How are your cell phone batteries doing in the winter?

[Eug]

My iPhone 5s (2013) is acting up in the cold weather. I won't be out long before the phone shuts itself off, if it's say -5C (23F) outside.

It seems to be noticeably worse in the cold than it used to be, when I first got it.

Is this common behaviour? Yes, the battery is old now and has a shorter life in general, but the uber short life in the cold can be quite annoying. Yesterday I was outside with about 35% battery life left, and after one minute in the cold, it shut itself off.

 

[tsupersonic]

My phone is perfectly fine, and the coldest it's gotten here was single digits (F), granted my phone is new (Nexus 6P). I'm also not out in the cold for long periods of time, so it shouldn't really affect battery life in a significant way.

Regardless phones/electronic items don't like extreme ends of temperatures. You'll have degraded battery performance if you stay out in those temperatures for long periods of time. Your phone being two plus years old (assuming you get it in 2013) is just going to perform worse than a new phone w/ a new battery.

 

[shortylickens]

Fine. I dont leave it in the snow.

 

[lxskllr]

Mine does fine, and I'm out in it all day. The coldest it's gotten this year is ~23F. YMMV colder than that.

 

[Mike64]

My iPhone 5s (2013) is acting up in the cold weather. I won't be out long before the phone shuts itself off, if it's say -5C (23F) outside.

It seems to be noticeably worse in the cold than it used to be, when I first got it.

Is this common behaviour? Yes, the battery is old now and has a shorter life in general, but the uber short life in the cold can be quite annoying. Yesterday I was outside with about 35% battery life left, and after one minute in the cold, it shut itself off.

Where are you keeping it? Wherever that is, move it to a pocket closer to your body. If that still doesn't help, you might want to go to your nearest emergency room.

 

[evident]

I try not to leave my phone in my car when it's been off for an etended period. it the extreme temperatures will wreck a phone battery in no time.

 

[Jembo]

I've been using iPod Touch's forever in cold weather(-15c) for extended periods on a bike. The 4g never did to well in the cold. It would shut off of it's own will every 15 mins or so. My 5g has been great for years. The trick is, like the poster before me mentioned, to keep it close to your body.

 

[core2slow]

yes it's common. What happen when you starts using your phone in cold climate? The phone heats up (naturally) and that warm air mixed with the already cold air inside the tiny enclosure would then produce condensation which then turn into water vapor. Water + electronics = no bueno.

 

[Eug]

Where are you keeping it? Wherever that is, move it to a pocket closer to your body. If that still doesn't help, you might want to go to your nearest emergency room.

For that minute I was outside, I was actually trying to use it, held out in my hands. I was taking pictures of a spot in my yard where a downed tree was removed. If it's in my pocket then it's fine... until I take it out.

I used to be able to do this type of thing for many minutes, but lately the phone just shuts down. (Last year after a car crash in -10C weather, I was able to use the thing for a good 10 minutes or so taking pictures of the car crash and people's drivers' licences, etc. before it shut down.)

Battery life during the day indoors isn't great, but it's more than usable, but like I said, if I take it outside and actually try to use it, it's dead after a minute or two.

I guess I'm due for a new phone anyway. Not sure if I'll get the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 6c or whatever that new 4" phone will be called.

 

[Elixer]

For what it is worth, I keep an old Motorola V195 in the glove box for emergency use, and that has gone through 100F+ & -10F cycles, and still has been working fine when I turn it on again to check battery. At most, I have only lost 15% over the years.

 

[Dice144]

I take my phone hiking in 20 F without issues. Asus Zenhone 2.

 

[Binky]

Mine works just fine in the "cold" Los Angeles winter temps (~60 deg).

 

[Beer4Me]

-5 C? WTF are you doing with your phone? Leaving it in your car overnight or something....

 

[Crono]

I've used my phones in single digits Fahrenheit (and maybe once below, but it usually doesn't drop below zero in this part of NY) without issue.

There might be something wrong with that particular battery/phone or model generation.

 

[dawheat]

http://m.gsmarena.com/iphone_6s_plus_vs_lg_v10_vs_galaxy_note5-review-1366p4.php

Didn't think much of it at the time but if you read the battery life section during cold weather testing, the iPhone 6 Plus fared quite badly. Draining quickly and shutting down before being drained.

Could be a design thing with the battery touching the metal back.

 

[pm]

I was downhill skiing last weekend at Winter Park. It was about -5F at the top, but windy. My iPhone 6 (2014) shut off with about 70% battery left when I had it in my outer ski pocket. I moved it to an inner pocket then stuck a reusable hand warmer next to it and snapped it, and after that the phone was fine and bounced back up to ~70% once it was semi-warm again.

I don't know, Eug, I think it's not unreasonable to need to keep a phone warm enough in order to use it. I agree that it's super annoying - my wife and daughters and I were all trying to keep in touch and all of our phones were shutting down randomly - but it's not unexpected. And it is within Apple's specification of 32F to 95F. Bring a handwarmer for it.

 

[Eug]

http://m.gsmarena.com/iphone_6s_plus_vs_lg_v10_vs_galaxy_note5-review-1366p4.php

Didn't think much of it at the time but if you read the battery life section during cold weather testing, the iPhone 6 Plus fared quite badly. Draining quickly and shutting down before being drained.

Could be a design thing with the battery touching the metal back.

Hmmm... Interesting. I hadn't seen that comparison. Yeah, maybe the shell that can help it dissipate heat in summer works against it in winter.

 

[cbrunny]

Going from ~-12C to room temperature really quick seems to disagree with my Note 4. I'm sure it's for protection purposes but my phone goes instantly from ~50% when I am back from the dog walk to zero.