Is your iPhone 16 overheating? A lot of users have noticed that their new iPhone 16 is overheating abnormally even when it is not in use. Some even say the iPhone becomes really hot, making it very uncomfortable to touch or use. When your iPhone 16 overheats, you may also experience one of the following behaviors:
- Your iPhone’s brightness gets reduced on its own.
- Your phone’s battery drains faster than normal.
- The screen or back of the phone feels hot when you touch it.
- Your phone may start misbehaving. If your iPhone 16 gets too hot, you may get a temperature warning, and your phone will be disabled until it cools down.
It is normal for the iPhone 16 to get warm when it is being charged or in use. But it is never supposed to get hot. It also appears that the issue mainly impacts the flagship variants – the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This article will give you tips for dealing with the iPhone 16 overheating issue.
Why iPhone 16 gets hot
It is not easy to pinpoint the exact cause of this problem. There could be many different reasons for it. For example, common reasons include:
- Frozen apps
- Glitchy apps
- Battery problems
- Hardware defects
Some people may wonder if malware or a virus may cause iPhone 16 to overheat? The answer is no unless your phone is jailbroken. If your phone is not jailbroken, there is no chance that malware or a virus could be found on your iPhone. Thus, you do not need to worry about this.
How to fix an overheating iPhone 16
It’s worth pointing out that your iPhone 16 might heat up within the initial 24 hours after setup. This is particularly noticeable when setting up from a previous iPhone, Android phone or an iCloud backup, as various background processes like app reinstallation, transferring data and indexing are actively taking place during this period, even when you are not using your iPhone.
- It seems that this issue is affecting a lot of iPhone 16 users. Apple may release an update to fix this problem. Ensure that your iPhone is up-to-date by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Make sure that all of your apps are up to date. Open the App Store to update your apps. You can also turn on Automatic Updates by going to Settings > App Store* and turning on App Updates.
- Some cases may cause overheating. If your iPhone 16 is in a case, remove it to see if that makes any difference. If, after removing the case, the iPhone returns to normal temperature, try to use a different case.
- Reducing the workload on the processor can prevent your device from generating excessive heat and depleting the battery rapidly. Therefore, it is a good idea to close all apps.
- Restart your iPhone 16. you may notice that we advised you to close all running apps before restarting your iPhone. You may find this odd. This is because if you were to restart the phone first, your device would simply restart all the running apps when it turns back on. Therefore, we recommend closing the apps first and then restarting.
- I’ve noticed that the iPhone 16 is heating up when voiceover is turned on. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, and if it is enabled, turn it off to see if your issue will be resolved.
- Ensure that your iPhone has enough storage space to operate properly. Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage and check your available storage space.
- Force restart your iPhone by following these steps:
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
- Press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. If you see the power-off slider, ignore it.
- Contact Apple support. Your iPhone may have a hardware defect that is causing this issue. Contact Apple support to learn your options. Since iPhone 16 was just released, your device is still under one year limited warranty.
- If you find no solution, you may consider asking Apple to issue you a refund. Apple’s refund policies are explained here: https://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund.
How to keep your iPhone 16 cool so this doesn’t happen again
There are several proactive steps you can take to prevent your iPhone 16 from overheating in future:
- Exposure to heat: Try to keep your phone in cool, normal environments. Environmental factors may cause your iPhone 16 to overheat. For example:
- Do not leave your iPhone in direct sunlight. For example, do not leave it on your car dashboard under direct sunlight.
- Do not take your iPhone with you to hot places such as saunas or bathtubs. I took my iPhone 16 Pro Max to a sauna with me, and I received one of the temperature warnings explained above. I had to wait around 30 minutes for my device to return to normal.
- Use an Apple-certified cable: If your iPhone 16 gets hot when it is charging, it may be due to your wall adapter, cable or other hardware you are using. Ensure that all of your charging equipment is Apple certified. Do not use third-party charging accessories.
- Optimize your settings: You may want to apply these settings:
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, then turn on Auto-Brightness.
- Use Wi-Fi when available over Cellular. Wi-Fi uses less power, and thus, you should ensure that Wi-Fi is enabled.
- Tap Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select Wi-Fi. Or you can select Off to turn off Background App Refresh completely.