overheating problem fixed
I fixed this problem on my wife's iPhone 3GS.
First thing to do is basic troubleshooting:
1. Back up the phone in iTunes.
2. Wipe and restore the phone as New Phone. Do *not* use the backup image you created in step 1.
3. Test the phone to see if it is still overheating.
If the phone is still overheating, you have a hardware problem. Return the phone to ATT as defective and get a replacement.
If the phone is no longer overheating, you have a software problem. You have two choices.
Choice 1: Leave the phone as a new iPhone and re-configure it with all your previous settings. You might have to restore the phone again from backup and write everything down, then wipe it again and add things back one by one.
Choice 2: Restore the phone again but this time use the backup you created. Verify that it is overheating again (it almost certainly will). Now begin troubleshooting apps and settings.
In the case of my wife's iPhone, I found that one simple setting fixed the problem (discussed below). This setting might not be the same one you need to fix, but you get the idea. You know it is a software problem, so just change settings one by one until you find it.
When looking for settings and apps, I recommend you start with anything that requires a regular connection to your data network. Anything that is location aware or contacts a server periodically is going to do extra work when it loses connectivity. When the phone does extra work the processor gets hot and the battery drains.
For me, the setting that fixed it was in email. Click Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Click OFF for Push and change it to Fetch Manually. This is just a temporary setting, so don't worry about getting your email.
After I did this, my wife's iPhone quit overheating. Test it by putting the phone in your freezer for 5 minutes and then see if it heats back up. The freezer won't hurt your phone, but you can quickly see if what you did worked.
I actually went back and changed the setting to Push = ON again and the phone was fine. I think all that was necessary was to overwrite the setting in software by turning it on and off again. I'm guessing it was corrupt and the phone was constantly trying to contact the email server.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
I fixed this problem on my wife's iPhone 3GS.
First thing to do is basic troubleshooting:
1. Back up the phone in iTunes.
2. Wipe and restore the phone as New Phone. Do *not* use the backup image you created in step 1.
3. Test the phone to see if it is still overheating.
If the phone is still overheating, you have a hardware problem. Return the phone to ATT as defective and get a replacement.
If the phone is no longer overheating, you have a software problem. You have two choices.
Choice 1: Leave the phone as a new iPhone and re-configure it with all your previous settings. You might have to restore the phone again from backup and write everything down, then wipe it again and add things back one by one.
Choice 2: Restore the phone again but this time use the backup you created. Verify that it is overheating again (it almost certainly will). Now begin troubleshooting apps and settings.
In the case of my wife's iPhone, I found that one simple setting fixed the problem (discussed below). This setting might not be the same one you need to fix, but you get the idea. You know it is a software problem, so just change settings one by one until you find it.
When looking for settings and apps, I recommend you start with anything that requires a regular connection to your data network. Anything that is location aware or contacts a server periodically is going to do extra work when it loses connectivity. When the phone does extra work the processor gets hot and the battery drains.
For me, the setting that fixed it was in email. Click Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Click OFF for Push and change it to Fetch Manually. This is just a temporary setting, so don't worry about getting your email.
After I did this, my wife's iPhone quit overheating. Test it by putting the phone in your freezer for 5 minutes and then see if it heats back up. The freezer won't hurt your phone, but you can quickly see if what you did worked.
I actually went back and changed the setting to Push = ON again and the phone was fine. I think all that was necessary was to overwrite the setting in software by turning it on and off again. I'm guessing it was corrupt and the phone was constantly trying to contact the email server.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
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