Modern-day smartphones are powerful enough to serve as decent gaming units and also one of the essential mediums to keep you connected. Long gaming sessions, or charging while using your phone, can heat up the device beyond its capacity to handle. Heating up reduces performance, drains the battery faster, and in extreme cases, might also damage your phone. If you are looking to prevent overheating while you game or charge your phone, here are some practical tips:
1. Play in a Cooler Environment
The ambient temperature of your surroundings also contributes much to the rise in temperature of your phone. Gaming in a hot room or outside under the sun will make your phone hotter faster. Whenever possible, do gaming in a cooler environment or under a fan to help keep the temperature of the phone in check.
2. Use a Cooling Fan or Case
If your phone still overheats after you have taken precautions, invest in a cooling fan or a special phone case designed to dissipate heat. Cooling fans are small, portable devices attached to your phone that improve airflow. There are also phone cases made of materials that enhance the dissipation of heat, which can be great during extended gaming sessions.
3. Close Resource-Intensive Background Applications
Many running background applications take up your phone's resources and hence heat up the device. Close all unused applications before gaming or charging your device to free up resources and put less stress on your device. You can also enable "Battery Saver" mode to restrict background processing and lessen the workload of your phone.
4. Charge Your Phone with the Screen Off
When charging your phone, especially while using it for gaming, try to turn off the screen or put the phone into airplane mode. The lit screen and running apps, such as games, make the CPU work harder and produce more heat. By turning off the display and disabling wireless connections, your phone can charge more efficiently and stay cooler.
5. Use a Lower Graphics Setting for Gaming
Most mobile games have options for adjusting the graphics settings. Although high-end graphics are nice, they put a greater load on your phone's processor and graphics unit, which generates heat. If you are going to be gaming for several hours, it is best to lower the graphics quality to ease up on your phone and keep it cool.
6. Unplug the Charger When Fully Charged
Leaving your phone plugged in after it reaches 100% can make it overheat. Most smartphones have mechanisms to avoid overcharging, but keeping it plugged in too long generates heat in the device. Immediately unplug your phone once it's fully charged to avoid building up heat inside it.
7. Enable Do Not Disturb Mode
When your phone is hot, incoming notifications and calls can cause additional strain. Enable "Do Not Disturb" mode to prevent new notifications and reduce the workload on your phone while gaming or charging.
8. Keep Your Phone Clean
Dirt and debris can block your phone's cooling vents, or even just get in the way of airflow around it, allowing it to overheating easier than it should. Give your phone regular cleanings- pay extra attention to the charging port, headphone jack, and vents if it has any-to assure maximum cooling performance and prevent excessive heating.
9. Use Optimized Charging Features
Many of the new phones are fitted with inbuilt features aimed at optimizing charging and reducing heat. For example, some features like "adaptive charging" or "optimizing charging speed" were designed to make your phone charge better without heating up excessively. Make sure such settings are turned on for smooth charging with reduced heat.
10. Update Your Phone's Software
These are very frequent updates released by manufacturers to enhance general performance and thermal management. Make sure your phone software is updated to leverage these improvements. Software updates can reduce overheating by optimizing how your phone handles demanding tasks, such as gaming or charging.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the tips that can help you greatly reduce the chances of your phone overheating up during gaming or charging. Temperature management is not only important for comfort but also for the health and longevity of your device. Pay attention to your phone's temperature and take these ways to ensure it stays cool and runs efficiently.
