Asking yourself, “why is my iPhone hot to the touch”, and want to know what could be causing it? There are a number of causes to be aware of, and knowing how to minimise overheating is crucial for the longevity of your device to avoid repairs. So, let’s get into it.
Here at imFixed, you can sell your phone, get phone repairs and unlocking, or purchase accessories like Apple chargers to keep your devices running. If you need repairs, we have locations in Oldham, Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale, and even do call-out repairs in Manchester, because we believe local is best.
For more tech news, find out if Apple repairs water damaged iPhones, and learn why your iPhone front camera isn’t working, and how to fix speaker problems. We also cover what you should do if your iPad screen won’t rotate, if it’s possible to straighten a bent iPhone, if it’s worth replacing the battery of your iPhone, and if iPhones are still waterproof with a cracked screen.
Common Reasons For Your iPhone Being Hot to the Touch
When your iPhone is hot to the touch, it is overheating. Unfortunately, this is a very common issue and can lead to damage to the device. However, knowing what causes this phenomenon means that you can prevent it and extend the life of your device.
So, why is my iPhone hot to the touch? Let’s have a look at some of the most common reasons below, then we’ll jump into less common causes.
The Environment
To no one’s surprise, external factors like extreme heat, or even extreme cold, will impact your phone and make it heat up. When a phone is sitting in a sweltering hot car, the temperature is going to rise both within the device and on the surface. In the cold, however, the phone itself will need to work harder to try and maintain its optimal heat.
When this happens, the heat will accumulate as the device works harder, and it will quickly overheat from the inside. Since most devices should be kept between 0–35°C, try and make sure to stay within these temperatures, and leave your iPhone in the shade on hot summer days.
You’re Using it Too Much
The more you use your phone, the hotter it’s going to get. This is more true than ever if you are using apps like games, which tend to need a lot of power in order to run. Anything with high-quality graphics and streaming platforms will need more energy, which means your device will work harder, and therefore become hot to the touch.
Avoid overusing your iPhone when the weather is too warm. By reducing you use, you will be protecting your device, and the processor will thank you.
The Phone Case is Making it Worse
While phone cases are fantastic for protecting your device and adding some style, they distribute the heat around the whole phone and warm it up. So, if your phone is hot to the touch, take the case off for a while and allow it to cool down.
Once it has cooled off, you can put the case back on and continue using it as normal.
Why is My iPhone Hot to the Touch
Now, let’s explore some additional reasons to answer the question ‘why is my iPhone hot to the touch’. Here, we will look at a few options that you might prefer not knowing, like replacing the phone battery – so let’s jump into it.
You Need a New iPhone Battery
Batteries will degrade over time, and this is perfectly normal. However, a degraded or damaged battery can be dangerous to your phone, and it is a prime cause of overheating.
You can check the status of your iPhone’s battery by going to: Settings → Battery → Battery Health & Charging. If the battery is no longer at optimal functioning, or there’s a note saying it should be serviced, take it into a trusted repair shop like us to get a new one.
Using Your Device When There’s Bad Signal
Locations that have bad signals will cause your iPhone to work harder to keep the connection. As we know, this will make the device heat up as more of its resources and energy are used to maintain the signal.
Outdated iOS Makes the Device Work Harder
Outdated iOS will make your phone work harder, which strains the processor – which will lead to overheating. However, several app and software updates in a row can also put strain on the device and make it heat up.
The good thing is, updating your iPhone software is usually easy, and it can resolve a wide host of issues that you could experience. If you need to update your iOS, but the device doesn’t want to, you can do it manually. However, you will need the latest version of iTunes on a Windows or Mac laptop/PC for this method.
Follow these steps:
- Connect your Windows/Mac device to the phone
- Do a force restart to get your phone in Recovery Mode
- Don’t let go of the buttons until the phone screen has the Recovery mode screen (a charging cable with an arrow pointed at a laptop)
- Select ‘update’ when the option to restore or update on your computer shows up
- Confirm, then follow the instructions given to you (it can take up to 15 minutes, so have some patience)
- Your phone will restart on its own once you’re done
If this doesn’t work, you can use DFU Mode, but beware that this will restore iOS to a clean slate, so back your phone up first!
Once the device has updated, make sure to leave it alone for a while if it feels warmer than it should. We also suggest that you stop all background apps and tasks from running as these updates happen, as this will reduce the processor’s load.
You’re Using a Lot of Data
Continuously using a lot of data can make your iPhone hot to the touch, particularly when streaming things or downloading large files. In no time, you will notice that your device is getting hot, and start to worry.
If this happens, all you need to do is slow down on your data consumption and not overdo it. Take a break from watching a stream, and put your phone down for a few hours to allow it to cool down.
There Are Malfunctioning Apps
Malfunctions and glitches are common, and these can take a toll on your devices. Unfortunately, malfunctioning apps can quickly heat an iPhone up and make it unusable in the short or long-term, depending on the damage done.
An app that malfunctions will have some kind or bug or glitch that causes it to use much more energy than it usually should. You will need to identify which apps these are by looking at their energy usage in settings (Settings → Battery → Battery Usage (wait for it to populate) → check details of apps to determine which are using too much energy.
You’re Using a Non-Apple Charger
Using a non-Apple charger for an Apple product can be detrimental to it and cause overheating and a host of other issues. While this doesn’t happen too often, we will always recommend that you use Apple for Apple, as these will always meet the necessary safety standards and there won’t be any compatibility issues.
imFixed Can Help You
If you need help troubleshooting and repairing devices, we cover why your iPhone SIM card isn’t being detected, how to fix an iPhone that won’t turn on or vibrate, how to deal with water damage, and what you need to know about iPhone screen repairs.
You can also learn how to get data off an iPhone with a broken screen and poor sound quality in calls, find out why your iPhone battery is draining, why your iPhone isn’t charging, or what to do if a software update fails. For MacBook users, we go through things that all new MacBook users should know, including if their batteries can be repaired, and if it’s worth fixing a broken MacBook screen.
So, why is my iPhone hot to the touch? From overuse to environmental factors, there are several causes, but you need to take steps from allowing the issue to become any worse. Let your iPhone cool down before continuing use, and it will last longer.
