How a cold snap makes our smartphone batteries go flat

IF you think your mobile phone’s battery is running flat even faster than it usually does, the recent cold snap may be to blame.

Smartphones drain power faster in icy weather, according experts. Many Britons are likely to notice their battery is fading more quickly this week as temperatures plunge as low as -12C (10F).

Most smartphones are powered by lithium ion batteries which increase their internal electrical resistance as the temperature drops. This reduces their capacity and makes them less efficient.

The problem is worse for women, who tend to carry their mobiles in handbags, while men usually keep them close to their bodies in trouser or jacket pockets, so their handsets stay warm.

Most smartphones will start to use up power more quickly than usual as the temperature hovers around zero. However, some mobile phone batteries are so susceptible to the cold that when the outside temperature drops below zero, they last just half the time they would at normal room temperature – 21C (70F). Smartphones with LCD screens - including Apple’s top-selling iPhone - can also suffer problems with their displays in freezing weather. Colours on the screen may appear ‘smudged’, and pictures and text can leave faint impressions – known as ‘ghosting’ – after they have been read.

Rob Kerr, mobile phones expert at comparison website uSwitch said the best way to keep smartphones running smoothly during the current cold weather is to put them in a case and in a pocket.

‘If you buy a case for your phone, it won’t suffer from massive temperature drops because it is insulated,’ he said. ‘It is best next to a human body, a heat source.’