iPhone users who lob their device on charge overnight, Apple wants a word with you.
Yes, yes I am looking at you – and also myself. We’ve all been there; you get to the end of the day and your phone is out of battery.
Not daring risking it dying and leaving you with no alarm to wake you up for work in the morning, you plug it in next to you and leave it charging as you enter peaceful slumber.
Alas, those days are no longer quite as straight-forward, because Apple has warned against iPhone users making this a habit.
While you can breathe a sigh of relief that the tech giant hasn’t asked us to stop charging our phone overnight altogether, it has flagged that we need to make sure we’re not charging our phone somewhere where it’s going to overheat.
So, no more falling asleep while watching Netflix and your phone and charging cable ending up concealed under your duvet and blankets.
The warning explains charging an iPhone while it’s covered and unable to ventilate could result in injury.
The warning can be found in the ‘Important safety information for iPhone’ memo on the Apple website, and details how iPhone users should ‘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 also adds: “Sleeping or sitting on the charging cable or connector should be avoided.”
Yes, I’m looking at you (Getty Stock Images/ Westend61)
It continued: “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.”
Basically, just exercise caution (Getty Stock Images/ RgStudio)
And while falling asleep and your phone overheating and causing a fire might seem like a farfetched outcome – well, it’s not.
A firefighter from Kent Fire Rescue posted on TikTok to warn about the dangers of charging phones overnight.
Speaking on the social media platform, they warned: “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 start fires.”