What Happens If You Leave Your iPhone In The Sun Too Long

Since sunlight was introduced as a renewable energy source, solar-powered consumer devices have been popping up in the market. There's the solar flashlight, solar speaker, and solar power bank, which all recharge with the sun's help. If you camp often, one of the most useful camping gadgets is a solar generator, which converts sunlight into usable electricity for your other devices. 

However, outside of these sun-dependent gadgets, most electronics aren't made to be exposed to sunlight for that long. Your iPhone is one of them. It can only tolerate up to a certain level of heat before showing signs of underperformance. Unfortunately, there will be times you might accidentally leave your iPhone in the sun too long. Maybe you're using it to play music in the car, but forgot to take it with you after you get to your destination. Or perhaps you're sunbathing at the beach and didn't remember to put the device away before swimming. 

So, what exactly happens to your iPhone if it's left under the sun for too long?

iPhones are designed to operate in environments with an ambient temperature range of 32º to 95º F (0º and 35º C) and be stored at -4º to 113º F (-20º and 45º C). Once your device detects that the surrounding heat level is over this safe range — for instance, when you leave your iPhone in the sun too long — it will try to adjust its internal temperature. This helps keep the handset from getting too hot and prevents damage to the internal components.

As a result of this thermal regulation process, your iPhone will no longer work as it normally does, at least temporarily. It might scale back some features like switching the cellular radio to a low-power state, slowing down app processes, and lowering the frame rates. Other functionalities, including charging, screen brightness, and camera, might be disabled altogether.

When the temperature becomes too much for the iPhone to handle, you might see a temperature warning pop up on your screen. It shows a thermometer icon and the message "iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it." This means you can't use your device in the meantime, unless it's for making emergency calls. What you need to do when your iPhone starts overheating is to keep it out of the sun right away. Then, power it down and leave it in a cooler location for a few minutes to several hours until it returns to its normal temperature.