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I have a Motorola Moto G3, and I find the phone keeps powering down in cold weather, and refuses to restart. When I turn it on again later inside in the warm it will still show plenty of charge. It makes it pretty useless on rides & walks in the hills. Do all Moto Gs do this?
My friends with Samsungs & iphones don't seem to have this issue. It is bugging me enough that I might just get a new phone!
I guess the second part to my question, is which phone up to £150-200ish should I get? The Moto g5 always gets recommended, - has anyone used this in the cold? I might just go for a cheapish Samsung instead.
If the battery is old it might just be on its last legs - can you get a new battery for it?
If you decide to upgrade then Moto G5S Plus or Moto X4 if you want to stick to Motorola, or if you want maximum bang-for-buck then a Xiaomi A1.
My iphone shuts down really quickly when it is cold.
It's fairly normal as the batteries age
Do all Moto Gs do this?
All batteries do it. I try and keep electronic devices close to my body for this reason.
If it's an old battery though it might be more knackered.
Yep the chemistry in the battery will be the issue, different phones may have a slightly different battery composition which will be optimal in certain situations, also how the phone handles the power levels in software will differ slightly.
I may just have spent 2 days at work talking about batteries...
iPhones certainly do shutdown if too cold - they seem to shut off if left at <0C for long periods*. However that shouldn’t stop you using one for most outdoor activities as (1) normally you will have the device in a pocket where body heat will keep it above the limit (but may be more of an issue if you keep it in an exposed pocket of a bag); (2) they don’t instantly drop in temperature when you pull them out to use and in fact become self heating when put to any meaningful use - you’ll have noticed that doing heavy processing like recording video warms the device up?.
however it is a reason not to rely on any electronic device as your only means of navigation in the wild.
*the only time I have actually seen this was when I left my phone on the ground outside on a frosty day. It seemed to shutdown after about an hour but on rewarming had 40% battery.
Had major issues with the battery on my phone on a very cold day in the Quantocks a couple of months ago! Battery is shagged though & me constantly taking it out for photos & to check ViewRanger obviously didn’t help. I bought some of those disposable hand warmers to keep in my pocket next to the phone although I’ve not been out in a situation to warrant it since so the theory remains untested!
garmin was absolutely fine in the same situation (thankfully!)
I never had a problem with my old G3, and my G5 worked fine for the OS app and some photies in the Lakes during the recent cold snap. It did start fully charged, I only used it for brief consults and I carried it in a trouser pocket so it wouldn't have taken the full brunt of the cold. According to MWIS it would have been -7c, and -24c with full wind exposure so it did OK I reckon.
My G3 does the same. Only ever happens out on the hills, I've taken to taking the gopro for taking pics, which is a shame as the G3 has a decent camera. I have a satphone for emergency calls so the potential lack of a phone when it's chilly isn't so much of an issue. Both gopro and satphone seem relatively unaffected by low temps.
I don't remember the G3 doing it in the first winter I had it, but it did it last year and it's even worse this year so it's probably related to age/condition of battery.
Keep it in your pocket...
LiPo batteries have effectively half their capacity in extreme cold (-20C) so keeping them warm inside your clothing helps a lot. Sounds like your battery is on the way out.
I managed to burn through 90% charge in an hour, just by having my garmin connected to my iphone the other week when it was -8, the cold really does affect the capacity.
thanks for all the advice. My experience is probably similarto Kenneththecurtain's - I don't remember it being this bad when the phone was new.
I need them to update this article with newer phones:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/249134/sub_zero_weather_can_your_smartphone_stand_the_cold_.html
Not sure whether to get a new battery or just get a new phone.
New battery.
I don’t remember it being this bad when the phone was new.
Batteries degrade with age, recharges, use and many other factors. Also no 2 batteries are the same off the production line as many factors impact the quality of construction. If you can replace the battery you will go back to day one ish performance.