My iPhone seems to shut itself off when it's cold out.

I read somewhere on this board where someone uses a toe warmer in a little box to keep their phone warm.

I looked for a base layer shirt with a zipper pocket that would hold a phone. Hoped to use my body heat to warm the phone. But, I couldn't find one.

I bought this neck wallet instead. It fits my phone, and the material seems thin enough to allow my body heat to pass through. But, that really won't work for a camera. (ok, it's a purse, fine).

I was wondering what people do to keep electronics warm when it is very cold - or if I am the only one with this problem?

I am eager to hear what others do as well. I did find a shirt at REI with a zipper chest pocket (search men's>fitness and there are several). I would keep my iphone, battery from my nikon, and contact lens solution in there at all times. I put all in a sandwich bag to keep body moisture out when active. Glad to find ways to improve.

When I can, I use lithium batteries. If not, use a lanyard around your neck and just drop it inside your t-shirt.
Speaking of iPhones, the battery in my 4s is about done. I didn't realize that I can change it myself (after I bought a little tool kit) and the battery is only $15.

I usually keep my phone in a chest pocket of my Patagonia R1 shirt so it stays warm from body heat.

Leave them at home:)

quote motdur: "Leave them at home:)"

Yeah. A shirt with a zipper pocket doesn't belong in the wilderness. Sheesh! Next, they'll be putting zippers on pants. All in the name of progress... Heathens.

quote OldFingers57: "I usually keep my phone in a chest pocket of my Patagonia R1 shirt so it stays warm from body heat. "

That R1 shirt, and R1 hoody look very interesting. Has the pocket, plus a turtleneck (which solves another cold weather problem). Expensive - might have to wait for the mid-February Patagonia 50% off sale.

quote NotLight: "

quote OldFingers57: "I usually keep my phone in a chest pocket of my Patagonia R1 shirt so it stays warm from body heat. "

That R1 shirt, and R1 hoody look very interesting. Has the pocket, plus a turtleneck (which solves another cold weather problem). Expensive - might have to wait for the mid-February Patagonia 50% off sale.




"

I've gotten all of mine off of ebay and never paid more than $35-40 for them. I wear these shirts everyday during the winter over a Patagonia Capilene 2 or 3 or a Smartwool shirt.

quote motdur: "Leave them at home:)"

My wife likes me to take my phone with me when I go out snowshoeing for the day by myself. Just in case something happens and I need help.

I have the same problem.
I go with re-usable hand warmers in the same outside pocket as my phone when I go skiing. The reusable warmers aren't as hot as the chemical ones (because you reheat them yourself using hot water), and they keep the phone just warm enough for a couple of hours to keep it working for a couple of pictures and to run my fitness app.
I like to keep it in the outside pocket because it's just a pain to access if you bury it in an inner layer.

yet another reason not to buy one of these things, they must really be a piece of crap if they don't work in the cold without worrying about how to keep them warm

I would take and make a small stuff sack that can be hung around your neck, and keep it between a couple of the outer layers. If it is kept to close to the skin it will have condensation when you bring it out to use.

quote Zara Sp00k: "yet another reason not to buy one of these things, they must really be a piece of crap if they don't work in the cold without worrying about how to keep them warm"

That's sort of how electronics in general are affected by the cold. It's not a question of whether or not any given unit is a "piece of crap", it's a simple truth that if you do not keep electronics reasonably warm their performance will suffer, typically to the point of failure.

engineer 40 years
if they design a piece of handheld electronics that doesn't work in MN weather without special consideration by the user, it's a piece of crap, I wouldn't own it or use it
... but if it's good enough for you

I would agree with you if we were talking about a battery powered ice auger or some similar device that was clearly designed to work in a cold environment, but I don't think the average iphone engineer's target audience is a backcountry camper in MN. I own professional quality camera gear and I wouldn't consider the equipment faulty or poorly engineered simply because I need to give it some special consideration when used in cold weather, in other words, it is in fact "good enough for me". Perhaps we'll just have to agree to disagree.

The neck bag is working great, albeit it's been 20 degrees
or better all weekend. It seems good to have the
breathable one because with the warmth and
snow the phone seems like it would otherwise
collect moisture.

iphone bwca pics from right now

my GPS is good to -36F
products can be designed to be used outdoors and survive the cold
or not, depending on how cheaply the designer is attempting to make it
perhaps me calling it a piece of crap is a bit harsh, but it is truthful

I'd have to look it up, but I believe the storage temp is 20-30F below that

when I was camping in -25F weather, I put all my electronics in the foot of my sleeping bag, it is possible for them to go bad because the coefficient of thermal expansion of the different materials within could cause a permanent problem, IOW it won't work again

I have never had a piece of electronics stop working because of the cold

I simply wear my camera around my neck inside my jacket, or in an external pocket. If you put the device in something to keep warm, you are also insulating it from your body heat, which is the heat source that will keep it above its lowest operating temperature, most electronics isn't going to be out in the cold long enough to be affected by the cold except for you people who always have the device in your ear or nose buried in it so protecting it with something is counterproductive.

i put cell phone in an inside pocket

if you use your head and have a little understanding, there is no need for special consideration for equipment in the areas this forum covers, the people that go much farther north, it is different story

I looked a little bit at different battery technologies and temperature ranges on the web and on all my gadget manuals.

The iphone lithium-polymer batteries are about the worst as far as cold temperature performance. You aren't supposed to charge or discharge the iphone below 32F. Plus, the battery capacity is maybe 20-40% reduced at even those temperatures.

My Delorme Inreach, Samsung and Nokia phones, and 18650 lithium battery devices, all seem to require charging above 32F, but can be discharged at -4F. At -4F, the battery capacity seems to be only half of what it is at 32F, and the battery capacity drops off after that pretty fast. I think the ACR ResQlink specs are similar when I looked at their website.

The energizer ultimate lithiums seem to do about the best, and will deliver full capacity at -4F. But, the capacity drops off pretty fast after that.

Alkalines seem to work to about 14F, but only have about 10-20% of their capacity there, and only about half their capacity at 32F.

The unique thing about the Samsung Galaxy phones is that they use an organic LED display and not a liquid crystal display. Since there is no liquid, these display screens seem to work better in the cold. So, that Samsung Galaxy seems to be the better device for cold temperature use. It will work to -4F maybe. But, at half battery capacity. And, to recharge it you'd want 32F.

So, it seems like there are much better devices than the iphone for the cold. Seems like most of those still lose battery capacity below 32F and crap out about -4F, so it does seem like you'd want to keep them in a pocket below maybe 10F or so.

quote OldFingers57: "I usually keep my phone in a chest pocket of my Patagonia R1 shirt so it stays warm from body heat. "

I've been wearing my R1 shirt all winter biking and skiing, and it works great. (Got it on summer clearance.) Incredibly breathable for how warm and thick it is. And the chest pocket works great. My only problem now, is that my mid layer isn't breathable enough. Also, I kind of wish the inside of the pocket had a bit of a liner, as my phone/camera will get some moisture on them if I am working hard.

Get yourself one of these. Lots of handy chest pockets.

Camp Coat

quote redoleary: "I would agree with you if we were talking about a battery powered ice auger or some similar device that was clearly designed to work in a cold environment, but I don't think the average iphone engineer's target audience is a backcountry camper in MN. I own professional quality camera gear and I wouldn't consider the equipment faulty or poorly engineered simply because I need to give it some special consideration when used in cold weather, in other words, it is in fact "good enough for me". Perhaps we'll just have to agree to disagree."

I was wondering what I should do about my Nikon coolpix camera? I can keep the battery warm, but should I be concerned about the LCD crystals in the camera freezing and being ruined by the cold? What specifically do you do to care for camera equipment in harsh weather?

quote CosmicCharlie: "

quote redoleary: "I would agree with you if we were talking about a battery powered ice auger or some similar device that was clearly designed to work in a cold environment, but I don't think the average iphone engineer's target audience is a backcountry camper in MN. I own professional quality camera gear and I wouldn't consider the equipment faulty or poorly engineered simply because I need to give it some special consideration when used in cold weather, in other words, it is in fact "good enough for me". Perhaps we'll just have to agree to disagree."

I was wondering what I should do about my Nikon coolpix camera? I can keep the battery warm, but should I be concerned about the LCD crystals in the camera freezing and being ruined by the cold? What specifically do you do to care for camera equipment in harsh weather? "

I bought a leather camera case with a strap for my little Sony point and shoot. I wear it around my neck under my jacket. Overpriced, but I love it. Not sure what you do with a huge camera.

I was winter camping last weekend in the bitter cold. Cameras, phones, anything with a battery had some issues unless you could keep the battery warm. It's a battery issue, not the electronics. The key is to keep the battery from freezing.

As you mentioned in your OP, my solution was to keep a chemical hand warmer in my camera case which I carried around my neck and tucked inside my jacket. I kept the camera and warmer separated with a microfiber lens cloth.

It kept the battery ready to use in -20+ temps and would allow me a half hour to 45 minutes of use before I had to pack it back up to let the battery warm.

Another guy in our party had two batteries for his camera and always kept one in his mitten. When one froze up, he'd swap them out. Practical for a camera, not so practical for a phone.