Can Cell Phones Survive in Extreme Cold Weather?

Whether you own a smartphone or a basic feature phone, you can easily find accessories for protecting your devices from bumps, falls and drops – simply a case or a snap-on cover will do the trick. But when it comes to a freezing environment, there is nothing we can do other than putting the phone inside our jacket pocket. Fortunately, according to a lab test initiated by Popular Mechanics, these small gadgets are in fact much more rugged and cold resistant than most people thought.

To find out how cold they can stand with, Popular Mechanics has put 6 basic cell phones from different manufacturers into a freezer with progressively lowering temperatures. Even though none of them was designed to withstand extreme weather or touted as a rugged handset, the results were pleasantly surprising.

The test began at 40 degrees F and the temperature was brought down by 10 degrees every 30 minutes. At 10 degrees, all 6 handsets still functioned normally despite of slight screen dimming and slow key response. But when the temperature dropped to -10 F, one of the Samsung phones started experiencing battery problems. Another 10 degrees, some models shut off, and the remaining handsets showed serious LCD and battery problems at minus 30. At minus 40 to minus 55 degrees F, 5 of the 6 phones stopped functioning.

Astonishingly, the experiment did not leave any apparent irreversible damage on the headsets. Once they are warmed back up to room temperature, they could be revived and all functionality returned.

The last phone standing was a Motorola KRZR. According to the magazine, it took 4 dips into a -314.7 F bucket of liquid nitrogen and a throw onto the floor before the phone became permanently damaged.

So it looks like we have underestimated the toughness of basic cell phones. At least now you know you can still count on your handset to make calls, text, take photos and perform other functions in frigid weather.

Tags: Cellular Case, Snap-on Covers, Silicon Skin Case, Samsung Accessories, Motorola Accessories, Motorola KRZR K1 Accessories, Motorola KRZR K1m Accessories