Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iPhone 5 gets very hot

Having owned my iPhone 5 for 2 days now I've noticed that when I've been using it for about 5 minutes the back becomes really quite hot and the battery seems to be running down fairly rapidly. Does anyone know the cause of this and is there anything that can be done to remedy the problem? Cheers

Posted on Sep 23, 2012 2:38 PM

Reply
186 replies

Sep 23, 2012 2:46 PM in response to dm254

The usual apps that drain the battery are Maps, game apps and any apps that utilise the GPS. Are you using any of them?


If you don't believe that your usage has any correlation to the temperature, do a restore via iTunes (it might be a software thing). On the other hand, it can be a hardware thing. The information you provided is too vague, no one can give you a definite answer from the info you provided.

Sep 23, 2012 6:39 PM in response to dm254

iPhone 5 64Gb -Yesterday I went my house at 90% ans went for a 1-1/2 hour motorcycle ride and when I parked and checked my phone I had 60% remaining. I didnt have any gps or apps running. Matter of a fact I didnt have any apps open. So I downloaded and restored the OS. Then I got 3 hours of usage on wifi 3 hours and 35 minutes standby and was at 19% battery. WiFi only believe it or not.

Today I got 4 hours of usage at 20% LTE only. I dont understand what is going on but my phone is warm to HOT. Even when my phone is in sleep mode in my pocket it stays warm to hot. Im assuming that the aluminum backing is for cooling but I dont think they intended for it to get that hot. If this doesnt get better Im going to return it. I dont want to get burned or have the **** thing melt down.

My wifes 32Gb on the same WiFi same distance and have been doing pretty much the same things with our phones has been cool and getting 2.5 hours usage 14 hours of standby with 60% battery.

Sep 24, 2012 8:41 AM in response to dm254

I have a 32gb Iphone 5 and it also gets extremely hot when gaming or after browsing the internet for a few minutes. The battery does tend to drain quickly regardless of use. This is making me rethink my Verizon upgrade which I waited a year for. Perhaps the galaxy S III is the way to go. I'm not pushing their product but for $300 I shouldn't be holding a hot plate after three minutes of gaming. I would explore other droid phones as well but I really can't stand the whole droid branding between the stupid little green guy and the dumb names for their operating systems.


On a less critical note, my Iphone 5 is black and I can already see fading on the edges of the phone which reveal the silver finish that has been painted black. Overall, the Iphone 5 doesn't seem to match the quality I've become accustom to from Apple products.

Sep 24, 2012 2:28 PM in response to dm254

My iphone 5 got so hot using turn by turn navigation that after 7 minutes it gave a warning pop up saying iPhone too hot and needs to cool down and then shut off the screen. Runs warm most other times but was unbelievably hot during this session. Thoughts maps navigation would work better. Earlier in the day. Went maybe 20 miles if that using it and it drained 20% battery in 25 minutes using it. ****** me off.

Sep 25, 2012 12:29 AM in response to dm254

I'm having the same heat problem mainly when streaming CBC radio over internet through Telus LTE. It's sure is a fast service but man does it get hot and can only get about 2.5 hours of use. I use to worry about my Jaw Bone era only having 5 hours of use but now its the Iphone 5 that's the problem and Mophies not out yet. If I play any movie thats on the phone there is no heat noticable. So I am hoping it's a software glitch between Telus and Apple's use of the LTE format.Oh well if you have not got Apple Care Plus I'd get it before the 30 days are up because with it we know we will be taken care of for the next 2 years.


best 99 bucks I have ever spent.

Side thought ....with Canadian Winter soon upon us the extra Heat from Iphone 5 will sure be nice in your coat pocket!

Sep 25, 2012 11:10 AM in response to dm254

Same happened to me. Was using a Sat Nav app (Apple's maps taking us all over London) and after an hour the back got hot, then very hot and then to the point of discomfort so I actually held it out of the window as we were driving to cool it down. Plus, whilst the battery has otherwise been reasonable, I noticed as it heated that the battery just drained away. I was down to 10% when we got back. Fix needed please Apple!

Sep 26, 2012 6:45 AM in response to dm254

I had this issue with my phone. It was constantly warm when not in use and it was hot when I'd use it for a few minutes. The battery would also drop 1% every 2 minutes on standby. I took it to the apple store and showed them. We watched the battery drop from 24% to 18% in 10 minutes of no use. They swapped it out and my new one is much better. My battery now last all day and I use my phone a lot.

Sep 26, 2012 8:32 AM in response to dm254

Having the same issues with a 64GB IPhone 5, Loosing charge in standby, with no Apps running and even then it was hot (37 degrees C). No WiFi or Blutooth running. Good 3G signal. Losses about 1% charge eveyr 2 minutes. Apple Care were extremmly quick to call me back and have sugested a restore which I am am doing right now. Hopefully that will sort out the problem.


My iPhone 4 would still have 80% charge at the end of a normal day's use and that was without closing apps all the time and with Blutooth switched on (not actually connected though)

iPhone 5 gets very hot

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.