Sifting through numerous Reddit posts led me to an all-familiar topic: temperature while charging. Here’s the curious question: is 40℃ overheating while charging?
Why Temperature Goes 40℃ and Beyond
Heat is the greatest enemy of all smartphones. It basically strips away the youth from your newly purchased digital friend. So, where does the heat come from?
Well, it’s mostly generated by the hardware parts inside your phone. The chipset, display, and battery, among others, generate heat when you use your device. Notice how it gets warmer the longer you use the device? Feel that heat sharply turning warm to hot when gaming?
The power from the battery that goes through the hardware parts generates heat during use. But the battery also generates heat from chemical reactions as it powers the other parts.
Your phone’s temperature can go nuts quickly under specific conditions, such as:
- Fast/rapid charging
- Playing mobile games
- Displaying content at high brightness levels
- Refresh rate of 90Hz or higher
- Browsing online on 5G mobile
- Editing media, either pics or vids
- Using the camera, either for snaps or recording
Is 40℃ Normal or Overheating
Topping at 40℃ is considered normal if the phone is in use. If it’s idle, now that’s a problem and you should go to the service center asap. The battery may be faulty and you don’t want that anywhere near you.
What’s considered overheating is when the temperature peaks at 44℃ and higher. This accelerates the wear and tear on the battery in particular.
How? The stress from that much heat is fueling the chemical reaction inside the battery and that won’t stop until the device cools down.
What if charging causes your phone to go 43℃? That’s normal when we include prevailing factors like:
- Software design: Is it poorly or well-optimized by the brand?
- Ambient temperature: Do you live in the tropics or somewhere with warmer climates?
- Charging speed: Does your device default on fast charging?
- Airflow: Is the device being charged in a tight, enclosed space with poor air ventilation?
- Direct heat: Are you charging it while being exposed to direct heat sources, such as sunlight?
- Charger: Are you using the charger that came with the device or some cheap knockoff?
- Battery: Did you replace the battery model with an original or class A?
Keep in mind that modern smartphones “know” if they are overheating during charging. They tend to lower the wattage at around 43℃ to prevent battery damage. Thus, using an original standard charger (10-15W) is preferred for managing temperature.
Some models even have “smart charging” that drastically slows down charging after reaching a certain percentage. For example, the phone may top-up slower after crossing the 50% mark.
I know, I know that’s inconvenient but consider it as a safety measure for you and your phone. It’s better to have that instead of going for the risk of heat damage.
Anyway, if you desperately want to charge it fast and go back to gaming, there’s likely an option in the battery settings that lets you turn off smart or optimized charging. But doing so won’t stop the phone from lowering the wattage when it “feels” too hot for comfort.
The 40℃ mark is a bit disturbing but it’s within normal range. If you’re bothered by it, consider ramping up airflow. Moving air carries the heat away from your smartphone and it’s better than relying on the passive cooling of AC (of the room) that’s not directly fanning over your device.
So, we recommend directing a fan (portable phone cooler or typical electric fan) toward your device while charging or gaming. Be careful of some phone coolers, however, because there are some that cause condensation and that’s bad. Moisture outside your phone is quite okay but moisture inside is deadly. No water resistance can protect your phone effectively from consistent interior moisture.
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