How to protect your phone in cold weather

by Sheeda Tali

Smartphones are not built for the extreme cold. But since that snowball fight didn't really happen unless you Instagrammed and tweeted it, here are some tips for using your device during the cold of this winter.

Cold Weather Touch Screen Tips

Freezing temperatures can also make a phone's glass surfaces more sensitive to cracks and breaks, especially if there's already a flaw or nick in any of the glass. There have been reports of the glass on the back of the iPhone shattering in extreme cold temperatures. In Finland, where the average high temperature in the winter is 1°C, the government Consumer Agency has warned citizens that the phones might suffer performance issues in the cold weather.

Prevent phone freeze

To keep phones from getting too chilly, don't leave them alone in the elements, like in a parked car. Stashing them inside pockets closest to your person, where they can absorb some of your body heat, is best. If you do need to leave it behind, turn the phone off instead of just putting it to sleep. Cases also help to keep phones warm. There are even cases especially built to regulate a phone's temperature in extreme situations.

Still a Kickstarter project, the dapper-looking Salt Case claims it refracts the heat given off by the device back to the phone to keep it warm in winter weather. It also adds on some additional layers of insulation. The makers say they based the technology on the thermally protective materials NASA developed for its space craft.

If you're depending on the phone to make outgoing calls in case of an emergency, say while driving on icy roads, keep a back-up power source with you.