pounds.
“Store your device where the temperature is between -20º and 45ºC (-4º to 113ºF),” Apple warns.
“Don’t leave your device in your car because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.”
Apple says you must always avoid “leaving your device in a car on a hot day” – and certainly don’t let it linger in direct sunlight.
Why does heat damage batteries?
Here's what you need to know...
- Hot temperatures can cause permanent damage to batteries
- That’s because batteries contain fluids, and work through chemical reactions
- When heat is applied to a battery, the fluid inside starts to evaporate
- This damages the internal structure of the battery
- Components like the voltage indicator can be affected by heat
- This can allow batteries to charge at too high a rate, which can lead to a loss of electrolytes
- This can reduce battery life over time
- As batteries heat up, chemical reactions inside will also occur faster
- Excessive chemical reactions can reduce long-term battery life
Similarly, you want to avoid using your iPhone for navigation in a car when it’s very hot or in direct sunlight too, unless you’ve got air conditioning.
If your iPhone gets too hot, you might notice some of these changes:
- Charging slows or stops
- Display dims brightness or goes totally black
- Signal gets worse as mobile radio in phone enters low-power state
- Camera flash disables
- Apps have lower frame rate or longer loading times
- Navigation switches off or goes audio-only
Your iPhone might also switch off entirely if it gets too hot.
At this point, you’ll need to make sure you get your iPhone to somewhere cool as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage.
In extremely high-temperature situations where you leave gadgets in direct sunlight, there’s even a fire risk – and that could result in staggeringly huge bills.
HOW TO FIX YOUR IPHONE BATTERY
If your iPhone does get serious heat damage, the battery will degrade.
And if that happens too often, you’ll find yourself with a worn down battery on a phone that holds increasingly less charge.
You can check your phone’s battery capacity compared to when it was new by going into Settings > Batter > Battery Health.
Normally you’d expect to hit 80% at around 500 charge cycles (charging up and down), which typically takes a person about two years.
So if yours is well below that, you’ll want to take action or you’ll be constantly stuck looking for a charger – and your phone may run more slowly too.
One option is to just replace the device entirely, but this is very costly.
A cheaper alternative is to pay for a battery replacement from Apple, which typically costs less than £100.
IPHONE BATTERY SWAP – HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
Here's how much you'll pay for iPhone battery replacements in the UK and the US..
iPhone 5 Series
- iPhone 5S: £N/A / $69
iPhone SE Series
- iPhone SE (1st gen) – £N/A / $69
- iPhone SE (2nd gen) – £65 / $69
- iPhone SE (3rd gen) – £65 / $69
iPhone 6 Series
- iPhone 6 – £N/A / $69
- iPhone 6s – £N/A / $69
- iPhone 6s Plus – £N/A / $69
iPhone 7 Series
- iPhone 7 – £65 / $69
- iPhone 7 Plus – £65 / $69
iPhone 8 Series
- iPhone 8 – £65 / $69
- iPhone 8 Plus – £65 / $69
iPhone X Series
- iPhone X – £N/A / $89
iPhone XR/XS Series
- iPhone XR – £85 / $89
- iPhone XS – £85 / $89
- iPhone XS Max – £85 / $89
iPhone 11 Series
- iPhone 11 – £85 / $89
- iPhone 11 Pro – £85 / $89
- iPhone 11 Pro Max – £85 / $89
iPhone 12 Series
- iPhone 12 mini – £85 / $89
- iPhone 12 – £85 / $89
- iPhone 12 Pro – £85 / $89
- iPhone 12 Pro Max – £85 / $89
iPhone 13 Series
- iPhone 13 mini – £85 / $89
- iPhone 13 – £85 / $89
- iPhone 13 Pro – £85 / $89
- iPhone 13 Pro Max – £85 / $89
iPhone 14 Series
- iPhone 14 – £95 / $99
- iPhone 14 Plus – £95 / $99
- iPhone 14 Pro – £95 / $99
- iPhone 14 Pro Max – £95 / $99
iPhone 15 Series
- iPhone 15 – £95 / $99
- iPhone 15 Plus – £95 / $99
- iPhone 15 Pro – £95 / $99
- iPhone 15 Pro Max – £95 / $99
iPhone 16 Series
- iPhone 16 – £95 / $99
- iPhone 16 Plus – £95 / $99
- iPhone 16 Pro – £109 / $119
- iPhone 16 Pro Max – £109 / $119
This will give your iPhone like-new battery life, and can even boost its performance too.
But to avoid big bills, it’s best to simply avoid letting your gadgets get too hot in the first place.
That way, you’ll have to replace your mobile less often.
