Using a phone in the cold- solutions?

[badger132]

I use my iPhone with the Navionics app to navigate on the lake. I have a recess in the cowling of the snowmobile that it rides in perfectly. When it is below freezing, the battery goes down quickly, and if it is cold enough, it shuts down. I can put it in my coat and warm it back up, but does anyone have a solution for using these things out in the cold?

 

[Gills-only]

Inside pocket, where I keep mine, never went dead. But I’m not taking out and talking or texting all the time either, I’m there to fish

[tbern]

Hand warmer attached to the back of the phone?

[badger132]

Inside pocket, where I keep mine, never went dead. But I’m not taking out and talking or texting all the time either, I’m there to fish

I am hoping to use it as I drive around. I also attach it with a lanyard to the snowmobile, so leaving it in place all day would be easier. As an aside, Avionics uses a lot of power- it can kill my phone in a few hours. Even for summer fishing I had to wire a USB plug off my trolling battery to use it on the lake. For ice fishing I stack it in the dash with a power brick connected by a short cable. Having enough power is no longer the issue, but it still thinks it has low battery because of the temperature.

[ammondude]

If it is a recent iPhone, Apple makes some decent battery cases that you could use to recharge it after using it on the cold sled. They can be a bit pricey though. Otherwise, I'd try getting a reputable powerbank from Amazon that you can confirm will provide the current/voltage appropriate for your phone. We have had good luck with the Anker brand of powerbanks.

[badger132]

If it is a recent iPhone, Apple makes some decent battery cases that you could use to recharge it after using it on the cold sled. They can be a bit pricey though. Otherwise, I'd try getting a reputable powerbank from Amazon that you can confirm will provide the current/voltage appropriate for your phone. We have had good luck with the Anker brand of powerbanks.

I do use a power bank. As long as I am connected, it mostly works, but I tried to remove it from the power bank to snap a picture, and it died. If I move a lot, the residual heat from the snowmobile engine provides some protection, but when it got cold and I sat for an hour yesterday, it froze.

[KingPerch]

Hand warmer attached to the back of the phone?

x2....I put it in a plastic sandwich bag to help hold some heat in. Plus, you can still use the phone through the plastic.

[Kevin23]

Iphone? My Iphones were terrible in the cold. I do enough hunting/fishing in the cold that I just had to switch, couldn't take it anymore. My new samsung doesn't have any problems at all. I had it sitting next to me at -2 a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely fine, my buddy's iphone died in his pocket under his bibs in seconds. They just aren't made to be in the cold, not sure what you could do in your case.. other than have a good wind proof case on it and keep it in your pocket under your bibs, and hope it stays warm enough that it won't die on your next move. Maybe toss a handwarmer in your pocket with it. They don't really lose charge, they just think they do.. mine would always sit on 2% for hours until I got it warm and restarted it, then it would show the real level. If it dies, its too cold though.

[badger132]

It was not too cold yesterday, and I found that if I put my mittens over it on the cowling, it stayed warm enough to use when I moved. Not an ideal solution, but it seems that I might be able to rig something that insulated it and let some engine heat up from underneath to make it usable. Will be looking into the different phones though- seems like Apple is always catching up with the ruggedness of Samsungs.

[claymore6]

I purchased a "tether" from Amazon and clip the phone to my Striker bib. The tether has an insert that locks inside the phone case and has a loop to attach a cord or lanyard. It hangs down inside the bib and stays warm and easy to reach. It also totally eliminates the phone disappearing down the hole!

[Fisherman 1]

Using iphone in the cold and it dies,  don't go ice fishing.     I'll almost bet half the "connected" population would probably commit suicide if the internet and cell phone system went down for a week. 

[caldwellite]

Had the problem with cameras. I had Bucks Bags in Boise make a case I could place hand warmers around them. Your phone should be easy. The warmers worked to -30.

[Seamonkey84]

Get/make a small styrofoam box and make a clear window for it. Stick the phone and battery into it with a small hand warmer. Make a few small pin holes through the box to provide ventilation since the hand warmers need oxygen to work. Get some of the touch screen compatible plastic for the cover if you must.

[badger132]

I thought I should post the solution here. I have had the same phone for years, and the battery had degraded. The battery section in settings gave me a warning that the battery should be replaced. In hindsight, I should have noticed that I was barely making it through a day in the best case. I had a new battery put in at the local Apple store, and the phone now has 60-70% left at the end of the day.
The problem at cold temperatures is completely gone! I believe that an old, tired battery, in addition to less capacity, can produce less current. Cold is also known to reduce current capacity of the battery. The 2 things together were causing a problem. Getting a new battery with higher current capacity made the cold a non- issue. I can now drive to my Navionics waypoints with the phone in a bracket on my dash with no issue.