Well, here we are in mid-April, and that means summer will be here before we know it.
We just had a late blast of wintry weather here in Virginia, but we’ve already had some really nice “summer” days and there will be plenty more coming down the pike real soon.
Here’s something you need to remember as you’re out and about enjoying the heat of the coming summer: If you get hot, your mobile devices will too.
Here are a few tips for keeping your expensive smartphones, tablets and other devices cool and running smoothly all summer long:
1 – If at all possible, charge the battery in your phone or tablet indoors where it’s nice and cool.
Charging any battery will cause it to heat up, and if the ambient temperature is 90 degrees or above it could possibly cause the entire device to over-heat and fail.
2 – Try not to use your device in direct sunlight for extended periods on hot summer days, especially if it has a black or dark colored case.
The sun’s hot summer rays can quickly turn most any electronic device into a hunk of molten plastic and silicon, and the damage can be done before you even realize that it is happening.
3 – Install a quality anti-malware app on your devices to prevent viruses and malicious apps from over-working their CPUs and other components.
iPhone and iPad users don’t have to worry all that much about malware, but I recommend that you protect your Android devices by installing both Malwarebytes and AVG for Android.
4 – Don’t leave your devices sitting in a hot car all day, even if they are sitting in the shade when you leave the car since the temps inside automobiles can reach as high as 170 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
If you have no choice and simply must leave your device(s) in a hot car, wrap it in a cloth and leave it in the trunk, never in the passenger compartment.
5 – Remove any apps from your device that you know you’ll never use.
Some apps are constantly running in the background, causing the device’s CPU to work harder than it needs to. And the harder the CPU works, the hotter a device will get.
Bottom line: While you can’t control the outside temperature on a hot summer day, the steps listed above can help keep your smart phones and tablets running as cool and efficiently as possible.