What To Do If Your Phone Overheats And Won’t Turn On

Ever left your phone in the car and come back to find it’s overheated and doesn’t work properly?

Ever just left it exposed to the sunlight for half an hour of blistering heat?

If you have, you probably found out the hard way — as I did — that smartphones aren’t made for sunbathing.

This can be frustrating — and unnerving if it’s the first time — if you need your phone right away.

I’ve experienced both extremes.

In an unusually cold winter, while biking in Washington, DC, I was using my mounted phone to navigate. It was pitch dark, and DC is not primarily known for its well-lit side streets. Being from Florida, I tended to overdress in the slightest cold. So, when the temperature dropped to 14 degrees (-10 C), I barely noticed it while moving.

I was about a mile and a half from my destination when my fully-charged phone shut off. I tried plugging it into a portable charger, but that didn’t help. So, I had to stop for a freezing 15 minutes until I warmed my phone up enough in my jacket pocket to turn it on.

Apple recommends keeping its phones between 32 degrees and 95 degrees (0–35 C), and other makes are similar. In most of the United States, temperatures regularly reach 95 (35 C) or higher in the summer…