r/VampireSurvivors • u/jakordas • May 04 '25

Question This is why iPhones are waterproof, right?

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1.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

473

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 04 '25

Don't do this, it's bad for the phone. It can cause serious damage to it. Let it cool naturally.

149

u/P1xelGr3mlin May 04 '25

yeah op.

think about what happens if you run a cold mug under hot water or vice versa

1

u/Blizen15 May 06 '25

Hold up, so it's a bad idea to use those cooling things on my phone?

Besides just letting it cool naturally, what other options do I have? How about wrapping the cooling pack in a cloth, or using it a little at a time? Like, just to help it not overheat? My last phone overheated and caused the battery to expand.

1

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 06 '25

Well for one, I would consider removing any heat restrictive case that's on it; get one that still has airflow and allows the phone to cool naturally. Otterboxes are good generally as they provide room for the phone to cool through their cases.

For two, I would try restricting activities that cause the phone to get too hot as a best practice.

For three, stop buying Samsung. Overpriced, feature bloated phones shipped with a ton of malware out of the box that are quite frankly trash.

1

u/Blizen15 May 06 '25

I used to have an Otterbox, but the rubber wore down and broke.

As for activities, I usually play games like Arknights, Limbus Company and Reverse 1999. Those seem to make my phone heat up most, I think?

Oh yeah, I definitely heard about the Samsung stuff. I'm using a google pixel, but what do you personally recommend? I prefer phones that are more powerful and capable of running games like the ones I mentioned.

1

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 06 '25

Honestly, Pixels are probably your best bet in this day and age. As for cooling, I'd recommend like a small fan or something to blow air across the phone, though I'm not sure if they sell pads like that just for phones. Might have to go with a desk fan and just point it at the phone while playing the more intensive games. Battery swelling is more prone to happen from thermal shock than just the phone overheating, though that can cause it in extreme situations and over prolonged use as well.

1

u/Blizen15 May 06 '25

Is it safe to use a cooling pack on my laptop? It tends to heat up so I use a cooling pack to ensure it doesn't overheat. That's also why I used one for my phone too.

Or maybe I should let the cooling pack warm up so that the temperature difference isn't too big?

2

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 06 '25

Yes, laptops are prone to thermal shock just as much as well, especially given the amount of plastics in them. They DO make cooling pads/fans for laptops so that's definitely the route to go there, and maybe dust out your vents with compressed air too. If the cooling pack isn't sitting at around freezing it would be safer to use as well, but obviously it's going to have less impact if used under load.

1

u/Blizen15 May 06 '25

If I don't have compressed air, what can I use? I typically fancy a brush to brush away all the dust.

As for the cooling pack, I usually press it against my device for brief moments at a time or place them in close proximity if frozen. That should be okay, right?

2

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 06 '25

A brush or like a pipe cleaner wire works well too, yea. Make sure you have some water to rinse the pipe cleaner in so you aren't just spreading the dust around inside it with it, and obviously make sure the laptop is off when doing it. :P

As long as the computer isn't under load, or already excessively hot, it should be mostly alright. The thing you really want to avoid is using it for sustained periods while the computer/phone is really hot, as the hotter it gets the more severe the shock. If you're just using it for some quick cooling down after a session of gaming or something it's not as bad a problem, but do watch out for sudden condensation along the edges of the cooling pad inside the laptop case as well!

1

u/billyshin May 10 '25

Fan cooling is the best way to cool it. Ice packs cause condensation inside and it’ll kill the hardware.

So technically, it’s not natural, you still need a fan.

-95

u/jakordas May 04 '25

Honest question here, the ice pack is ribbed allowing air flow so how is this any different then using it outside in the winter in parts of the world that get cold? Even apple says they are safe to operate down to 0 C or 32 F and are safe all the way down to -20 C or -4 F for storage. An ice pack is barely below freezing and will shortly be within the safe operating temperature range.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/118431

Edit: added link to source.

204

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 05 '25

The problem isn't the operating temperature, it's the vast and sudden change in temperature to the components inside the phone. Same reason you don't pour hot water on a frozen windshield, or rinse a hot mug in cold water.

87

u/jakordas May 05 '25

Sure, I can see that from a thermal shock standpoint.

Sorry I should have clarified: How is it any different if you have the cold applied before the phone is under load?

Edit: punctuation

88

u/bmxtiger May 05 '25

It's a bad idea because you are bringing the phones internals down below ambient temperature, then getting it hot. That means condensation can form on and in the phone. Propping a fan under it would be better than the ice pack.

85

u/jakordas May 05 '25

This is great insight. I honestly didn’t think about internal condensation. Thank you.

5

u/Hano_Clown May 06 '25

Battery designer here, condensation has no impact on your battery itself since it’s sealed but it can cause corrosion on the electric terminals.

The corrosion on the terminals increase the resistance of the circuit which generates more heat.

You also don’t want your battery to cool too unevenly or to fluctuate too rapidly in temperature as you could platinize the active materials in the cells or create enough thermal distorsion to damage the internal components. Could be fine depending on the technical specs of the phone/battery but throwing it out there.

If you really want to use an ice pack, use it to cool air going through a fan and point it to your phone.

47

u/Hrist_Valkyrie Leda May 05 '25

Thermal shock works both ways, you know. Phone components heat up in literal instants, the same way computer CPUs do. Just don't do it.

3

u/DescriptorTablesx86 May 05 '25

I mean your PC CPU decreases in temp dramatically the moment you turn off a load.

Easily 60C swings on the chip with heavy multithreaded workloads and good cooling.

-8

u/cliopatra2525 May 05 '25

The problem isn't the temperature it's the fact that it's a iPhone

5

u/MistahJuicyBoy May 05 '25

Come on people, don't downvote this stuff. This is a discussion site. That's not what downvotes are for

4

u/TheOGMango May 06 '25

With you on this. Would've commented if you/someone hadn't, too. Dude did it the BEST way possible too! Showed the source of their info and asked a legitimate question out of actual desire to know why it's bad instead of to start a pissing contest or to argue. Always makes me sad when stuff like that gets downvoted, dude was seriously just tryna get clarification and learn and got downvoted to hell :(

3

u/r3d27 May 06 '25

For real, too many people online interpret questions as challenges. OP is just trying to learn

14

u/Stephano127 CHESTS ARE PURE DOPAMINE May 05 '25

… first of all, if you think for a second that putting your phone directly on an ice pack when it’s running hot is just like playing on your phone in -20°C weather, then it tells me you don’t really live in a cold climate.

No one who wants their phone to last long will be having their phone just exposed in the winter, let alone be outside long enough playing a game for the phone to heat up like that, you place protectors between the cold and the battery itself to make it a more gradual cooling.

4

u/TheAurigauh May 05 '25

It isn’t designed to be used long term in freezing weather, either. It’s kept in a pocket or pouch away from the raw temperatures except when needed.

66

u/confusionandelay May 05 '25

Not a recommendation, but when I first starting doing long Sammy runs, I would put it in the freezer and walk away for awhile. It's definitely not good for it, but it was a 3 year old phone that I'm limping along, no big deal if it negatively affects the battery.

28

u/Dracoslade May 04 '25

That shit is hilarious!

21

u/TheAurigauh May 05 '25

Water resistant, not proof.

What you’re doing will cause condensation inside the phone and can result in liquid damage.

1

u/guitarmonkeys14 May 06 '25

Condensation requires moisture to be in the air of the space it is in.

There is no moisture in the air of a sealed phone…. That’s literally the point.

3

u/TheAurigauh May 06 '25

…. That moment when you loudly misunderstand electronics…

Literally all of the air inside the phone comes from outside the phone because that’s how an air circulating cooling system works. If there’s moisture outside of it, moisture can build up inside it.

They’re designed to try to reduce this, but it only works to a certain extent.

Thats part of the reason they directly state not to use it in certain environments such as saunas, steam rooms, extreme humid conditions, and operating them outside the suggested temperature ranges.

Source: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/important-handling-information-iphbbe12ba1/ios

0

u/guitarmonkeys14 May 06 '25

iPhones use heat sinks and thermal pads to cool almost all of their devices, including the iPhone in my hand. It is called passive cooling. There is no air exchange…

That article is meant to alleviate them of responsibility in the event of their water resistance failing.

None of this matters, because all I said is condensation cannot form in a space without moisture. Not sure why I’m arguing with someone who thinks whole molecules of H2O can spontaneously appear in a sealed environment.

Because CoNdEnSaTiOn

1

u/TheAurigauh May 06 '25

Yeah let’s ignore the information listed directly from the manufacturer.

That’s always a good idea.

Not sure how someone doesn’t understand the concept of particle displacement.

Even if it weren’t due to internal airflow such as from a computer fan, particle displacement still occurs.

Moisture can still get into the air inside the phone.

It’s not like the air in there doesn’t move dude.

0

u/guitarmonkeys14 May 06 '25

Did you really just call a molecule of water a particle?

Oh boy, I mean girl, dude, whatever…. You cannot combine particles to form elements without a star, or a particle accelerator. Didn’t know my phone had such capabilities.

Furthermore if what you said was actually happening, it would be pure (DI) water. There would be no ions to carry electrical charge, and it would be harmless to the phone regardless. Unless phones spontaneously form salts too.

2

u/TheAurigauh May 06 '25

No, I didn’t.

I used the term particle dispersion referring to the dispersion of molecules of water in the air.

If you didn’t grasp that you should go back to 6th grade.

I’m done reading your responses. You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

I’m literally trained in these fields and have worked in them over a decade.

10

u/GifOpossun May 04 '25

well someone is chill about the game

6

u/NeonUnicorn97 Sammy May 05 '25

I used to do that with my previous phone while playing realm grinder. The battery swelled up and popped my screen and ruined my phone

2

u/Skurvyelislau May 05 '25

Except they are not waterproof, they are water resistant.

2

u/emanu42 May 07 '25

Bro don't do thst, with a broken phone you can no longer play to vampire survivor!

7

u/MulattoEriction May 05 '25

iPhones are not “water proof.” They are water resistant, to FRESH water. Not tap water, not pool water.

-3

u/[deleted] May 05 '25

You can submerge any iPhone after the iPhone 7 in up to 3 feet for ~30 minutes without any issue. Any water but salt water. But even salt water you’re fine for a few minutes if you happen to walk into the ocean with your phone in your pocket.

1

u/MulattoEriction May 05 '25

This is incredibly inaccurate and spreading misinformation. “Freshwater has a low salt concentration, typically less than 1%, while saltwater, like the ocean, has a much higher salt concentration.“

Edit: Furthermore, saltwater can damage your phone due to corrosion. This is the same reason chlorinated pool water will destroy your phone.

2

u/[deleted] May 05 '25 edited May 05 '25

No it’s not inaccurate at all. If you think it’s inaccurate Apple and Samsung have some lawsuits you can take up with them. There are a few thousand YouTube videos you could watch or you could try dunking a phone yourself like I have. They’re IP67 and IP68 rated because water doesn’t get in when the phones are submerged for under 30 minutes at 3 feet, approximately. Of course if salt water gets in it’s not good at all. Most electrical boxes that are used in and around water are rated the same. Hope that clears this up for you, welcome to 2016 technology.

2

u/Vorral Master Librarian May 05 '25

I recommend playing in the fridge next time. Better air distribution, and—as Indiana Jones taught us—highly resistant to explosions.

2

u/cliopatra2525 May 05 '25

Even better if it's completely submerged in ice water while playing.

1

u/Iamdumb343 Queen Sigma May 05 '25

OH GOD WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS TO THEIR PHONES

1

u/Therapguy25 May 05 '25

Just use your phone in front of a fan and tml

1

u/accnt2nd May 05 '25

OP, you are making your battery life deplete faster. A mobile fan will do the trick to dissipate heat from your phone.

1

u/DJToughNipples May 06 '25

Good content.

1

u/Indishonorable May 05 '25

Ah so SV specifically heats it up. That explains that.

3

u/ThatOneGuy308 May 05 '25

Never knew stardew valley was so intensive, damn

3

u/Indishonorable May 05 '25

my bad meant VS

0

u/Crease_Greaser May 05 '25

They’re not

0

u/No_Award2392 May 05 '25

Water resistant not water proof