Technologies

This Is Why Your Phone Keeps Getting So Damn Hot (and How to Prevent It)

If your phone gets too hot, you might experience issues with battery life and performance, or it could even be permanently damaged. Here are a few tips to help prevent overheating.

It’s the start of summer, and that means trips to the beach and backyard BBQs, which can lead to another summer phenomenon — overheated phones. Now that temperatures are warmer, it’s not at all unusual to grab your phone and then yank your hand back because it’s really hot to the touch. You look over at your phone and see a warning:

«Your device is overheating and needs to cool down.»

For the most part, overheating isn’t always a problem. You can move your phone away from direct sunlight or put it in a cooler spot and wait until it cools down. And then you’re good to go. But that’s not always the case.

You don’t want your phone to overheat, because it can slow down or even stop working completely. It can also result in permanent damage in some instances. And then you may have to replace your battery or get a brand new phone, and that requires spending money — even with insurance.

That’s why you want to take measures to prevent your iPhone, Android or other phone from overheating. Here’s what you need to know.

For more, check out the best iPhone you can get in 2023, as well as our top picks if you’re considering an Android phone.

Why is your phone getting hot in the first place?

Your phone might overheat for many reasons, but these are some of the most common culprits:

Leaving your phone in direct sunlight.
Keeping your phone in a hot environment.
Overusing your phone when it’s charging.
A faulty battery or charger.
Bugs in the software.
Rogue apps or malware.

Your phone might overheat from other causes, like a malfunctioning application or even a suffocating phone case, but the reasons above are the most likely causes of your phone getting too hot.

What does overheating do to your phone?

If the interior temperature of your phone exceeds what’s normal and the device overheats, you can expect a few issues:

You can’t use your phone.
Your phone slows down.
Charging slows down or completely stops.
Your signal is weakened.
Your camera’s flash is temporarily disabled.

There are also possible permanent harmful effects — overheating can cause lasting damage to the battery, SIM card and other crucial parts inside your phone.

So how can you prevent your phone from overheating?

The most important thing is to keep your phone away from direct sunlight when possible, especially when it’s warm. Your phone might be fine in the grass on an overcast day, but the warmer the temperature, the less your phone can withstand the sun. At the beach, your phone can overheat in just a few minutes in the sun. Same if you put it in a sunny spot in your car.

Instead, get your phone out of the direct light, whether it’s in your pocket, inside a backpack or under a towel/blanket or dashboard. Anyplace that will keep it away from sunlight will work.

It’s fairly easy to protect your phone from the sun, but high temperatures alone can also cause your phone to overheat. After only an hour, the inside of a car can reach 143 degrees when it’s 100 degrees outside, for example, so a phone left in your cup holder could quickly overheat and get damaged. The short answer: Don’t keep your phone in a hot environment for an extended period of time, even if it’s not in direct sunlight. That includes your car, a sauna, the kitchen, the middle of the desert or anywhere near a fire.

Your phone’s optimal internal temperature should be somewhere between 32º and 95º F (0º and 35º C). To prevent overheating, Apple recommends keeping the device in a place where the temperature is between -4º and 113º F (-20º and 45º C).

You should also follow these tips to prevent your phone from overheating

Don’t use graphics- or processor-intensive apps when your phone is charging. That includes massive mobile video games like PUBG Mobile or streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu.
Update your phone system software and apps to the latest software available. A bug in the software can cause overheating issues, so always stay up-to-date with your software.
Steer clear of third-party chargers. Most times you’ll be fine, but a cheaply designed charger could cause your phone to overheat.

While you’re here, check out how to make your Android feel new again with these five tips and our review of the M2 MacBook Air.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 31, #1656

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 31, No. 1,656.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

End the year with a Wordle win. Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t terribly tough. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with N.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a device that makes a loud, long-lasting sound as some kind of signal or warning.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is SIREN.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 30, No. 1,655 was DECOR.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 26, No. 1651: SPEED

Dec. 27, No. 1652: BATCH

Dec. 28, No 1653: ABBOT

Dec. 29, No. 1654: FRUIT

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 31, #934

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 31, No. 934.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tough purple category once again. But the yellow group is very timely, and pretty easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Here comes 2026!

Green group hint: Where is it?

Blue group hint: Pennsylvania city.

Purple group hint: Waves.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Happy New Year!

Green group: Places where things disappear.

Blue group: Associated with Philadelphia.

Purple group: Starting with bodies of water.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Happy New Year! The four answers are ball drop, champagne flute, fireworks and noisemaker.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is places where things disappear. The four answers are Bermuda Triangle, black hole, couch cushions and dryer.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Philadelphia. The four answers are brotherly love, cheesesteak, Liberty Bell and Rocky.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with bodies of water. The four answers are bay leaf, channel surf, sea bass and sound barrier.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A17 Brings Google’s Circle to Search to Its Lower-Priced Phone

While the AI features are nice to see at the lower price, the Galaxy A17 otherwise looks very similar to the phone it’s replacing.

Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A17 5G, announced Tuesday, appears to be a smaller hardware refresh for the company’s lower-cost phone — bearing many similarities to the Galaxy A16 that it will replace. However, Samsung notes that the A17 will have access to several AI features, including Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini assistant.

Even though both of those AI features are becoming common on all phones running Android 16 (Motorola’s sub-$200 phones also include them), the Galaxy A17 might become one of the broadest ways that Circle to Search and Gemini reach new audiences. That’s because Samsung’s $200 phone is typically one of the few non-Apple devices to consistently top sales charts in the US, for instance, the $200 Galaxy A16 currently ranks fifth on Counterpoint Research’s list behind Apple’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 17.

Similar to the Galaxy A16, the A17 will have a 6.7-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance (can withstand splashes but still avoid submerging the phone) and is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1330 processor. The cameras are also the same, including a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 5-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Around the front is a 13-megapixel selfie camera.

The Galaxy A17 will also include a 5,000-mAh battery, 25-watt wired charging, 4GB of RAM with 128GB of onboard storage, the option to expand with a microSD card and will receive six years of software as well as security updates. That support period is quite notable for phones sold in the $200 range, as most phones that cost $200 get two to three years of updates.

The Galaxy A17 goes on sale in the US starting Jan. 7, and will come in blue, black and gray models.