It’s HOT outside. Don’t leave your loved ones in the car alone.

Hello Internet.

I took my dogs for a walk last night at our local dog park here in Olathe, Kansas and it was HOT out. All I could think about was the fact that my Husky/German Shepherd mix was panting the whole time; even more than me!

Don’t leave your dogs, kids – OR IPHONES – in the car on a hot day!

Poor Shadow had fun, but he was more interested in getting home and laying in front of the fan…and I didn’t blame him. He ran for a few miles then just pooped out.

The same can happen with your electronics, and we see this a lot at Mission Repair. Customers have even claimed that their phones cracked due to extreme heat.

Virtually all manufacturers data sheets will list both the minimum and maximum storage and operating temperatures for their internal parts. In fact, many parts will be available in multiple versions designed to operate in more strenuous environments.

So for example an integrated circuit (IC) may be available in the following versions:

Commercial 0 to 70°C.
Industrial -40 to +85°C.
Military -55 to +125°C.

Needless to say, the cost goes up with increased performance. There are even chips specified for use in outer space. So for example a chip which costs $2 in the “Commercial” grade might cost $2,000 for the version rated for outer space! (As you can guess, your Samsung Galaxy S5 isn’t rated for a moon walk, but that’s probably ok.)

Let’s talk about the iPhone for a minute. According to Apple:

Use iOS devices where the ambient temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F). Low- or high-temperature conditions might cause the device to change its behavior to regulate its temperature. Using an iOS device in very cold conditions outside of its operating range may temporarily shorten battery life and could cause the device to turn off. Battery life will return to normal when the device is brought back to higher ambient temperatures.

Store the device where the temperature is between -20º and 45º C (-4º to 113º F). Don’t leave the device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.

Remember that if it’s 87 degrees outside, it’s 132 degrees inside of your car on a hot clear day.

One needs to keep in mind that the temperature of the components is affected by two sources:

1) The temperature of the environment.
2) Self heating – some components generate a large amount of heat in operation, logic boards in phones are one example.

Please, don’t leave your expensive electronics in your hot car – especially when they are turned on – to avoid possible long-term damage and an extra trip into Mission Repair for a logic board repair. Oh yeah, don’t leave your “hot dog” in the car either, that’s just not fair.

Any questions? Give us a call 866-638-8402.

Take care, Ryan

Careful, that iPad is dangerous.

Hello friends, I received this email from a customer a few minutes ago – I want to preface that I’ve already asked the customer for permission to post the email here with a general reply to all of my customers in case it may help someone someday:

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“A few days ago I broke my iPad on the kitchen counter. The glass shattered into thousands of tiny little shards. I stupidly swept them into the garbage with my bare hand. I then, more stupidly, brushed my hands together to get rid of any pieces- forgetting that these were bits of glass that could get stuck in my skin. I seems that I got a piece in my finger.

It’s in my thumb, inside of a crease. It looks like a little bump, slightly raised and pink. If I push on it a certain way, it hurts. The little cut the glass made has already scabbed over.

If there is a glass in my hand, could I leave it in there for a few days? I really don’t have time to go to a hospital for a while- but of course, if it’s an emergency, I’ll do it. What should I do?”

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Firstly – we’re not doctors here at Mission Repair – but if you get a piece of glass in your hand, there are typically simple ways to remove it. While there may or may not be any long-term effects of “leaving” a piece of glass in your skin, I’d certainly say that there is an advantage to getting it out. It’s not supposed to be there, right? However:

What you can do (which we’ve seen multiple customers do) is to cover your broken iPad screen with tape to “stop” the shards of glass from getting into your hands. See the picture above as we received an iPad in this week from one such customer.

You can stop that iPad from being dangerous to an extent by covering it in overlapping clear tape. Typically, the device will still work (at least temporarily) so it gives our customers “time” to get down to see us or send the device into us.
Otherwise, keep you hands clear of the broken glass and all should be good. Any questions about iPad repair? Give us a call. Need medical help? Time to call the doctor!

Take care, Ryan