TECH BYTE: How to Protect Your Phone in Extreme Cold

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Most of us can’t live without our cell phones, so the last thing we want is for them to get damaged in the frigid, winter weather.

Josh Hrinik with Oops Repair in Chattanooga says extreme cold weather can harm your phone if it’s left out for extended periods of time.

It can slow down the battery.

Hrinik says the ideal temperature for battery life is between 40 and 90 degrees.

“If you go back to 10th grade chemistry, you’ll remember that when things freeze, they slow down, and so the battery cells in your phone, I guess the juices within the battery just don’t make it, or don’t move fast enough to power the phone the way they will normally in normal temperatures, so you’ll notice that your battery life will drop dramatically,” Hrinik said.

Those low temperatures also impact your touch screen.

“Most of the touch screens in phones these days are what’s called compacitive touch, and when the temperature gets below freezing point, they just don’t want to respond, and so you might be really frustrated when you’re outside in the cold and your finger isn’t causing the screen to swipe, or you can’t text,” he said.

And if you often drop your phone, Hrinik says it’s more fragile, and more likely to break in the cold.

“Whenever something gets cold, it usually makes it a little more brittle, and so glass is not impervious to that.”

But there are things you can do to keep your phone in good shape if you have to be outside in the elements for awhile.

One option is to turn it off.

But if you can’t, “slip your phone inside your coat, so that it’s closer to your body, so the body heat will kind’ve keep it warm for you,” Hrinik said. “If you’re going to stick it in a pocket, maybe grab a pack of those hand warmers and leave it in your pocket if you’re going to be outside, as long as there’s going to be a little bit of a heat source for the phone.”

And when you need to charge your phone, make sure it’s warmed up to room temperature before plugging it in.

Another option is to get a cold compatible phone case, like an insulating one from the ClimateCase brand.

Also, don’t leave your phone outside or in your car overnight in the extreme cold.

Hrinik says if you happen to crack your screen in the cold, they can fix it at Oops Repair.

If your battery isn’t working right, they can replace that too.

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