This morning I walked outside, and it was still winter. Expected? Maybe. Disappointing, nonetheless. So, I did what I normally do: I cursed the heavens and went about my day. Going about my day, like a lot of people, includes using a mobile device that is powered by a lithium ion battery, has a touchscreen, and a lot of very sensitive electronics packed into them. If you’re like me, you’ll notice that using these devices in freezing temperatures doesn’t always allow them to work as normal. Whether it’s a cell phone, laptop, or fancy smart watch, certain precautions and preparations can be taken to make sure these devices continue to function.
The most common trait found in most mobile devices nowadays is they run on magic or batteries. If your device runs on magic, you’re good. If they run on, what are most likely, rechargeable lithium ion batteries there are some things you should know. First, cold weather kills your battery charge. When temps drop below freezing don’t expect your devices to live as long as they normally would — not even close. If you are out on the slopes for a few hours with your phone powered on, expect to drop a huge percentage of your battery life even if you’re not using it (especially on an older device). Your best bet is to keep it powered off until you need it. Even more importantly, say you forget your phone in your car overnight, and the next morning find that it’s ice cold and low on juice: DO NOT CHARGE IT … until you give it a chance to warm up. Charging a cold battery will significantly reduce maximum life, and even worse, it could severely damage the battery leading to battery death, or maybe your death, if it explodes at the wrong time.
Another element of modern-day devices that can be impacted by cold weather is the touch screen. There a few variations on touch screen technology, the most prevalent being capacitive touch. These screens can sense and locate a change in the electrostatic field caused by contact with your finger. Cold weather has little effect on capacitive touch screens themselves. This one is on us humans. When our fingers get cold they are not as conductive and don’t trigger the touch screens’ sensors as they should. Generally, these screens need to be very good at knowing when they are being touched and when they are not. And so they have been programmed to disregard electromagnetic “noise” in effort to avoid unintended input being accepted on the screen. If your finger’s electrostatic charge falls outside a certain range, it is no longer recognized as a “finger” by the touch screen and is ignored. It’s just some cold, fleshy, “not-a-finger”…thing. There are tons of reasonably priced capacitive gloves on the market that have a special layer of capacitive material on the on the fingertips that will work even when the temperature dips below freezing.
So, until Spring arrives, stay warm and keep your batteries healthy.