Database Users

[Q] Phone gets warm/Heat issues -- normal or RMA?

I need someone to tell me if my phone should be RMA-ed or not.
Got my phone last week, currently running stock, rooted, deodexed ROM (from here). Have turned on 'Force GPU rendering' (under dev options). No other tweaks/mods (so far). Phone is GREAT in every way, except..
The phone tends to get really warm when I'm casually using it -- for e.g. browsing on Chrome for more than 10-15 minutes, or am doing something on Twitter etc. I just installed System Tuner and the phone went to 43-44 C when I was using the XDA app right now. The phone gets *very* warm when playing games on it (which I can finally do on my phone!). I'll post a follow-up to this with some temperatures for different apps/games soon.
My house is in a area of pretty poor T-Mob network, and my phone is on HSPA mode (not 2G), so I assume it gets warm during calls due to the poor network.
As a note, both the back and the front of the phone get warm, and the warmth is mostly localized to the top half of the screen.
Have been looking for a few days on XDA/elsewhere, and some people say they've not seen *any* warming. Some say its pretty standard on stock kernel.
What is the consensus? Is this fairly normal for this phone -- given the build and high-end specs ? Will simply flashing an undervolted, underclocked kernel "fix" the warmth issue (e.g. matr1x)?
Any thoughts/tips would be much appreciated.

The Nexus 4 is badly designed thermal-wise. Enough that the SoC ends up getting too hot and is throttled. It's why the Nexus 4 performs worse than the iPhone 5, Optimus G, and Note II in spite of a beefy processor. It only does well in a freezer.

There are remedies for this, you can flash custom roms and kernels and tweak until your device works to your liking. I mean, this is a nexus device after all

The phone getting warm is normal. No need for a RMA the next one will get warm too.
Sent from my Nexus 4

Yeah I'm also experiencing these "issues". Are there at remedies? I have PA and matrix kernal installed but it still gets really warm 40+ °C when gaming.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

ijeff said:
The Nexus 4 is badly designed thermal-wise. Enough that the SoC ends up getting too hot and is throttled. It's why the Nexus 4 performs worse than the iPhone 5, Optimus G, and Note II in spite of a beefy processor. It only does well in a freezer.
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My Nexus 4 at room temperature gets results as good as Anandtech's Nexus 4 in the freezer (and by extension, as good as the Optimus G and slightly better than the iPhone 5). The Nexus 4's thermal design seems fine - I would expect a phone with a 4+ watt S4 Pro to get warm. I would be more concerned about it NOT getting warm, since that means a lot of heat is being trapped inside. Perhaps Anandtech's review unit has that problem.

kcuartero said:
Yeah I'm also experiencing these "issues". Are there at remedies? I have PA and matrix kernal installed but it still gets really warm 40+ °C when gaming.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Liquid nitrogen cooling system

If it makes any difference my first n4 did heat up from time to time but the replacement I got hasn't given me any problems whatsoever
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Here are the temps I've seen since my post (using System Tuner) :
Idle: 36-37C
Charging: 45 C
XDA/Gmail (15 mins reading): 47-50 C
Chrome (5 mins): 50 C, (and 51 while multi-tasking just now.)
Navigation/music: 44-45 C
Based on responses, I guess these are somewhat to be expected? Debating whether to try playing with the kernel, or try my luck with a replacement..
--
Sent from my Nexus 4

kcuartero said:
Yeah I'm also experiencing these "issues". Are there at remedies? I have PA and matrix kernal installed but it still gets really warm 40+ °C when gaming.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this mean that during non-gaming use, your phone is much cooler than what I'm seeing? Guess I should try flashing matr1x then...
--
Sent from my Nexus 4

satishev said:
Here are the temps I've seen since my post (using System Tuner) :
Idle: 36-37C
Charging: 45 C
XDA/Gmail (15 mins reading): 47-50 C
Chrome (5 mins): 50 C, (and 51 while multi-tasking just now.)
Navigation/music: 44-45 C
Based on responses, I guess these are somewhat to be expected? Debating whether to try playing with the kernel, or try my luck with a replacement..
--
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is nearly identical to my temps.

satishev said:
Does this mean that during non-gaming use, your phone is much cooler than what I'm seeing? Guess I should try flashing matr1x then...
Sent from my Nexus 4
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yeah, when i'm not gaming. normal temps are around 33C

15 minutes of playing Arcane Legends I hit about 64 C. Anyone else getting temps like this while gaming? Could this be a RMA case?

[Q] Nexus 4 hits 122 degrees!??

Hello,
is it normal that my Nexus 4 hits 50° Celsius (thats 122° Fahrenheit)?
I was just playing that 10 fast fingers app and it seemed like a light app so I was pretty surprised how hot it got and downloaded a temperature widget...
Any opinions? Did your device get so hot? Should I ask for a replacement?

Sounds fine to me? The glass doesn't block heat transference, so people really notice it a lot on this device. When you get above 65°C is when I'd start to worry.

estallings15 said:
Sounds fine to me? The glass doesn't block heat transference, so people really notice it a lot on this device. When you get above 65°C is when I'd start to worry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would have surely gotten some blisters if I kept my hands on it guess its normal but a bit of a crazy standard as the phone was only running a very simple app (nothing 3d or anything only checking typing speed)
maybe anyone else has something to say about this? i'd like a second opinion if possible

Was the temp on the CPU or the battery?

estallings15 said:
Was the temp on the CPU or the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the app shows the cpu temp
don't know what the temp on the battery was but the source of the heat was definitely the cpu

ruzkay said:
the app shows the cpu temp
don't know what the temp on the battery was but the source of the heat was definitely the cpu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CPU creates the heat and much of it is transferred to the battery. One theory is that these phones throttle so quickly to prolong the life of the battery. I think they shut off at 70°

Are you on stock kernel? Try franco, he addressed this issue in his code. If you search his thread you will find useful info.

50 is fine. Desktop and laptops can often run up to 90 degrees Celsius. Also, you can't get blister from something that's 50 degrees.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

I have try both Franco and matrix kernels and they don't stop hot. Phone battery still 40+- degrees by Celsius. Up parts of phone hot and is not nice feeling keep it at hand. May be is some ideas how make phone more colder. Hu use cm or other roms? How it hot?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Help am s4 heating up

while playing games my phone is heating up is it normal ?

What kind of games?

Yes. It is normal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Simple with 30mb game it heats up like anything i have a option to replace the phone should i go for it ?

Ya mine heats up with just normal stuff. I don't play games on mine.
It cools down after a bit of non use, but it makes me wonder being as my Note 2 didn't get warm if I should exchange mine also.

mine only gets hot when i am charging it from the wall charger. the charger plugged into the wall is hot when i touch it also. doesnt get hot when charging from pc.

Overheating and throttling was big issue on Korean tech community/blog S4 reviews (exynos variant). Sammy responded immediately and released new firmware like a week later. It solved everything, way lower temperature and even faster. I think something with Touchwiz or driver related thing got messed up and casuing problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

so what should i do

Throw it on the floor and run for safety! Lol
No dont do that. That's normal I had the same problem with my s3. Get this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sanels.tempcpuv2
If it goes above 40 degrees Celsius return the phone.usually 30 degrees is normal while not doing anything
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

_MrAwesome_ said:
Throw it on the floor and run for safety! Lol
No dont do that. That's normal I had the same problem with my s3. Get this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sanels.tempcpuv2
If it goes above 40 degrees Celsius return the phone.usually 30 degrees is normal while not doing anything
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all.
I create i file to find a common cause because i think that not all s4 have this problem.
Compile this form if you want help us.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aom5-WSBReGqdDhqWTJYWGRLSVZnZGE1WVgzdzVHaGc&usp=sharing
Is in italian, with google translate is easy to understand what you have to insert.
I hope to receive help from this powerful forum.
Share this ink with other forum if you can
Thank you!

_MrAwesome_ said:
Throw it on the floor and run for safety! Lol
No dont do that. That's normal I had the same problem with my s3. Get this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sanels.tempcpuv2
If it goes above 40 degrees Celsius return the phone.usually 30 degrees is normal while not doing anything
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
40 is extremely low of a temperature in my experience. Even on AOSP which is less demanding than TW, I run at ~50. Even had it up at about 68 when driving with screen on while using navigation.

Hi all.
I create i file to find a common cause because i think that not all s4 have this problem.
Compile this form if you want help us.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aom5-WSBReGqdDhqWTJYWGRLSVZnZGE1WVgzdzVHaGc&usp=sharing
Is in italian, with google translate is easy to understand what you have to insert.
I hope to receive help from this powerful forum.
Share this ink with other forum if you can
Thank you!

CamFlawless said:
40 is extremely low of a temperature in my experience. Even on AOSP which is less demanding than TW, I run at ~50. Even had it up at about 68 when driving with screen on while using navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
talking 40 Celsius

_MrAwesome_ said:
talking 40 Celsius
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As am I. I'm only streaming music via bluetooth and I'm sitting at 45 Celsius. Like I said, I was at 65+ when navigating via gps with the screen on.
I definitely don't need to return my device either.

[Q] Hot during calls

For some odd reason, the phone gets very hot while I am on a call. It doesn't happen all the time though. Calls are quite short (no more than 10 min).
Can anybody shed some light as to how to fix this glitch?
Cheers!

Try a different kernel and set the threshold really low. Recommend Franco. Also what's your exact temp?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

42.2C
Sent from my Nexus 4

texaslittleangel said:
42.2C
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats not really hot, warm maybe, hot no. your body temp is 37C, water boils at sea level at 100C.

simms22 said:
thats not really hot, warm maybe, hot no. your body temp is 37C, water boils at sea level at 100C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But is it normal for it to get to that temperature in 5 min?

texaslittleangel said:
But is it normal for it to get to that temperature in 5 min?
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Click to collapse
yes. depending on the background temperature too, and youre keeping it insulated in your hand.. if it was the middle of winter in new york city, and you were outside talking on the phone, it wouldnt ever reach that temp. but when its warmer, it can get there fast.

texaslittleangel said:
42.2C
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's extremely cool and normal, no worries. But I have hit CPU shutdown limit (90° C) because it was to hot. Here's a screenshot I took before it shutdown.
Edit: I was gaming while charging on 3g and this was in Illinois like a month ago so weather wasn't hot. Lol I didn't know after my fingers started burning I needed to cool this phone down
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

gravitysandwich said:
That's extremely cool and normal, no worries. But I have hit CPU shutdown limit (90° C) because it was to hot. Here's a screenshot I took before it shutdown.
Edit: I was gaming while charging on 3g and this was in Illinois like a month ago so weather wasn't hot. Lol I didn't know after my fingers started burning I needed to cool this phone down
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
gaming while charging can do it. so can streaming a flash movie while charging. plus your battery will get very hot.

Mine was just a phone call hence why I thought it was a bit too much for 5 min. I don't usually give the phone heavy use and it normally remains pretty cool. I might just still change the kernel

Is yours getting hot fast?

Mine was getting warm from the start. Thought it was lack of SIM, put that in and made some adjustments and its getting pretty darn hot... Am I alone on this?

When I first got it and put it on the fast charger and was playing with it. I noticed same thing it felt really warm even after i had it off the charger, but today I have not experienced the same. I have been using it pretty regularly but have not had it on the charger or played any games (at work) so I will report back once I do
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Good to know I'm not alone. Good thing I got this at BB. If it's just a small percentage maybe I can just swap it out. It feels about 100 degrees + right now. So I'm using my tablet. I don't want to unlock bootloader until I know for sure.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using XDA Free mobile app

Bump. More than 2 people on here have this phone, right?
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) using XDA Free mobile app

Wanted to let everyone know it does cool down a lot after charging to 100%. You will receive it at about 35% and it gets hot fast. Idk why, even with SIM... It adjusts though and can't wait for a recovery to root!
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

Could be the sar levels making your hands hot. I think the sar levels are high on this phone.

BoboBrazil said:
Could be the sar levels making your hands hot. I think the sar levels are high on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would sar level make hands hot or impact the battery, seems strange

And what is Sars ha-ha, in 5 years never heard of that, other than the disease!
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

So it's Radiation? Wow thought that was only minor.. From what I read its a big deal. Nexus 6 was pretty high, but iPhone was .1 away from legal limit!
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

nikeman513 said:
So it's Radiation? Wow thought that was only minor.. From what I read its a big deal. Nexus 6 was pretty high, but iPhone was .1 away from legal limit!
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I always wondered why my ear glowed the the dark after using my phone.

@Fantach read up on SARS levels on phones. It also makes the area of the body warm.

I plugged mine in with the Turbo charger when I got it (was at 43%) and did all the downloading and updating apps. It felt pretty hot, so I checked it with Gsam battery and it was 118 degrees. That's hotter than my M9 gets doing the same thing, but the M9 stays hot longer.
After it reached 100% (which was pretty fast), it cooled down pretty quick... It also didn't take too long to get back down to 70% (maybe 3 hours). Standby time is pretty good, but SOT seems to drain the battery pretty quick. But this is a new phone (basically a new ROM flash) and will settle in a few days and I expect to see better battery stats.

BoboBrazil said:
@Fantach read up on SARS levels on phones. It also makes the area of the body warm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard about the high radiation on motorola devices but now the heat, if true

Fantach said:
I heard about the high radiation on motorola devices but now the heat, if true
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Click to collapse
Heat is 100% fine. And Motorola Nexus 6 was a lot lower than iPhone.... Like myself and 2 other guys said. It's like the phone adjusts. It gets very hot AT FIRST, then it drastically cools down. Did an Antutu and it didn't even heat up. I swear, heat isn't an issue.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

nikeman513 said:
Heat is 100% fine. And Motorola Nexus 6 was a lot lower than iPhone.... Like myself and 2 other guys said. It's like the phone adjusts. It gets very hot AT FIRST, then it drastically cools down. Did an Antutu and it didn't even heat up. I swear, heat isn't an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your clarification, i feel much better now :victory:

Mine got hot today as well. It was downloading my apps. A little more past 100 apps from the Play Store. It's not a constant issue since I have been using the MXP

I've had this phone for 3 days and it has not calmed down. Still gets hot and this screen destroys battery time. It has nice standby but when the screen is a battery hog. The temps get high with any real usage. My Nexus 6 has been much better with temps and battery. Wondering if it's a bad faulty batch or if this is the processor/screen.
It's a shame because this phone is a dream besides all that. But I am suspect to keeping this with the overheat and battery drain.

sillyphillie said:
I've had this phone for 3 days and it has not calmed down. Still gets hot and this screen destroys battery time. The temps get high with any real usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you try this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yanyan.cputemp and inform us about your cpu and battery temperature when it gets hot on regular usage (no gaming).
I encourage others to do the same so we could see what are we dealing with, thank you :fingers-crossed:

I will install. FYI... I don't game.

sillyphillie said:
I will install. FYI... I don't game.
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Click to collapse
It's yours, I haven't had problems since the first couple hours. My benchmarks have been above average than others, so I might have a better build than most though...
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app