How to Stop Your Phone Overheating: 12 Fixes That Actually Work

A hot phone is annoying, but it is also a warning. When your phone overheats, it slows down to protect itself, drains the battery faster, dims the screen, and in extreme cases shuts down apps or refuses to charge. Occasional warmth during gaming, video calls, or fast charging is normal. A phone that is regularly too hot to hold comfortably, or that overheats during ordinary use, is telling you something is wrong — and most of the time, the fix is a setting, a habit, or an app, not a new phone.

This guide explains how to stop phone overheating on both iPhone and Android, starting with the quick cool-down steps to use right now, then the causes that keep making phones hot, and finally the longer-term settings that prevent overheating from coming back. If your phone is also running out of battery quickly, read this alongside our guide on extending your phone’s battery life, since heat and battery drain share most of the same causes.

First: What to Do When Your Phone Is Overheating Right Now

If your phone is hot right now, act in this order. First, stop the demanding task: close the game, pause the video recording, or end the video call. Second, take the phone out of its case, especially a thick or insulating case, and move it out of direct sunlight or away from a hot car dashboard. Third, turn on aeroplane mode for a few minutes if you can afford to be offline — this stops the radios working hard to hold a weak signal, which is a major hidden source of heat. Fourth, do not put a hot phone in a fridge or freezer, and do not run it under cold water. Rapid cooling can cause condensation inside the phone, which is worse than the heat. Let it cool gradually in a shaded, ventilated spot.

If the phone shows a temperature warning, let it cool before using it again. iPhones will display a temperature alert and may disable charging and dim the display until they cool. Android phones vary by manufacturer, but most will throttle performance, dim the screen, or shut down the camera app when hot. These protections exist for a reason: lithium batteries degrade faster when hot, and sustained high temperatures shorten a battery’s lifespan permanently.

1. Close Demanding Apps and Stop Background Activity

The most common cause of overheating is simply doing too much at once. High-end mobile games, 4K video recording, video editing, and long video calls push the processor and graphics chip hard, and they generate heat continuously. Closing the demanding app is the fastest fix, but background activity matters too: apps refreshing in the background, syncing photos, downloading updates, and tracking location all add load even when you are not looking at them.

On iPhone, go to Settings, then Battery, and look at which apps have used the most battery in the last 24 hours — the worst offenders are usually the heat offenders too. Turn off Background App Refresh for apps that do not need it. On Android, check Settings, then Battery, then Battery Usage for the same picture, and restrict background activity for apps you rarely open. You do not need to close every app obsessively; modern phones manage background apps well. You do need to catch the one or two apps that are misbehaving, stuck syncing, or running hot in the background.

2. Turn Down Screen Brightness and Shorten Screen Timeout

The screen is one of the biggest heat sources in a phone, especially at maximum brightness in sunlight. The phone brightens the display to stay readable outdoors, which generates heat, which makes the phone throttle, which makes the experience worse. Turn brightness down manually when you can, or at least make sure auto-brightness is on so the phone is not stuck at maximum indoors. Shortening the screen timeout to 30 seconds or one minute also helps, since a screen left on in a pocket or on a table keeps generating heat for no reason.

If you are gaming or watching video for a long time, a slightly lower brightness setting is the single easiest way to reduce heat without affecting performance. It also saves battery, which is why it appears in almost every battery guide too.

3. Avoid Charging While Gaming or Using Demanding Apps

Charging generates heat. Gaming generates heat. Doing both at once generates a lot of heat, and it is one of the fastest ways to make a phone uncomfortably hot. If you must play while plugged in, use a lower-wattage charger rather than a fast charger, or take a break from the demanding app while the phone charges. Fast charging is convenient, but it generates more heat than slow charging, so overnight or desk charging with a standard charger is kinder to the battery long-term.

Also check your charger and cable. Cheap, uncertified chargers can deliver unstable power and generate excess heat, and a damaged cable can do the same. Use the charger that came with the phone or a certified replacement from a reputable brand. If the phone gets unusually hot only while charging, try a different charger and cable before assuming the battery is at fault.

4. Fix a Weak Signal: The Hidden Overheating Cause

A weak mobile or Wi-Fi signal is one of the least obvious causes of overheating. When signal is poor, the phone boosts its radio power to stay connected, constantly searching for a stronger signal and retrying failed transmissions. This is why phones get hot in rural areas, in basements, in lifts, and on trains — places where the signal is weak or constantly switching between towers.

The fixes are practical: connect to Wi-Fi when it is available and stable, rather than relying on a weak mobile signal. Turn on aeroplane mode in areas with no signal at all, such as a flight or a remote area, rather than letting the phone search endlessly. If your home Wi-Fi is the problem, our guide on speeding up your home Wi-Fi covers the router placement and settings that give your phone a stronger, more stable connection — which also means less radio work and less heat.

5. Update Your Software and Remove Problem Apps

Software bugs cause overheating more often than people expect. A buggy app update can get stuck in a sync loop, a new operating-system version can have a power-management bug, and an old app that has not been updated for your phone’s OS version can misbehave in the background. Keeping your phone and apps updated is the simplest defence, since updates frequently include fixes for exactly these problems.

If overheating started after a specific update or app install, that is your prime suspect. Check battery usage, delete or reinstall the suspect app, and check the app’s reviews — if many users are reporting heat or battery drain after the same update, you are not alone, and a fix is usually on the way. As a last resort, a factory reset can clear deep software problems, but back up first: our guide on how to back up your phone covers iPhone and Android backup step by step.

6. Keep Your Phone Out of Heat and Sunlight

Environment matters enormously. A phone left on a car dashboard in the sun, in a pocket on a hot day, or next to a heater will overheat even if it is doing nothing. Lithium batteries are happiest between roughly 16 and 22 degrees Celsius, and sustained temperatures above 35 degrees accelerate battery ageing. In summer, keep the phone in the shade, out of direct sunlight, and never leave it in a parked car.

Cases matter here too. A thick, insulating case traps heat during gaming or charging. If your phone regularly gets hot, try using it without the case during demanding tasks, or switch to a thinner case with better ventilation. This is a free fix, and it often makes a noticeable difference.

7. Turn Off Features You Are Not Using

Bluetooth, location services, mobile hotspot, and 5G all generate heat when active, especially when they are searching or sharing. Turn off hotspot when you are not sharing your connection — it is one of the hottest things a phone can do. Set location access to “while using the app” rather than “always” for apps that do not need constant tracking. If you are in an area with patchy 5G coverage, switching to 4G in settings can reduce heat and battery drain, since the phone stops hunting for a 5G signal that keeps dropping.

You do not need to turn everything off permanently. The point is to stop the features you are not actively using from working hard in the background. A quick pass through settings once, turning off always-on location for social apps and disabling hotspot when idle, is usually enough.

8. Check Battery Health and Know When It Is Hardware

If your phone overheats during ordinary use — browsing, messaging, light apps — and none of the software fixes help, the battery itself may be ageing. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health to see maximum capacity: below 80 percent is Apple’s threshold for a degraded battery. On Android, battery-health reporting varies by manufacturer, but apps and settings menus increasingly show it, and a battery that drains unusually fast alongside the heat is a strong signal.

A swollen battery is a different matter entirely: if the screen is lifting, the case is bulging, or the phone rocks on a flat surface, stop using it and take it to a repair shop immediately. Do not try to fix a swollen battery yourself. For a merely aged battery, a professional battery replacement is far cheaper than a new phone and often solves both the heat and the battery-life problem at once.

More Fixes Worth Trying

Four more fixes round out the list. Ninth, restart your phone regularly — a weekly restart clears stuck processes and memory leaks that build up over time. Tenth, avoid live wallpapers and heavy widgets if your phone is older; they keep the processor and screen working even on the home screen. Eleventh, if you record a lot of video, lower the recording resolution from 4K to 1080p for long sessions; 4K recording is one of the hottest tasks a phone performs. Twelfth, use a phone cooler or a fan-cooled grip if you are a serious mobile gamer — they sound like a gimmick, but active cooling genuinely keeps sustained performance higher during long sessions.

Conclusion

To stop phone overheating, start with the quick wins: close demanding apps, take the phone out of its case and out of the sun, turn down brightness, and stop charging while gaming. Then fix the underlying causes: background apps, weak signal, outdated software, and features running when you do not need them. Most overheating is a software or habit problem, not a hardware failure, and the fixes above solve it for most phones. If heat persists during light use despite all of them, check battery health and consider a professional battery replacement — it is cheaper than a new phone, and it gives your current one a second life.

How to Stop Phone Overheating: Quick Checklist

Use this checklist to stop phone overheating quickly. To stop phone overheating, close demanding apps, lower brightness, and remove the case. To stop phone overheating while charging, avoid gaming while plugged in and use a certified charger. To stop phone overheating on weak signal, use Wi-Fi or aeroplane mode. To stop phone overheating long term, update software, limit background apps, and check battery health. To stop phone overheating in summer, keep the phone out of sunlight and hot cars. To stop phone overheating during video, lower recording resolution. To stop phone overheating every day, restart weekly and turn off unused features. For official guidance, see Apple Support.

Remember, to stop phone overheating is usually about habits and settings, not a new phone. Follow the steps above to stop phone overheating, and check battery health if heat continues during light use.

To stop phone overheating, check apps daily. To stop phone overheating, keep brightness low. To stop phone overheating, charge slowly. To stop phone overheating, stay on Wi-Fi. To stop phone overheating, update software.