How to Prevent Your Pixel 6 From Overheating
Smartphones, like most computers, can overheat from time to time. This is especially problematic in hot sunny weather or when using resource-intensive applications and games. We’ve talked about general cooling solutions in the past, but when it comes to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, these tips may not be enough. These devices seem to overheat more than the average phone, and when your phone is over $900, you want it to perform better than the average.
Redditors took to the thread on r/googlepixel on Sunday to share their negative experiences with cooling solutions for their Pixel 6s (or lack thereof). User u/_Sway started the conversation by complaining that their Pixel 6 Pro gets significantly hotter when using a lot of mobile data, which has the added side effect of burning battery.
The discussion now features dozens of comments that echo similar sentiments and point out various issues, making it an interesting example of the many pixel overheating triggers. And if your Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro is getting excessively hot, you may want to consider the following fixes suggested by Redditors.
Disable 5G
5G is the latest and greatest cellular data solution and an important advantage for new phones including the 6 and 6 Pro. However, 5G can be taxing on the device, as many Pixel owners are discovering. If your device does not cool down when connected to 5G, consider disabling this feature and reverting to 4G LTE. To do this, go to Settings > Network & Internet > SIM cards > Preferred network type and select the next best option – 5G.
As one Redditor points out , you don’t have to disable a key smartphone feature to use the device the way you’d expect. They point to the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which, in their experience, doesn’t get hot when using 5G (and still offers good battery life). I agree. Google should do something about this problem. However, for now, a slight cap on your Pixel’s cellular connection may just be a way to cool it down.
Identify the problematic application
There may be an application on your Pixel that is causing the processor to crash for one reason or another. For this Redditor , that app was Reddit. They claim that using the official Reddit app made their Pixel noticeably hot for 10 minutes. After switching to an alternative Reddit app like Boost, everything was fine.
Keep this in mind if your Pixel gets warm when using any particular app. Hopefully whatever program you use has a lightweight alternative that can give you the same experience without the heat. If not, and this particular application is the only version of this program, try uninstalling and reinstalling it.
Perform a factory reset
If the two simpler solutions above don’t solve your problem, consider doing a factory reset. No one wants to erase their entire phone, but there is anecdotal evidence that a factory reset can help with overheating issues.
A full restore can often fix weird software issues for one reason or another. Your Pixel may be dealing with a strange bug, and installing a fresh copy of Android might fix it. But don’t forget to back up everything important on your Pixel before proceeding as a factory reset will delete all your data.