How To Stop Your Phone From Running Dangerously Hot
All electronics generate some level of heat, but if your phone is running hot to the point where it almost hurts to touch, that's a little too much heat. Sometimes your phone may be hot to the touch after heavy use, but there's also a chance your charger could be faulty or that a stuck process is causing your phone to overheat. If this is happening constantly, look for a way to stop it from happening as much; such intense heat can shorten your battery life and potentially damage your phone.
Cut Down On Heavy Use
Some apps just use a lot of power. Playing videos, games, or running GPS apps that have the screen on for long periods of time causes the phone to run harder, especially if you have multiple apps running at a time. In instances like this, such heat is normal, but it would benefit your phone's health to cut back on that app use unless you need to use them. Alternatively, instead of binge watching videos, for example, take a short break in between videos to let your phone cool a bit.
When thinking about your apps, there are two things to consider: how intensive they are on the screen and how intensive they are on the processor. Even if an app doesn't take much memory to run, it will still heat up your phone quite a bit if it keeps the screen on all the time.
Turn Off Mobile Data
If you find that your phone only starts to heat up in specific locations -- like work, or during a commute -- it could be that your phone is heating up because it's constantly looking for service. If you're in an area with bad service, consider turning off your mobile data until you leave the area. Alternatively, if you're not using your phone much anyway as a result, turn it off until you leave.
Check What's Eating Your Battery
In your phone's settings, you can see what apps are running and how much processor power they're using, much like you might use Task Manager on a computer. This is usually under your battery's settings and information. Here you can see if there's one or two apps in particular that are eating way more processor power than they should; this can sometimes happen if they freeze or lag. If you see a process taking up too much processor power, close it completely and restart it to see if it helps.
You can also restart your phone to end and restart all processes at once, which often fixes many issues.
Replace Your Charger
If your charger is old and broken, it could be damaging your battery and causing it to heat too much during charging. This is because a broken charger can send the wrong voltage to your battery, which is definitely not good for it. If your battery only gets very hot during charging, try replacing the charger to see if that helps. You can find new chargers at a cell phone repair store; while you're there, they can also examine your phone for you to see if they can spot any issues.
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