iPhone 16 Plus Overheating - How to Cool It Down and Fix It

⚠️ Before You Start

Understanding the difference between warm and overheating is critical:

• Warm is normal. The iPhone 16 Plus gets noticeably warm during charging, gaming, video recording, GPS navigation, or immediately after restoring from backup. The aluminum frame acts as a heat sink — warmth means the thermal system is working.
• Overheating is not normal. If the phone is too hot to hold comfortably, if you see a "Temperature: iPhone needs to cool down" warning, if the camera flash is disabled, or if charging has paused due to heat, the phone is genuinely overheating.
• Never put your iPhone in a freezer or refrigerator. Rapid temperature changes cause condensation inside the phone, which leads to water damage. Let it cool down naturally at room temperature.
• Remove your case first. Many phone cases (especially thick silicone, leather, or battery cases) trap heat. Remove the case immediately if the phone is overheating.

🔧 What You Need

No tools or purchases required. All fixes in this guide are free software and behavioral adjustments. However, the following items can help prevent future overheating:

• A thin, breathable phone case — MagSafe-compatible cases with open sides allow better airflow. Shop thin iPhone 16 Plus cases on Amazon
• A phone cooling fan (optional) — clip-on semiconductor coolers can drop surface temperature by 10-15°F during gaming. Shop MagSafe cooling fans on Amazon

🛠️ Step-by-Step Fixes

Step 1: Immediate Cool-Down Procedure

If your iPhone 16 Plus is overheating right now, follow these steps immediately:

1. Remove the case entirely. Set it aside.
2. Disconnect the charger if the phone is plugged in. Charging generates additional heat.
3. Close all apps: Swipe up from the bottom and swipe away all open apps in the app switcher.
4. Turn off the screen by pressing the Side button once. Place the phone face-down on a cool, flat surface (a marble or stone countertop is ideal).
5. Do not use the phone for 5-10 minutes. Let it cool down passively.
6. If you see the temperature warning screen, the phone will cool itself by disabling features automatically. Wait until the warning clears before using it.

Fan trick: If you need to cool it faster, place the phone (without case) in front of a desk fan or in an air-conditioned room. Moving air dissipates heat much faster than still air.

Step 2: Identify and Close Battery-Hungry Apps

An app stuck in a processing loop or using excessive CPU is the most common cause of overheating. Here is how to find the culprit:

1. Go to Settings → Battery.
2. Scroll down to Battery Usage by App.
3. Look at the last 24 hours. Any app using more than 25-30% of battery is likely generating excessive heat.
4. Tap the app name to see if usage is mostly "On Screen" or "Background."
5. If an app has high Background activity, it is running processes even when you are not using it. This is a major heat source.
6. Force-close the offending app: swipe up from bottom, find the app card, swipe it up to close.

Common heat-generating apps: Navigation apps (Google Maps, Waze), video streaming (YouTube, Netflix at high quality), social media (TikTok, Instagram with camera), games (Genshin Impact, Fortnite), and video calling (FaceTime, Zoom).

Step 3: Disable Background App Refresh for Non-Essential Apps

Background App Refresh allows apps to update content even when you are not using them. Every background refresh uses CPU cycles, which generate heat.

1. Go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh.
2. You can turn it off entirely by tapping Background App Refresh at the top and selecting Off.
3. Or selectively disable it for apps you don't need real-time updates from (games, shopping apps, social media).
4. Keep it on for essential apps: email, messaging, weather, and navigation.

Step 4: Reduce Display and Connectivity Settings

The 6.7" OLED display and wireless radios are significant heat contributors. Reducing their demands helps:

1. Reduce brightness: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness and lower the slider. Enable Auto-Brightness under Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size.
2. Disable Always-On Display: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Always On Display and toggle it off. This stops the display from running 24/7.
3. Switch from 5G to LTE: Go to Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data Options → Voice & Data and select LTE. 5G radios consume more power and generate more heat, especially in areas with weak 5G coverage.
4. Turn off Bluetooth if not using it: go to Settings → Bluetooth and toggle off (not just from Control Center — that only disconnects temporarily).
5. Disable Wi-Fi Assist: Go to Settings → Cellular, scroll to the very bottom, and turn off Wi-Fi Assist. This prevents the phone from using cellular data when Wi-Fi is weak, which engages both radios simultaneously.

Step 5: Update iOS and Reset Settings

Software bugs can cause processes to run out of control, keeping the CPU at high utilization and generating heat.

1. Update iOS: Go to Settings → General → Software Update. Install any available update. Apple regularly releases fixes for thermal management bugs.
2. Reset all settings: If the phone is consistently overheating and you suspect a software issue, go to Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset All Settings. This resets all preferences (Wi-Fi passwords, display settings, etc.) without erasing apps or data.
3. Check for rogue processes: Restart the phone after resetting settings. A fresh restart kills any stuck background processes that may be driving up CPU temperature.

Step 6: Check Your Environment and Habits

External factors play a huge role in iPhone temperature:

• Direct sunlight: A black iPhone 16 Plus in direct sunlight can reach 120°F+ surface temperature within minutes. Never leave your phone on a car dashboard, at the beach, or in direct sun.
• Charging while using: Playing games or recording video while charging generates heat from both the CPU and the charging circuit. Avoid heavy use during charging.
• Thick cases: Rugged cases with multiple layers trap heat. Switch to a thin case or go caseless when doing intensive tasks.
• Car mounts near vents: If your car mount is near a heater vent, the hot air blows directly on the phone. Reposition the mount away from heat sources.
• Wireless charging generates more heat: MagSafe and Qi charging are inherently less efficient than wired charging and produce more waste heat. If overheating occurs during wireless charging, switch to wired USB-C charging.

💡 Pro Tips

• Low Power Mode is a cooling mode too. Enable it at Settings → Battery → Low Power Mode. It reduces CPU clock speed, disables background downloads, and stops automatic fetching — all of which reduce heat generation.
• After an iOS update or restore, heat is normal for 24-48 hours. The phone re-indexes photos, messages, and Spotlight search in the background. This is CPU-intensive and generates heat. Wait two days before troubleshooting further.
• Monitor with built-in tools: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Health. If maximum capacity is below 80%, the degraded battery itself can generate excess heat during charging.
• Airplane Mode is the ultimate cool-down: Turning on Airplane Mode disables all radios (cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS). Combined with closing all apps, this is the fastest way to cool an overheating phone.
• Video recording at 4K 60fps generates the most heat. The A18 chip works hard to encode high-resolution video. Switch to 1080p 30fps for longer recording sessions without overheating: Settings → Camera → Record Video.

🛠️ Need Professional Help?

If your iPhone 16 Plus overheats constantly even after following all the steps above — particularly if it overheats during light use like texting or browsing — there may be a hardware issue:

• Degraded or swollen battery: A failing battery generates excess heat during both use and charging. If the back glass or screen appears to bulge, stop using the phone immediately.
• Thermal paste or pad failure: The internal thermal interface material between the A18 chip and the heat spreader can degrade, reducing heat dissipation.
• Short circuit on logic board: Water damage or drop damage can cause micro-shorts that generate continuous heat even when the phone is idle.

PC Medics of NJ provides free thermal diagnostics for iPhone 16 Plus. We can identify whether the issue is a battery, logic board, or thermal management problem.

Call (856) 914-1074 or use our mail-in repair service. All repairs include a 90-day warranty with a typical turnaround of 3-5 business days.