If you’re one of the many iPhone users who leave their device charging overnight, Apple has something to say to you.
This is a scenario familiar to many: your phone battery is low by day’s end, and you don’t want to risk it dying overnight, especially since it serves as your alarm. So, you connect it to the charger and let it power up as you drift off to sleep.
However, Apple advises against making this a regular routine. While the company isn’t suggesting that you stop overnight charging entirely, it emphasizes ensuring your phone isn’t in a position where it could overheat.
So, it’s time to stop letting your phone and charging cable end up hidden under your blankets as you doze off while watching Netflix.
Apple warns that charging an iPhone while it is covered and lacks proper ventilation may lead to injury.
This warning is outlined in the ‘Important safety information for iPhone’ section on Apple’s website. It advises users to ‘avoid prolonged skin contact with the charging cable and connector when the charging cable is connected to a power source because it may cause discomfort or injury’.
The memo further states: “Sleeping or sitting on the charging cable or connector should be avoided.”
It continues by advising: “Use common sense to avoid situations where your skin is in contact with a device, its power adapter, or a wireless charger when it’s operating or connected to a power source for long periods of time.
“For example, don’t sleep on a device, power adapter, or wireless charger, or place them under a blanket, pillow, or your body, when it’s connected to a power source.
“Keep your iPhone, the power adapter, and any wireless charger in a well-ventilated area when in use or charging. Take special care if you have a physical condition that affects your ability to detect heat against the body.”
While the thought of your phone overheating and causing a fire as you sleep might sound exaggerated, it’s a legitimate concern.
A firefighter from Kent Fire Rescue highlighted this issue on TikTok, cautioning against the practice of charging phones overnight. On the platform, they explained: “We get a lot of questions here at Kent Fire Rescue about why you shouldn’t charge phones overnight. So here are the reasons why.
“Number one: you can’t smell anything when you’re asleep, so if it starts to burn, the fire won’t wake you up.
“Number two: it only takes three breaths, right, to knock you unconscious.
“Number three: lots of people have cheap or faulty phone chargers, or even genuine ones have been known to start fires.”