WHETHER you’re surfing snowy peaks or simply braving a cold snap, your smartphone can suffer in freezing temperatures.
The battery in an Android – or iPhone – is calibrated to operate in weather between 0C and 35C (32F – 95F).
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If your Android phone ends up in temperatures that are too cold or too hot, it may stop working or shut down completely.
When lithium-ion batteries are placed in cold temperatures, the chemical reaction produced by the movement of the lithium ions slows or stops completely.
The smartphone then loses all sense of its battery levels, which is when your battery can suddenly plunge into the single digits.
In this scenario, there are three tips you need to know to keep your handset running in the long-term.
Don’t charge it
If your phone isn’t working properly or has turned off and won’t come back on, you shouldn’t try charging it.
The battery’s ability to recharge may be affected by extremely cold temperatures.
So it is generally advised to get your phone back to a normal temperature before you try charge it.
Before you get started on warming up your device – or before you take your handset out in sub-zero temperatures – activate battery-saving mode.
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Hide it from the elements
Keeping your phone tucked away somewhere warm while you’re braving winter is essential to avoiding a cold-induced shutdown.
Using wireless earbuds with your phone is one solution to using your phone in cold weather.
It means you can keep your phone cosy and warm inside a coat pocket.
Use a foot warmer or sock
It might sound bizarre, but adding an extra layer of warmth to your phone can really help protect the battery – depending on where you’re venturing.
For Matthew Jordan, who has lived and worked in Antarctica for more than five years, keeping a foot warmer on the back of his smartphone helped save it from the Arctic chill.
A hand warmer can work just as well.
This can help warm up the device – without making it dangerously hot.
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