A mobile device overheats for seemingly no reason. what is the most likely cause?

Your phone overheats. But is it happening all by itself, or is a specific app causing it? Are you streaming a ton of video, or is the weather simply too hot? It's difficult to pinpoint just why your smartphone is heating up.

When a phone gets too hot it slows down. In some cases, it may automatically shut down until it has cooled down. Don't want to miss an important call?

Let's look at how to fix an overheating phone and the best ways to avoid the problem in the first place.

Why Is Your Phone Overheating?

Before continuing, it's worth taking the time to examine what is hot, and what is not. Your phone under normal use should not be hot. If it is, you have a problem.

However, don't interpret warm as hot. A slightly warmer feel after playing a game for 15 minutes is normal. But if your phone has an overheating protection app like Device Heat Cooling Master and it displays an alert or you find the device is surprisingly hot to the touch, then you should investigate.

You've probably already closed a few apps or restarted your device to troubleshoot. Maybe you've even Googled a few error messages.

Almost every time, you'll come across a collection of the same old reasons for your phone overheating:

• Your display brightness is too high
• Your Wi-Fi has been connected for too long
• You've been playing too many games (often with the additional "it's not a game console" advice)

But these reasons are limited to older phones. No smartphone on the market today should overheat for any of these reasons. If your brand-new Samsung phone is overheating, it's probably due to other causes.

Of course, the brand of phone you use doesn't matter—if you want to know what causes your phone to get hot and how to stop it, keep reading.

Buggy Apps Can Cause Phone Overheating Issues

Scratching your head and wondering “why is my phone overheating?” Well, it might be due to one or more buggy apps.

Perhaps you've installed a new app that doesn't run well with your phone. Maybe an app you use regularly has been updated and the new version is causing Android to overheat.

Automatic app updates are useful, but sometimes they cause problems like this. You have two solutions:

• Uninstall the app in question
• Check for an update

As soon as the app is uninstalled, restart your phone, and wait a few minutes before checking it again. If the phone is still hot, try a different solution below.

Intensive Camera Use Can Overheat Phones

Using your phone’s video camera for prolonged periods can result in the device overheating. This doesn't happen in all cases and typically depends on some other factors:

• Selected resolution and frame rate
• Screen brightness
• Prolonged camera use

Just record a video for a few minutes using the front-facing camera, and you might find your phone soon overheating.

To avoid this happening, ensure your phone camera is only used when required, that the screen isn’t set too bright, and that you’re not trying to record at an excessive resolution.

Why Is Your Phone Overheating? You Left It in Direct Sunlight

Even iPhones get hot and need fixing, but the device itself might have nothing to do with its temperature. Environmental factors can cause your phone to overheat.

Leaving the phone in direct sunlight is a common issue. Your phone will almost certainly get too hot if mounted on a car dashboard on a sunny day, for example. In such a scenario, use your vehicle's air conditioning system to help cool the phone.

In other scenarios, keep the phone out of sight and away from direct sunlight. If you really need to use it, try and keep the phone in the shade. When you're done, prevent your phone from overheating by storing it somewhere cool.

Slow and Overheating? Check for Malware

Malware on your Android device could cause excessive heat. After all, malware developers aren't interested in the health of your device; they just want your data. Malware might strike Android devices via malicious adverts (malvertising) or fake apps from the official Google Play Store. It is difficult to know when and where malware can strike.

Consequently, you should learn how to spot dangerous apps and remove them. There are several free antivirus apps for Android to choose from that can help protect your phone from heating problems.

Is Your Case Heating Up Your Phone?

If you're still asking yourself “why is my phone heating up?”, check what you have it in. Specifically, if you keep your phone in a case, this could be the reason.

Many cases are constructed from plastic or contain a large amount of plastic. Even those made with leather have the same problem: the phone is insulated, keeping heat in and cold out.

For safety reasons, as the phone gets warm (particularly during high-performance tasks), it needs to radiate the heat away, and the presence of a case made from an insulating material prevents this. It's like exercising in a duffel coat.

What can you do to stop your Android from overheating in this way? Removing your phone from the case is a good start, but if you're uncomfortable with this (perhaps you wish to maximize your phone’s potential resell value), then it is not a viable long-term option.

Phone Overheating When Charging? Check Your Charger Cable

Another thing that can lead to Android phone overheating issues is the condition of the battery. The charging cable can also cause problems.

If you have an older phone that's been overcharged many times (you should never charge to 100% if you can help it; regularly charge to 80-90% to keep the battery healthy), then smartphone overheating can occur.

Apply our top tips for extending your Android phone's battery life and you're less likely to panic over why your phone is hot.

At the end of the day, phones should not get hot enough to cause problems when charging. If this occurs, the reason could be a damaged battery, a poor-quality charging cable, or a problem with the port. What options do you have?

• Replace the cable and mains adapter
• Replace the battery (often this isn't possible)
• Repair the charging port

If your phone is out of warranty a charging port repair will cost around $30. If damaged, repairing should stop your phone from overheating all the time. Overheating phone still in warranty? You may be able to get a free repair or an exchange.

Do Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Overheat Your Phone?

Your smartphone could overheat due to an overuse of online services. This includes Wi-Fi and mobile internet in particular. Older devices may also overheat due to their overuse of Bluetooth.

Android users are susceptible to apps running in the background and drawing on resources, such as CPU, Wi-Fi, or mobile internet. If apps run in this way, your device can heat up.

Android's battery settings let you identify what apps are leeching resources. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery usage. This tool will detect which apps are draining the battery and let you restrict them.

You can also monitor data use by specific apps:

1. Open Settings > Apps > (See) all apps.
2. Select the app you want.
3. Tap Mobile data & Wi-Fi to see its activity.
4. Toggle Background data to disable internet access.
5. Toggle Unrestricted data usage to allow or block data when using the data saving feature, as this can also impact the battery.

While this puts background functionality out of service, you can be confident that it also means reduced resource use. This can help to keep your smartphone from overheating.

Cool It Down: How to Fix an Overheated Phone and Keep It Efficient

Have you been hit by your smartphone getting too hot and slowing—or worse, shutting down? If so, try the following steps to cool your phone down again:

• Remove the phone's case
• Switch on airplane mode to disable all connectivity
• Move it out of direct sunlight
• Direct a fan at your phone (but don't put it in a fridge, freezer, or cooler)
• Reduce the display brightness

Once you've done this, you need to know how to stop your phone from overheating again:

• Use Battery Saver mode
• Clean up your phone to remove junk files and malware
• Reduce camera use
• Reduce Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS use unless needed
• Replace the charging cable or battery or consider repairs

Not only should your phone stop overheating in the future, but the battery should also last longer!

Take Good Care of Your Android Device

As a safety feature, phones and tablets are designed to shut down in extreme temperatures. You'll just need to wait for it to recover from the high temperatures to put the above tips into practice.

Beyond well-known overheating issues, there are plenty of apps you can use to check if your Android device is functioning properly. "Why is my phone hot?" could have a far more complicated answer.