Winterizing Your Mobile Device to Prepare for Freezing Weather

Most people winterize their homes, lawn and garden, hoses, sprinklers or campers before the snow flies and temperature falls. There also are wireless winterizing steps you can take in an effort to keep your smartphone and tablet from freezing up during cold temperatures.

Families use mobile devices to make their lives easier, more efficient and meaningful. During harsh winter conditions, it’s a good idea to keep your device safe from the cold.  During severe weather, it's even more important that you can be in touch with your family if your arrival time is delayed.  

U.S. Cellular offers the following tips to help your wireless device survive this winter.

§  Accessorize: A LifeProof case is rugged and waterproof and can protect your device through inclement weather such as frigid temperatures, ice and snow.

§  App-etizing: AccuWeather, MyRadar Weather Radar, The Weather Channel and WeatherBug are among the leading free apps available on iTunes and the Google Play store to help keep people ahead of winter storms.  I always watch the weather forecast on tv and now I have the ability to download these apps and be able to check the weather anytime at home on my iPhone 5s and even while I am away from home and weather conditions change during the day.

§  Battery Blues: When cellphone batteries are exposed to cold temperatures, their performance dips like the winter mercury. Cellphone batteries that would provide 100 percent capacity at 80 degrees will typically only deliver 50 percent when it’s 0 degrees outside.  That's a very interesting fact I didn't know before today.

§  Cover Up: Prolonged exposure to the cold may affect a cellphone’s display screen. The display cover can become brittle when exposed to cold temperatures for an extended period of time, which causes the liquid crystals within the display to start freezing.

§  Don’t Fret When Wet: If a cellphone gets wet from condensation or an encounter with snow, power it down right away and remove the battery. You should grab a towel or napkins to get as much excess water off the phone as possible. You should leave a wet cellphone powered down for a day or two to give the internal circuitry a chance to completely dry out.

§  Phone for Cold and Snow: The Kyocera DuraForce is an ultra-rugged smartphone that is certified to operate all the way down to negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also certified IP68 waterproof, so it can be fully submerged up to 6 feet deep for up to 30 minutes, and with its “Wet & Glove Touchscreen Operation,” you can use the phone while wearing your winter gloves and the touchscreen will continue to operate when the phone gets snow or rain on it.

My husband could have used these tips a few weeks ago when he left his phone in his glove compartment.  Phone got very cold, needed to warm up in house before it was usable.  He makes sure to keep it in his coat pocket when outside from now on!

Is a cell phone on your child's Christmas Wish List?  Make sure your child understands clearly how to use his/her phone safely, by using a customizable Parent Child Agreement.


Disclosure:  I have been compensated by U.S. Cellular for my post.  All opinions expressed are my own.