iPhone Overheating: Apple Blames The Weather

Reports about the new Apple iPhone 3GS overheating have been circulating over the internet last week. The phone, released on June 19th, would get warm during use and some have reported that it would get too hot to handle. There have even been reports that the heat would cause the screen to become discolored.

After almost a week of silence on this problem, Apple has posted a warning on one of their support sites. Apparently they point the blame to “the weather” according to a British newspaper.

From The UK Telegraph:

In its message, Apple says that the iPhone has a safety feature which warns users that the device is becoming too hot. As well as leaving the handset in a car, it says that the phone may overheat when left in direct sunlight for prolonged periods, when GPS tracking is used in a car on a hot day or when its iPod function is used in direct sunlight. [...]

iPhone 3GS users on Mac forums complain, however, that the handset becomes hot when it is not being used in a car. In a posting on the macrumors.com forum, one user complained that using the new device’s video recording feature had caused it to overheat while another complained that after carrying his phone in a backpack, it got so hot that the plastic case became distorted with tiny bumps.

Apple admits to iPhone 3GS heliophobia

Apple has finally admitted that the iPhone 3GS can suffer from heatstroke, kind of.

In a support document on the its website, Apple has urged customers to use the iPhone 3GS “in a place where the temperature is between 0°C and 35°C”. It can be stored anywhere the temperature doesn’t stray out of the -20°C and 45°C range.

Lower or higher temperatures may, Apple said, shorten the phone’s battery life or cause it to temporarily stop working.

The same rules apply to the iPhone 3G, Apple warned.

Power down now – or else…

Earlier this week, Register Hardware reported how numerous iPhone 3GS owners had started complaining about scorch marks on the phone’s rear plastic panel. It’s been claimed these appear after the phone becomes hot to the touch.

But Apple hasn’t made reference to any such problems on its support page.

The company did add, though, that both iPhone 3G models may stop charging, suffer dimmed displays or weakened network signals “if the interior temperature of the device exceeds normal operating temperatures”.

To avoid this, make sure you don’t leave “the device in a car on a hot day” or “in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time”, Apple suggested.

“Using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight,” it added.

Apple said the iPhone complies with key safety standards in the US, Europe and Down Under. ®