I live in the UK, and when a heat wave hits, it can get surprisingly hot and humid for a country not known for its heat, and my iPhone has taken the brunt of it recently.
My small backyard gets most of the sun throughout the day, so there's constant heat and sun when I'm listening to podcasts or scrolling through Twitter or TikTok.
However, while I was working on my MacBook Pro in the garden, I forgot that my iPhone was receiving the full force of the sun on the glass table next to me, and the music suddenly stopped. I thought I was getting a call, and it wasn't until I held the phone up that the temperature warning came up.
Of course, it's not just an iPhone that can suffer from extreme heat: there are Android devices and Windows laptops that need to function in cooler temperatures as well. But when times like this happen, there's a helpful method to keep in mind to prevent the sun from damaging your electronics, something I'll do next time.
How to keep your device cool like I didn't
Apple indicates that a good temperature for an iPhone is around 32° to 95° Fahrenheit / 0° - 35° Celsius. It's safe to assume that my iPhone was already hot from the apps I was using at the time, and the heat from the sun only made things worse for the device.
First of all, don't do what I did and you suddenly put it on a shelf in the fridge. While this will certainly cool the device, it could take it too far in the opposite direction or cause condensation and a buildup of water vapor inside.
Instead, turn off the device and remove it from a case if there is one. Put it in a cool place that has plenty of air circulation and wait.
We use our smartphones every day in one way or another, and while we manage them through their software to keep apps running smoothly, for example, it also helps keep them at the right temperature.
While we currently have warmer weather in the UK, around the world there are other places that will be heading towards this over the months. So make sure you keep your device at a cool temperature and never put it in the fridge like I did.