iphone 4 operating temp range of 0° to 35° C seems a bit impractical, no?

dug777

Lifer
Oct 13, 2004
24,778
4
0
http://www.apple.com/au/iphone/specs.html

I have to admit that, like your current president, I don't care about iphones, but that seems like a rather restrictive maximum operating temperature, and the non-operating temp maximum is given as only 45'C.

We see temps over 35'C on pretty much a daily basis in many places in summer in Aus, and I'd imagine that leaving your phone in the sun would very quickly see it reach over 45'C, even in much colder climates than ours...

Are those real temperature limits, in that does anything actually adverse happen to your phone if it exceeds those temperatures? Or is it just a convenient excuse for apple to deny you warranty coverage if anything goes wrong (Sir, I'm afraid that the inbuilt GPS logger shows the phone was located in an area at a time that the weather department indicates exceeded 35'C, so we are unable to honour the warranty unless you can demonstrate it was air-conditioned at all times ;))?

Childish jokes aside, what are apple fans in this great southern land to do?

EDIT: someone pointed out to me that even keeping it in yout pocket may exceed 35'C, given our normal body temp is a whopping 2'C higher than that...
 
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thescreensavers

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2005
9,916
2
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It will be fine. Thats more or less saying you should not leave it in the car in the sun type of thing. I also don't see how the can prove any thing.
 

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
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A lot of laptop say stuff like this. Its just another way to void your warranty.
 

TheWart

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 2000
5,219
1
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The EVO is 0 to 40, and most other smartphones are in the 0-35 or 0-40 range so I don't see this being an issue. Just don't leave it sitting in the sun.

I have left many phones in my car's glovebox in ~100F weather and they work fine.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
To my knowledge, Apple is the only smartphone manufacturer that's actually 'enforced' their maximum operating temperature rating. We break that temperature every summer here in Phoenix. My previous employer stopped buying iPhones for corporate use because Apple was rejecting RMAs on the grounds that our users were not using the phones in accordance with that 95F temperature, an unavoidable situation when the temperature outside can hit 110 easily, in the shade. Regardless of whether the iPhone issues were caused by overtemps, its what we were told both by Apple support and the Apple Geniuses at Apple certified centers.

Having said this, I've left both my old Env2 and my current Moto Droid in my car during Phoenix summers without having them die, though I've never left them in direct sunlight. Not good for them, I'm certain, at times the Droid has literally been too hot to handle and I've had to cradle it in my shirt to carry it into the house.
 

tdawg

Platinum Member
May 18, 2001
2,215
6
81
My old, black iPhone 3g overheated at a Sounders game last summer and wouldn't wake up for me to use until I got out of the sun long enough for it to cool down, which was basically after the game ended and I was standing in the transit tunnel waiting for the bus.

I don't know what long-term effects you might see, but mine didn't seem to harbor any ill will towards me after it cooled off.
 

Binky

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,046
4
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Apple tech support and RMA procedure step #1 - blame the customer
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
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my phone got super hot and fried the display last summer. took it to a verizon store and they warrantied it. i dont see att or any other company telling you you are SOL when the ambient temp is higher than that regularly. here in az it is constantly over 100 deg F during the summer. hell, its been over 105 all week so far. i know that the combo of the heat (it was 119 the day mine fried), sweat and the fact that i was on a call for almost 2 hours straight (tech support) were the main factors in my phone dying, as it didnt happen for the rest of the summer. hoping it doesnt happen again this year tho.