iPhone 16 still overheating on day 8

My iPhone 16 is constantly overheating. I set up the iPhone eight days ago. So the background activities should be finished. Nevertheless, the device gets so hot during normal use that I have to put it down. The device often stops responding at all, probably because of the heat. Then I can neither take photos nor dictate. I have already updated all the apps and restarted the iPhone 16 several times. Today I installed a small update (called iOS 18, took only minutes, strange) Nothing helps. I've never experienced anything this extreme with an iPhone before. Do you have any ideas?

iPhone 16

Posted on Oct 1, 2024 8:22 AM

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Posted on Oct 1, 2024 9:35 AM

Let’s define “overheating”. If an iPhone overheats it shuts down so it can’t be used, and displays a message saying it must cool down before it can be turned on, and it will probably be unusable for an hour or so. If you are seeing this it is a hardware problem and you should contact Apple support: 


Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat



If you are not seeing this your phone has not overheated. However, if you fast charge your phone may get very warm, and may pause charging at 80% and display a message saying that charging has paused, and will resume when the phone cools down. This is NOT overheating, and is normal when fast charging. It also won’t prevent you from using any app you have on your phone.


Also, some apps that use a lot of energy or that use cellular data rather than Wi-Fi can cause the phone to run warmer. What apps are using the most energy in Settings/Battery?

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 1, 2024 9:35 AM in response to noscho

Let’s define “overheating”. If an iPhone overheats it shuts down so it can’t be used, and displays a message saying it must cool down before it can be turned on, and it will probably be unusable for an hour or so. If you are seeing this it is a hardware problem and you should contact Apple support: 


Note that both of the above have options to receive a callback or chat



If you are not seeing this your phone has not overheated. However, if you fast charge your phone may get very warm, and may pause charging at 80% and display a message saying that charging has paused, and will resume when the phone cools down. This is NOT overheating, and is normal when fast charging. It also won’t prevent you from using any app you have on your phone.


Also, some apps that use a lot of energy or that use cellular data rather than Wi-Fi can cause the phone to run warmer. What apps are using the most energy in Settings/Battery?

Oct 1, 2024 2:02 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thanks for your comments.


I never saw an „overheat“ message. But the iPhone stops working in different (but very usual) situations: writing, dictating, scrolling through websites, trying to take a picture. In the latter case the camera often crashes several times in a row. In other cases (while I use no processor straining apps) the app does not respond at all for minutes.


The iPhone didn’t get blazing hot from charging. It only happened when I use it. So hot that I had to put it down.

I used Wifi all the time.

As most used apps are listed:

Safari

Instagram


I have to stop because the iPhone is getting to hot to hold again.


Oct 2, 2024 6:55 AM in response to noscho

Update 1:


I deleted Instagram because I suspected this was the cause for the trouble.


Listened to 30 min podcast (Apple Podcast app). iPhone got hot. Podcast stopped. Couldn’t be continued.

I wanted to dictate a note in Bear. Dictation not possible.

No error messages period. The apps just don’t work when the iPhone gets hot.

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iPhone 16 still overheating on day 8

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