iPhone hot: Why your phone is overheating and switching off – and how to fix it

The world is so hot that phones are misbehaving and overheating.

While today's handsets might appear robust, they are actually only made to be used within a very limited range of temperatures.

And if they are forced to work outside of those temperatures, the phones can slow down or even stop working entirely.

The problems are happening around the country as Europe is hit by a huge heatwave that has led to record temperatures across the continent.

Like other computing equipment, phones can shut down if they get to extreme temperatures. That happens to keep the components inside of them safe, since if they are used in such environments they can be permanently damaged or even have their batteries blow up.

That's why it's important that devices like iPhones shut down when they detect they have gone over their temperature. But that does not stop it being any more frustrating when it does.

When phones do shut down, they will show an error message that tells their user that the phone won't work until it has cooled down again.

iPhones are made to operate between zero and 35-degrees Celsius. That measure refers to the temperature around the phone, however, rather than the phone itself – meaning that they may shut down more quickly even if the ambient temperature is lower, and might not do so immediately even when the weather is a little hotter.

If a phone is left out in the sun, for instance, it will get warm much more quickly and might shut down. And by the same measure, if it is able to cool in a hot room by being left out on a cold surface, it might be able to keep running even when the outside temperature would appear to be too hot.

The phones can also be stored in places that are up to 45-degrees celsius, according to Apple. But they can't be used at that temperature, only kept there.

Cooling a phone down to make it start working again can be done just like any other object: put it somewhere cool, move it out of direct sunlight, and in extreme cases you can hold it next to something cold like a bottle of water. It can also be useful to take it out of its case, since they can store up the heat and work like a blanket wrapped around it.

But it can also be helpful to stop it getting that warm in the first place. That can be done by keeping it out of direct heat, but also minimising the amount of work it is doing on the inside – avoiding intensive processes like playing games, downloading files, and other taxing activities.