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Wednesday July 1, 2009
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Whether anecdotal reports of iPhones overheating are true or not, Apple has taken them seriously enough to reveal the presence of a temperature warning screen for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.
Here's the deal: an unknown but probably very small number of iPhones have been affected by overheating, to the point that some white iPhone 3GSes have allegedly turned pink. Sascha Segan, our phone analyst, said he hasn't seen any such problems with his iPhone 3GS, however.
Apple, however, has issued what some might call a "common sense" warning: a support document that warns users not to keep the iPhone in an environment where temperatures can exceed 113 degrees Fahrenheit, including parked cars.
But Apple also warns that CPU-intensive applications, such playing music or using the GPS while in direct sunlight may also overheat the iPhone.
In that case, actually using the iPhone in temperatures over 95 degrees can also trigger the temperature warning. "Low- or high-temperature conditions might temporarily shorten battery
life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly," Apple warns.
Obviously, summer temperatures in many locations top 95 degrees.Las Vegas, for example, has forecasts topping 100 degrees for the next 10 days; Phoenix routinely climbs above 103.
So what will happen? Read on.
Apple also says that the iPhone 3G and 3GS should not be stored where
the temperature can fall under -4 degrees Fahrenheit, or used in less in
temperatures under 0 degrees F.
If the phone exceeds those
temperatures, Apple says, the iPhone may stop charging, its display
might dim, a weak cellular signal may be experienced, and the
temperature warning screen on the left may also appear. Apple's support
document implies that there's a temperature sensor of some sort built
in to the iPhone 3G or 3G S
If that happens, Apple says, you'll need to let the iPhone cool down before you use it again, although the phone may be able to make emergency calls during that time. How long will that take? Apple doesn't say.
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July 1, 2009 2:02 PM
This is total crap. apple should fix the iphone so it can throttle cpu when it is doing simple tasks i.e. playing music.
July 1, 2009 5:35 PM
chris - playing music is not a "simple task" - it takes a fair amount of CPU cycles to do so
July 1, 2009 5:55 PM
Just think what it does to your brain while you hold it to your head.
July 1, 2009 6:35 PM
@ic: it does absolutely nothing.
In other news, yeah - this is pretty lame. I'm surprised other smartphones are plagued by the same problem; I mean, Blackberry devices don't have fans in them. But then again, maybe they just fail in extreme temperatures and the only reason we're noticing this is because it's Apple making the announcement.
July 1, 2009 6:35 PM
Here's the thing... This kind of overheating doesn't happen when it's just playing music; it happens when it's doing things like GPS. It does turn things off that you aren't using, throttles the cpu, etc. (I think) but the problem is when you're playing games (which heavily use CPU and graphic) and GPS (cpu and GPS chip), etc.
July 2, 2009 2:46 AM
The apple iphone everytime launch got alot unknown problem.
July 2, 2009 3:08 AM
I doubt Chris thought that playing music was "simple", however no matter how passionate about your music you are it's still trivial compared to actually receiving calls, getting text messages, etc. the iPhone should definitely throttle the cpu when reaching high utilization if all the user is asking it to do is play tunes.
July 2, 2009 3:11 AM
> The apple iphone everytime launch got alot
> unknown problem.
You're making me think too hard. I was going to respond but instead I'll just say:
Fuck off.
July 2, 2009 3:29 AM
"This is total crap. apple should fix the iphone..."
Hilarious that none of you remember that every friggin' consumer electronics device in the world has the same temperature operation warnings in their manuals. None of your other crap is going to "work properly" in ungodly temperatures like 113F! WTF people?!?!? Perspective please!
What's amazing is that the iPhone is smart enough to know when it's overheating. What other phone does that?? My Nokia dumbphone just shuts off without warning. Gettin' myself a 3GS this month.
July 2, 2009 4:01 AM
This is just silly. The phone doesn't even multitask. I bet i'd explode if it did. So much for iphone. crap! get an E72 peeps.
July 2, 2009 4:36 AM
Ok so in order to use my phone I have to make sure it isn't summer or winter? Lol I think this is apple blaming an internal issue on act of god so Apple doesn't have to fix it!
July 2, 2009 5:10 AM
@taiwo Yes, hopefully you would explode...
July 2, 2009 5:28 AM
@Taiwo
jailbroken phones have had the ability to multi task for ages
i would get an E72 if it didn't look like an 1980's calculator
:))
& for all those wondering:
113ºf = 45ºc
-4ºf = -20ºc
July 2, 2009 5:38 AM
@Taiwo - listening to music on your iPhone whilst at the same time:
a. browsing the web
b. checking your email or
c. checking Facebook (or pretty much anything else)
= multi-tasking.
July 2, 2009 5:40 AM
"This is just silly. The phone doesn't even multitask"
people say this but actually it does.
email app and music and quite a few other functions multitask it is just that the non apple ones dont so hey it is multitasking and that uses cpu cycles. if u read around youll c that this has happened to an incredibly small number of units. As always if it didnt have apple on it it wouldnt make he news.
July 2, 2009 5:51 AM
HAHAHA my Blackberry doesn't do this!!!
July 2, 2009 5:53 AM
The phone also "rings home" the data on the over heat. when it had cooled down and i turned it on the screen flashed a message about the overheating. I left mine on a heater that we never use, on the day someone else turne it on. The case saved a lot of damage, but the phone wouldnt charge after it had cooled down. A hard reset cured that, with minimal marking on the case. All working ok.
July 2, 2009 6:00 AM
Square: My Palm Treo 700w would also do this (had it happen while at the lake). Quit drinking your kool-aid because MANY phones have given temperature warnings before the iPhone. It's not amazing by any means; heck your average computer for the past few decades would shut down when overheating.
July 2, 2009 7:40 AM
My iPhone is annoying: when you tether the phone becomes very hot and the battery always dries out even when I tether while at the same time charging.
July 2, 2009 8:04 AM
IPhne is still the best thing out there. Nothing can compete with a jail broken IPhone!
JIff
www.anonymize.tk
July 2, 2009 8:48 AM
@Mike
"HAHAHA my blackberry doesn't do this!!!"
Same with me except instead of a blackberry, I have an iPhone. Several million iPhone users could also claim, "HAHAHA my iPhone doesn't do this!!!" So your post seems rather pointless.
July 2, 2009 9:55 AM
The Iphone has a processor in it that is incredibly powerful for a phone and probably isn't being cooled properly. It's a problem computer people should have known about for years and is honestly, sloppy design from apple. I'm just a regular nerd but when I build computers I know they need to be cooled.. Apple doesn't apparently?
**Samsung i7500 (Galaxy) Running Google Android 1.5
- The answer, sorry if you just dropped big bucks on your new iPhone, I'll be getting my Galaxy in September (I hope..?)
July 2, 2009 10:46 AM
"This is total crap. apple should fix the iphone so it can throttle cpu when it is doing simple tasks i.e. playing music." - you think the CPU in any mobile device is running full bore for every task when there's a limited amount of juice? power usage is a primary concern for any mobile hardware designer. battery life is a selling point, why whould they run any hotter than they have to?
July 2, 2009 11:08 AM
wow so many phones can already do this. the onlreason ppl care is because its apple. Get an HTC they are better.
July 2, 2009 11:17 AM
I love it when the fanboys come out to defend their Apple purchases.
Bottom line is this. Apple sells the iPhone by touting all that it can do. If it can't do what they promise because it overheats then that's a fail. Plain and simple. If you can't listen to music and use another function at the same time your phone is not operating as promised. I don't want to hear a bunch of BS about how many CPU cycles it takes to do this or that. At this point the 3gs doesn't work as advertised, so stop apologizing for Apple.
And yes, I had one. It lasted 3 whole days before the heat issue and pitiful battery life prompted me to return it. I've gone back to my 2g with jailbreak (which works much better btw) until I decide which Blackberry I want.
Another thing to look for is case cracks. A friend is on her third 3gs after the first 2 developed cracks on the lower back of the unit.
July 2, 2009 11:35 AM
This support document is not new, it was just updated for the iPhone 3GS. We posted an article on it in May:
http://macmagazine.uol.com.br/2009/05/09/voce-sabia-que-o-iphone-nao-funciona-em-temperaturas-extremas/
July 2, 2009 11:45 AM
This is totally unacceptable. I got an iPhone just so I could use my phone as an oven thermometer and now Apple tells me it might stop working at high temperatures?!?!?
WTF Apple, get with the program!
July 2, 2009 12:56 PM
Had this problem the other day for the first time. Only took about 5 mins for the iphone to cool down and has not happened since. I have had this issue with other gadgets in the past, so I am not concerned,
July 2, 2009 2:10 PM
Delta, you are a liar. I don't believe for a second you had an iPhone 3GS or that your "friend" had these issues.
Overheating is not a widespread iPhone issue. You try as part of your overall lie to make it sound like it is. Which means you are a liar AND you don't know what you are talking about.
Always entertaining to hear the other trolls talk about iPhone multi-tasking when they don't know what they are talking about.
If you can't afford an iPhone (or more likely Mommy and daddy can't) be happy with what you have instead of sounding like an idiot about it.
The fact is nothing comes close to the iPhone and you all know it.
July 2, 2009 3:47 PM
I don't really understand the reaction about the heat span in wich the iPhone is supposed to work.
Hell nearly every manual of every simple electronics have about the same working temperatures.
AND it might also work above and below ... but apple ensures 100% working in this temperature range.
I have an jailbroken iPhone 3G/16GB and it's actually behaving normally (just what 99.9% of all iPhones do i think).
I love it btw ... much more than i liked any phone before. (Hated my Nokia N70 :
July 2, 2009 4:19 PM
Well, here's something I would do with an overheating Iphone. No app required either.
http://chadcovino.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/no-app-required/
July 2, 2009 4:21 PM
I still use my original, first gen, non- 3G iPhone and it too can get hot running certain apps. It has a metal case in the back and though there is no damage, it does get quite hot. I think this a relative issue with CPU intensive operations very similar to when a laptop gets hot. Oh well.
July 2, 2009 8:37 PM
My iPhone was overheating and, as a result, would not charge. In fact, the phone was discharging. I thought it was a battery problem. The Apple Genius I spoke to ran diagnostics on it and said the battery was fine, but there were too many apps running in the background and that was causing the overheating - and when hot - the phone will not charge as a safety precaution. Apparently, when you see an app open and then immediately close it is not closed - it is running in the background.
Someone else in my office had the same overheating issue. My guess is that those apps that have are not 3.0 ready are causing the problem; i.e., they are malfunctioning but remaining in the background - causing the overheating.
Anyway, the simple solution was a re-boot. Although my colleague's situation was worse (not receiveing calls or texts - Phase Two of overheating) - he had to do a re-install as if it was a new iPhone, and then it was fine.
July 2, 2009 9:51 PM
Making call at 100 degree under direct sunlight may cause Heat Stroke and getting under a shelter is a good choose. Or you will care less if the iPhone is playing your favorite music, unless it is the kind of music you want in your funeral.
July 2, 2009 11:07 PM
how will Apple's iPhone 3G s compare to the Palm Pre? I've put together a chart for a quick glance at how they stack up (see below).
http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/articles/iphone-3g-vs-iphone-3gs-vs-palm-pre.html
July 3, 2009 12:02 AM
Hmm..so what will happened when TomTom releases for iphone so we can't put stick the iphone to the windscreen for turn-by-turn navigation because the sun will heat up the iphone?!
July 3, 2009 5:49 PM
I'd file under who's surprised. ALL devices (mechanical and electronic) list operating temperatures.
Usually I find the operating ranges laughable (e.g., 32F to 115F) because I spend half my year below 32F. I live in Minnesota where -20F isn't just a number but the actual temperature a few days running every year.
Nothing works normally at that extreme, or the other (heat) unless its designed specifically for it.
FWIW, my iPhone seldom gets warm except when charging with a Mophie Juice Pack Air, but I consider that more or less normal.
July 3, 2009 9:49 PM
To all the morons on this board. I usually do not care to get on any of these boards but common people, have some common sense. My BB Bold turns very hot when I am using it while it is plugged in and charging. The same thing with the iPhone. You plug it in in your car with the sun beating on it and have it playing music and you are using google maps and over all that, you got the phone in a small plastic or rubber case!!! what do you expect. IT WILL HEAT UP!!!! Common are you really complaining! How about you go get a Pre, you do not deserve an iPhone.
July 4, 2009 4:39 PM
I hear that this law firm www.azrolaw.com is filing a design/manufacturing defect class action against apple for the overheating problem this week. I think they are looking for people to be plaintiffs.
July 9, 2009 11:50 AM
Yeah, BlackBerry Bold. FTW.
This Apple fanboyism is sad. iPhone is "cute", but as anything else, it sucks.
July 12, 2009 5:24 AM
Both the Apple fan boys and haters on here are pathetic. It's a phone, some people like it and some don't. Novel concept, eh? Get over it and get a life.
July 13, 2009 6:37 AM
I agree with Pathetic, I'm an iphone user, it's my choice your black berry bold might be better, i don't care, every products have it's Achilles heals.
July 22, 2009 3:41 PM
Hi i have a problem with iphone 3g it gets very hot any solutions pls thanks if you have any solutions send me an e-mail at shelmar69@hotmail.com
August 1, 2009 11:28 PM
this happened to my phone about 2 months ago. i contacted apple and hats off to them, they replaced my iphone straight away.
it was quite funny watching the guys in the apple store get very excited about seeing the 'temperature' error message for the time!
oh and i must add that my phone wasn't overheating it was an error wit the phone
August 4, 2009 3:08 PM
Yeah Apple better do something about this cause I had my iPhone under my pillow while playing music during a hot night and I awoke to my hot phone touching my arm. It was like so hot it almost burned me.
November 18, 2009 6:11 PM
-@ Karla:I had my iPhone under my pillow while playing music during a hot night and I awoke to my hot phone touching my arm. It was like so hot it almost burned me-
Did you and your phone look at eachother mystiriously and wondered wether you two had intercourse the previous night?