How To Keep Phone Warm In Cold Weather

From following snow-swept trails to keeping an heart on always-changing avalanche atmospheric condition, navigating with Gaia GPS proves even more useful during wintertime. But there's a catch: keeping your phone alive in frigid air can be catchy. If you've always pulled out your telephone in freezing temperatures merely to discover that the phone's battery has suddenly and unexpectedly died, you know how frustrating and even dangerous this predicament tin can be.

Phones and cold atmospheric condition generally don't get along too well. Low temperatures can rapidly drain your phone's battery life, and — as you've probably experienced — cause your telephone to shut downwardly birthday. Thankfully, you can take tried and true measures to prevent this from happening. Here'due south what yous need to know to keep your phone live when the temperature drops.

Why Cold Atmospheric condition Zaps Phone Battery

Three backcountry skiers skin up a track on a cloudy winter day. A snowy peak looms in the distance.

As irritating equally common cold weather battery drain may exist, it can easily exist explained by science. Almost smartphones use lithium-ion batteries. A chemic reaction inside the bombardment sends charged particles through the phone's circuitry, and this charge powers the phone. Common cold temperatures deadening this reaction downward; charged particles encounter more resistance as they move throughout the battery to charge the telephone. As these charged particles get stuck, the bombardment life plummets.

Unfortunately, scientists don't entirely empathise the frail rest of chemicals required to keep your phone live. This is why sometimes it may seem like your telephone's battery indicator lies to you. If exposed to the frosty air, your telephone may say it has 50% bombardment one minute and information technology's completely dead the next.

Cold weather affects other parts of your phone, also. LCD screens can grow glitchy and blurry. Onboard sensors can lose accuracy because they're calibrated to piece of work within a specific temperature range.

How to Foreclose Battery Drain

Person holds a phone with Cold Case Gear case attached to pack.

In the backcountry, your telephone tin can serve as an invaluable tool for everything from checking the slope angle to staying on course. Plus, those snowy sunrise photos are not going to accept themselves. Keeping your phone alive in cold atmospheric condition boils down to two tasks, minimize battery use and keeping your telephone toasty warm. Here's how to exercise both:

Know Before You lot Go

Wait upwards your device's operating temperature range. Most smartphones are designed to operate between 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range likewise applies to the Apple Lookout man. Many GPS watches can withstand temperates far lower — mostly to -four degrees Fahrenheit. If ambient temperatures or wild chill temperatures drop below your device'southward operating range, take steps to insulate information technology from the cold.

Charge Your Phone Beforehand

Sounds obvious, only don't forget to charge your phone before you head out the door. That extra cushion will aid prevent the battery from draining immediately.

Modify Your Telephone Settings to Save Battery

Now that your phone is fully charged, you want to use up as footling charge equally possible while out in the backcountry. A few uncomplicated tricks can help preserve battery life:

Turn off location services in apps other than your navigation tool, such equally Gaia GPS.
Make sure you take closed as many apps equally possible.
Download maps alee of time and so your tin operate your telephone in airplane mode.
Keep your telephone in low power mode.

Y'all may want to consider not recording a track on these cold outings, since doing and so uses battery life as well. Check out even more than tips and tricks to save phone bombardment life in the backcountry.

Turn Your Phone Off

If you're worried about battery, turn your phone off and keep it in a warm place near your body so that it is ready to power on and use when you need information technology to.

Consider Investing in a Smart Watch

If yous plan on regularly checking your identify on the map or reading and sending texts, you tin can also consider investing in a smart watch. A smart scout lets y'all navigate and communicate from your wrist, and you will all the same have your telephone equally a backup if needed.

Keep Your Phone Close and Covered

The existent fundamental to keeping your phone live in cold weather comes with keeping it warm. Carry your phone in an interior jacket pocket close to your body, and endeavor covering your smartwatch with a glove or jacket sleeve. That way, your body estrus will go along the device warm and the garment's insulation will cake out the cold.

Notation that a phone can interfere with an avalanche beacon's ability to find a cached partner, and y'all should follow these so these precautions to minimize this interference:

Keep your telephone at to the lowest degree 8 inches away from your beacon.
Go on your phone in aeroplane mode if possible.
While conducting a search, extend your arm to bring your buoy virtually one and a half feet abroad from your electronic devices.

This interference mostly happens when beacons are in search mode. If you are the person your partner is trying to notice, yous should be fine. Only you can go along your phone at least 8 inches away from your beacon simply to exist safe.

Employ an Insulating Case

You can get a step further and purchase a thermal case for your phone. The West Slope Example from Cold Case Gear uses aerogel insulation, the same material used to insulate space suits and space shuttles, to provide thermal, physical, and atmospheric condition protection. An airtight magnetic closure also helps keep the cold atmospheric condition out and makes the case 100% waterproof down to half-dozen feet. To assistance you out this winter, Gaia GPS users can get 20% off a Cold Example Gear Due west Slope Example past using the code CCGGAIA at checkout.

Don't want to shell out the actress bucks for a new case? A beer coozy works as a practise-it-yourself culling. Some people have success with tucking a mitt warmer inside the coozy along with their phone.

Utilize your Phone Wisely and Sparingly

No matter how many measures you take to proceed your telephone warm while it's not in use, they won't do you much good if your telephone gets common cold while you're using it. If you need to use your phone, plough your back to the current of air and continue your phone tucked close to your body when viewing it in cold weather. Finish moving, and take your phone out for as little fourth dimension as possible. Looking at your telephone while skiing downhill, for example, exposes your phone to wind chill and cools it off much faster than however air.

How to Warm Up Your Phone if it Dies

A backcountry skier smiles while looking at her phone. She stands in front of a row of snow-covered coniferous trees.

Once your phone shuts off due to the cold, it will take a piffling extra time to work again. Just there'southward no need to worry. Your telephone shutting off is simply its defence force mechanism confronting extreme temps. Let your device warm up slowly. A slow thaw will aid forestall condensation from building upwardly in the bombardment, which could cause water damage.

If you lot really need to apply your phone, you lot can e'er and so slightly expedite the warming process by placing your phone near (not directly on) a warm surface, such every bit the dash of your automobile in one case you turn the heat on. Do not identify your phone in the oven, microwave, or on a hot plate. If y'all need to send a text or cheque your location while even so in the field, effort placing your phone next to your body. Your body oestrus will assist warm your up device.

Finally, practice not charge your phone until it has returned to a normal temperature. Charging your telephone while it'south ice common cold could permanently damage the battery. Warmer temps will usually restore normal bombardment life anyway.

A good rule of thumb to follow this winter: treat your telephone like a part of your body. Brand sure it's protected from snow and moisture, and make sure it stays warm. That way, it'll exist there when you demand it.

Michael Charboneau contributed to reporting.

Abby Levene

Abby Levene is a author, editor, and podcast producer for Gaia GPS. She's besides a professional endurance athlete based in Boulder, Colorado. In her gratuitous time yous can notice her sweating in the mountains past foot, cycle, and skis, or at home painting or curled upwardly with a book.