Screen goes dark when phone is warm

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Level 1

46 points

Screen goes dark when phone is warm

I saw a closed thread about this. Seems at 103 degrees the phone dims and at 113 it goes black. This is a feature?

In bright sun on a warm day the display is useless. Until it cools off a little.

mom not in the Sahara. East coast, temps in the 80’s but sunny.

this question was posted earlier, had 357 “me toos”. Only had one response from Level 7 master user that didn’t suggest anything.

there must be a way to resolve this somehow to be able to use the phone without having to seek cooler temps. I don’t see my android friends having such issues.

iPhone 12 Pro

Posted on May 29, 2022 11:42 AM

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Answer 1

y_p_w

Level 6

17,762 points

May 30, 2022 7:06 AM in response to chapelroad

That’s generally what happens because it could potentially overheat and possibly go into a thermal protection shutdown if it doesn’t, since the display is a huge power user. The best description is that it’s the equivalent of a power brownout, because it could potentially draw more power than the battery can supply, and it’s not necessarily doing it to protect the display, but the logic board. There could potentially be a kernel panic if it’s hotter than specified operating conditions. There is no fan obviously. Also, it can happen with Samsung devices. They have their own user forums where this has been discussed.

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s20-series/display-brightness-dims-after-few-minutes-at-direct-sun-because/td-p/3470658

I bought a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and after a few minutes at direct sun and the screen becomes unusable. Can't see anything in order to take a photo. My son has an 150 euro priced mobile phone (amoled) of a competitive Chinese company and the screen at direct sun is so bright (1200nits). That's a shame for a premium phone that advertises 1400 nits (peak).

I’ve seen it myself and I guess it is annoying, but probably better than the alternative, which might be the system shutting down for one reason or another.

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Answer 2

May 29, 2022 1:14 PM in response to chapelroad

It would be unwise to expose an iPhone to extreme heat. 🌡

Click ▷ iPhone too hot?

Click ▶︎ iPhone User Guide.

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Answer 3

chapelroad Author

Level 1

46 points

May 30, 2022 6:29 AM in response to Smilin-Brian

Obviously. But this is just outside on a sunny day in the mid 80’s. The phone becomes effectively unusable unless you are able to get in a shady area and shield the screen to see at the dimmed level, or go inside, etc.

still can’t figure out how Samsung and other android manufacturers avoid this need to shut down back light. I have never heard of a user of other phones complain about this.

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Answer 4

May 30, 2022 10:50 AM in response to y_p_w

That was an interesting perspective there! 😉

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Screen goes dark when phone is warm

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