When I use my phone underwater for the first time, it was an amazing experience. First, I had to put the phone into the fully sealed casing. When I put it, I had so many questions. Among them, do waterproof cases overheat phones? was the major one. I could find so much information about it. So let me share it with you.
Do Waterproof Cases Overheat Phones? Normally, waterproof cases do not overheat phones when they use underwater. Because water can transfer the generated heat by conduction from the case surface quickly, but when it uses out of the water, it can be overheated due to poor heat conduction of the air.
In order to protect your smartphone from water damage while doing water sports or underwater photography, it is good to use a waterproof case or pouch with the smartphone. There are so many things you should know about waterproof cases and how it can be used without overheating the phone. Let me explain to you all in detail, step by step.
Why Do Mobile Phones Overheat?
The smartphone is an electric device. When your smartphone processes something harder, it processes more electricity which causes to generate more heat in your smartphone.
There are many reasons why does your smartphone overheat.
- If you use your smartphone continuously, streaming and video capturing for a long time or using most apps at the same time, your smartphone’s processor is overloaded with tasks and it drains the battery. As a result of that, your smartphone can be overheated.
- When you use faulty or low-quality batteries, cables, or charges, it may harm your phone’s internal components. For example, if it damages your cooling system, your phone will overheat.
- The most common cause of overheating your phone is running games. Most mobile phones’ games are graphically intensive, and they consume more power from the phone and causing it to overheat.
- The phone’s back acts as the heat insulator, and when you use low-quality or bulky phone cases, it disturbs the heat conductivity and it may cause overheating of the phone.
- When you update or download apps, there is a chance you update buggy software or download malware. It causes apps to get stuck and consumes excessive memory and which causes overheating the smartphone.
- When your network connection is unstable, your phone has to seek a signal constantly, and it causes your phone overheat.
There are more reasons to get your smartphone overheated, and the above reasons are the most common.
How Does Heat Transfer Inside the Waterproof Case?
Normally, heat can be transferred in 03 ways. Such as
- Conduction
- Convection
- Radiation
In the waterproof case, heat can transfer as conduction and radiation. Due to the less air volume, we can see less convection. Anyway, the most heat transfer ways are conduction and radiation.
You can waterproof your phone using these 07 DIY tips. It will provide extra protection when you use the mobile phone with water.
When the phone’s heat is generated, its heat travels along heat transfer paths to surfaces and is released. Most waterproof phone covers are made from hard materials. So, when you use a waterproof phone cover, it completely seals the phone.
It gives an additional barrier to the heat conductivity of the device, and it may cause heat up your smartphone to some level.
The normal temperature of the phone surface needs to be maintained below 45 C0 and above that temperature is not suitable for your smartphone’s durability.
If you leave your smartphone to overheat eventually, it will result in damage to internal components on the circuit board and heat runaway in batteries, etc.
So when you use a waterproof case, it is essential to maintain the smartphone’s temperature. If your phone gets heated up while using the waterproof case, you had better remove your phone from the waterproof case and leave it for a few minutes to release the heat.
If your smartphone gets overheated eventually, it may happen due to internal damage or an inappropriate manner of use. So it is good to find out what is the real reason, which is your smartphone gets overheated. Actually, quality waterproof cases do not cause severe damage to your phone from overheating.
Read More About – 04 Ways to Damage a Waterproof Phone – How I Fix It?
How Do Waterproof Phone Cases Work?
A waterproof phone case act as a fully sealed cover. It has been made by increasing material properties to withstand high water pressure. Most waterproof phone cases can be used under water few depths.
There are both waterproof phone cases and pouches. Both have different behaviours. I have prepared a guide of Waterproof Phone Case vs. Pouch: Which is Safer?
Some cases have flexible surfaces. It helps to touch the phone even under water. Some are made with silicons. Because of this, mechanical parts do not need to manufacture to operate the buttons. Normally, waterproofness is measured by the IP rating
The IP rate indicates the case’s level of protection against dust and water. Most waterproof cases have an IP rating of X8, X7. Some give protection against both dust and water and have an IP rate of 68, 67. You may like to read this article with in-detail about Mobile IP Rating Explained- What Does It Mean IP68, IP69?
If you use a waterproof phone case properly with your smartphone, it completely avoids getting your smartphone wet. The majority of waterproof cases are made from hard plastic, and those are used underwater to withstand pressure.
What Types Of Waterproof Phone Cases Affect On Overheating?
When we talk about smartphones’ overheating with waterproof phone cases, levels of overheating depend on the types of waterproof cases.
If your waterproof case is made from hard plastic or silicon, it does not have fast heat dissipating ability and the heat is trapped inside, and your smartphone’s heat may increase.
To protect smartphones from water damage, most waterproof cases are made from hard materials like plastic, rubber, metal, silicon, etc. among those mixed metal cases have a fast heat conductive ability, and it dissipates heat faster and lets your smartphone cool down rapidly.
So, if you use your smartphone, which can be damaged easily by water, it is good to use a waterproof phone case, and if you run it for a long time in that environment, you had better choose a quality waterproof case that dissipates heat properly.
Can You Use Waterproof Phone Case Outdoor?
The main purpose of using a waterproof phone case is that protects the smartphone from water damage. For that reason, most waterproof cases are made from hard materials. It may cause your smartphone to heat up some level.
When you use your waterproof case underwater or on water-related surfaces, the temperature of the environment is low. So when you use your phone with a waterproof phone case in water, the water helps to cool down your smartphone’s heat faster.
When you use your waterproof phone case outdoors and consider phone heat, outdoor environment conditions are important. Because environmental heat also causes some level of cooling down your smartphone’s heat.
When we consider the hard plastic waterproof case in hot weather conditions, if you use your phone with the plastic waterproof case while charging and Wi-Fi is on and playing a game it may cause not only your phone gets heat up but also your phone may blast.
So using a phone cover to protect your smartphone from damage is a good idea. If you intend to use a waterproof case outdoors also, it is good to use a waterproof case made from thick and quality heat conductivity material.
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