Desire In The Arctic

[saprolith]

I am travelling to northern Sweden next week for what will be the trip of a lifetime.

Temperatures will be down to -22 and below at night when I expect to be out looking for the Aurora Borealis and -13 during the day when I will be 'adventuring'.

I'm taking my reliable Panasonic FZ18 but the Desire will be in my pocket and I'll probably use it to capture some of the action in 720p.

I need a view on my plans to keep the battery warm to prevent the cold from killing it. I have a silicon case and plan on putting a slim handwarmer between the case and back of the phone.

Obviously they get hot, they do not indicate to what temp but do you think it'll be safe ?

 

[Phenomenological]

Keep it in a pocket close to your body, and don't use it for long periods at a time. Ditch the handwarmer idea, you'll very likely overheat the phone.

I also suggest keeping a spare camera battery warm in your pocket for when your main one inevitably runs out.

 

[DC E1G]

These temperatures aren't all that different than I get where I live. All I've ever done is just made sure never to leave the phone anywhere. Keeping it in your pocket next to your leg should keep it in the mid 20s.

The warmer might be a good idea, but I wouldn't put them in the case. I'd just keep them in case somehow your phone dips down to below 12 or 13 degrees.

Just keep an eye on the temperature of the phone. You can find this by typing *#*#4636#*#* into the dialer. You'll find the temperature under battery information.

 

[leeh1986]

It might be a funky way around it, but if you're rooted you could find a good overclock speed to keep the battery at a decent temp??

 

[saprolith]

These temperatures aren't all that different than I get where I live. All I've ever done is just made sure never to leave the phone anywhere. Keeping it in your pocket next to your leg should keep it in the mid 20s.

The warmer might be a good idea, but I wouldn't put them in the case. I'd just keep them in case somehow your phone dips down to below 12 or 13 degrees.

Just keep an eye on the temperature of the phone. You can find this by typing *#*#4636#*#* into the dialer. You'll find the temperature under battery information.

Thanks, I'll take your advice, seems wise.

 

[formicae]

These temperatures aren't all that different than I get where I live. All I've ever done is just made sure never to leave the phone anywhere. Keeping it in your pocket next to your leg should keep it in the mid 20s.

+1, I regularly use my phone at less than -20C; although I keep mine in my interior coat pocket. But yeah, I pull it out for calls and SMS, the occasional quick photo or video and it does fine. Your fingers will freeze before the phone does.

If anything the cold is good for the battery, think of all those people who store their laptop batteries in the freezer.

 

[DC E1G]

If anything the cold is good for the battery, think of all those people who store their laptop batteries in the freezer.

Actually, this does raise an interesting point. If you're really worried about the cold and don't plan on using or need your phone at all for a bit, pulling the battery out will allow it to handle the cold a bit better.

 

[Jason71]

I have used my desire on skiing trips without a problem (down to -10) . kept in in an inside pocket but used it quite a bit and even skied for a bit holding it to take video. As someone said your hand will get cold long before the phone cares. I couldn't compare battery life because I had data switched off and GPS switched on the whole time which is the opposite of what I usually do but it lasted the day with Satski set on maximum accuracy i.e GPS permanently on.