Temperatures That Bring The iPhone and Galaxy S III To Their Knees

Hitting the slopes or warmer locales for a winter vacation? Here’s a tip: Don’t forget to consider how extreme temperatures — on either side of the spectrum — can damage your phone. They can even void the warranty. In icy-cold temps, these handsets are designed to shut off automatically, and when the heat reaches scorching levels, it can permanently wreck the battery.

So how do you know how much heat or cold your device can take? Well, the thresholds for the two most popular handsets — the iPhone (4 through 5) and Samsung Galaxy S III — are outlined in their environmental guidelines, so just follow these ranges to protect your phone and prolong its lifespan and battery.

• Operating temp: 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit
• Storing temp (turned off): -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit
• Humidity: 5 to 95 percent, non-condensing
• Maximum altitude: 10,000 feet

Tips:

• Consider using bluetooth earpieces or earbuds to place urgent calls, instead of taking your phone out of your pocket in cold weather.
• Don’t leave your phone in the car, not even the glove box. Not only could it get broken into, but temps often run very hot or cold, depending on the climate.
• Don’t leave your phone baking in direct sunlight, or use them for heavy duty tasks while in direct sunlight, like navigation or playing a processor-/graphics-intensive game. 

Got any other advice for safeguarding those smartphones this winter? Share them in the comments below.