5 iPhone Battery Life Tips for Cold Weather

As the iPhone continues to grow in popularity, some users became concerned that the phones weren’t durable enough to last more than a few years. When the iPhone 11 came out, some of those fears were assuaged as the brand announced they’d used the most durable glass on the market. 

While you may not have to worry about cracking your screen, there are still some concerns about the iPhone battery. One thing some users are alarmed to discover is that their phone “bricks” in low temperatures.

We’ve put together a list of iPhone battery life tips that will help preserve your battery longer. Now, we’re going to talk about the dreaded bricking and what to do when it happens.

Read on to learn the five best iPhone battery life tips for cold weather.

1. Understand What Bricking Is

Bricking occurs when an iPhone’s software locks up or becomes impossible to use. If your phone is bricked, it means that there’s something wrong internally while the hardware is perfectly fine. 

There are a lot of ways that your iPhone can become bricked. For example, if you disrupt an update or try to jailbreak the phone in order to install third-party software, you may cause the phone to brick. One writer even found that by setting the date on your iPhone back to January 1st, 1970, you can cause your phone to brick forever!

Fortunately, most of the time bricking is temporary. Extreme hot and cold temperatures can produce a similar effect by causing the battery to go haywire, an issue that tends to resolve itself. Basically, the iOS system starts behaving in a way that is designed to preserve the battery but actually causes the battery to drain itself. 

2. Recognize the Signs of Bricking

One of the most important iPhone battery life tips is that you should learn what your iPhone battery is doing and why. The way you should react to a broken charger port, for example, is different from the way you need to react to bricking caused by low temperatures.

When an iPhone bricks from cold temperatures, you’ll find that it shuts down on its own at an unexpected time. You might be using it and happen to notice the 50% battery life icon in the top right corner. Of course, at 50% battery life, there’s no reason for an iPhone to die–but a bricked phone will, no matter how charged the battery appears.

When you try to turn a cold iPhone back on, you may get the Apple logo as the phone attempts to boot up. Chances are, it won’t get much further than that before it shuts down again. Finally, you’ll probably get the blitzed battery symbol indicating that you need a charge.

3. Keep Your Phone Warm in Low Temperatures

The best way to deal with a bricked phone is to prevent it from ever reaching that point. If you know that you’re heading out in near-freezing or below-freezing temperatures, make sure that your phone is prepared.

First, make sure that you’re using a solid, quality case. Brittle plastic cases don’t do much for your phone in general and certainly won’t keep the phone warm on a cold day. Instead, you’re going to want a more durable plastic or silicon case.

Second, try not to take it out of your pocket much. In fact, if you have a pocket close to your body, that’s where it should stay. A good place would be a pants or breast pocket that is covered by a jacket. 

The less you expose your phone to the cold temperatures, the less likely it is to brick. If you’re dying to take a photo or listen to some tunes, use your phone as fast as possible before putting it back in a warm location.

4. Don’t Plug Your Phone In When It’s Too Cold

As we mentioned earlier, a bricked phone may show you the blitzed battery symbol, prompting you to plug your phone in. It is imperative that you don’t plug your phone in while it’s still too cold to operate.

Lithium-ion batteries can be finicky. If you try to charge them up when they are below their functional temperature, you can cause permanent damage. 

Rather than reaching for the charger right away, give your phone some time to warm up. It’s not uncommon for iPhones to turn back on by themselves after appearing to die from cold temperatures. Even if this doesn’t occur, leave your phone in a warm place for at least twenty minutes before plugging it in.

5. Don’t Panic

People tend to see an iPhone that won’t turn on and assume that it has kicked the bucket for good. Don’t go online and immediately order a new iPhone if, in actuality, your phone is just bricked. 

Follow our steps first. If they don’t work, then you may be in need of some repairs. If that’s the case, Fruit Fixed is at your service!

Learn More iPhone Battery Life Tips and Get Repair Help

As we head for the long, cold months of winter, don’t let a bricked phone bring you down. Our iPhone battery life tips are designed to help you protect your iPhone battery from all sorts of conditions, including freezing temperatures. 

Looking for more ways to give your iPhone the longest shelf life possible? Take a look at more of our blog posts and find out everything you need to know about taking care of your iPhone. 

Does your iPhone require a little more TLC than you can give it? Give us a call or find out more about the repair services we offer.