Help Overheating DX2

[Thefoodman52]

...I really think this temp is not possible and no offense to the person reporting it. Temperature impact to electronics like this is exponential, so a HUGE difference.

No offense taken amigo! That's what it read (well, thats what it showed) and my first thought was "Whoop hoo hoo! **** DON'T DIE!!" at which point I almost literally ripped the battery out. It was ... not exactly painfully hot, but it was fairly uncomfortable to have my fingers sitting on the bottom of the phone.

Again, that's what it read, and I'm not gonna openly retry to get a reproduction of the same temperature reading.
I have seen a temp of 130 on my evo on a broiling day during summer when I first got it. (Left it locked in a car sitting directly in the sun, plugged in on the charger the whole time nonetheless.) It was highly unresponsive and was a brick until it cooled down for about an hour.

Come to think of it, I probably should re read what I posted. My non-sense filter must be overheating like my phone... lol. I don't doubt it was around 120 or so when I yanked it out though.

 

[rushmore]

No offense taken amigo! That's what it read (well, thats what it showed) and my first thought was "Whoop hoo hoo! **** DON'T DIE!!" at which point I almost literally ripped the battery out. It was ... not exactly painfully hot, but it was fairly uncomfortable to have my fingers sitting on the bottom of the phone.

Again, that's what it read, and I'm not gonna openly retry to get a reproduction of the same temperature reading.
I have seen a temp of 130 on my evo on a broiling day during summer when I first got it. (Left it locked in a car sitting directly in the sun, plugged in on the charger the whole time nonetheless.) It was highly unresponsive and was a brick until it cooled down for about an hour.

Come to think of it, I probably should re read what I posted. My non-sense filter must be overheating like my phone... lol. I don't doubt it was around 120 or so when I yanked it out though.

Good point about ambient temps since are a big deal. 150 is REALLY hot, so the reading may have been borked... due to the heat.

 

[jinwons]

I also doubt it was really 150 degrees. At that temperature, some electronic components will fail to work. But even 120 degrees is bad enough. Whatever the cause is it's really frustrating issue whether it's flash related or not. If that can be fixed with firmware update or GB, it's great. But that remains to be seen.
Right now, Motorola seems to favor TI OMAP4 as sources indicate that processor in Droid 3, Bionic. So I'm not sure if I will get Tegra2 device or not.

 

[rushmore]

I also doubt it was really 150 degrees. At that temperature, some electronic components will fail to work. But even 120 degrees is bad enough. Whatever the cause is it's really frustrating issue whether it's flash related or not. If that can be fixed with firmware update or GB, it's great. But that remains to be seen.
Right now, Motorola seems to favor TI OMAP4 as sources indicate that processor in Droid 3, Bionic. So I'm not sure if I will get Tegra2 device or not.

Though I could wait until late summer for another decent dual core, sadly, I have gotten used to too many things the Incredible did not have:

1. Nicer, big enough display (any bigger would be too big)
2. Can see it in the sunlight
3. MUCH better call quality
4. A lot faster
5. Better touch response
6. Better battery life, with much better power management
7. No stupid 135mb data/data file cap
8. Wifi tether works better
9. Radio reception is better- wifi too
10. I actually prefer Blur (this version) to Sense, since it has some file and app management features like Gingerbread.

The positives to me far outweigh the cons (Flash heat spikes and MP3s skipping during multitasking). Surely VZW will have those things fixed.......

 

[i_am_booked]

I notice that my dx2 seems to get the hottest when I use Google maps navigation and the screen has to stay on. It reached 122 degrees earlier then wouldn't respond when I needed to make a call.

 

[secretaznmanxz]

I notice that my dx2 seems to get the hottest when I use Google maps navigation and the screen has to stay on. It reached 122 degrees earlier then wouldn't respond when I needed to make a call.

YES! I experienced the same thing. It got pretty hot, became unresponsive, and then shut down... Anyone else notice this?

Speaking of that, does anyone know how to turn off Google Navigation midway to the destination? I don't need that lady to tell me turn by turn after I find out the directions already. It's also nice to conserve the all-important battery. (I know this is a noobie question, but I can't seem to figure it out )

 

[rushmore]

YES! I experienced the same thing. It got pretty hot, became unresponsive, and then shut down... Anyone else notice this?

Speaking of that, does anyone know how to turn off Google Navigation midway to the destination? I don't need that lady to tell me turn by turn after I find out the directions already. It's also nice to conserve the all-important battery. (I know this is a noobie question, but I can't seem to figure it out )

You will notice all small form factor devices like this will get hot while running those functions. I am doing some tests on other devices to confirm, but part of the issue was so obvious my big dumb head missed it. Just check how warm a Tom Tom type nav system gets and they usually have more robust heat dissipation, bigger and have a lot less stuff running in the background.

1. The DX2 has a metal back cover, so transfers heat far more efficiently than plastic. Plastic insulates (for better or worse) and gives the impression the device is cooler, though is probably just as hot and less means to dissipate the heat.

2. The cover design is being treated as part of the system for heat dissipation.

I feel real stupid not figuring this out already.

@secretaz, I am able to back out of Nav with the hardware button and the app asks if I want to exit Navigation. I then use a settings short-cut to kill GPS.

One thing to consider though is Motorola has GREAT power management functions, so sets radios to low power states, when not being used. This a a key why the DX2 has very good battery life.

 

[John58543]

You will notice all small form factor devices like this will get hot while running those functions. I am doing some tests on other devices to confirm, but part of the issue was so obvious my big dumb head missed it. Just check how warm a Tom Tom type nav system gets and they usually have more robust heat dissipation and less stuff running in the background.

1. The DX2 has a metal back cover, so transfers heat far more efficiently than plastic. Plastic insulates (for better or worse) and gives the impression the device is cooler, though is probably just as hot and less means to dissipate the heat.

2. The cover design is being treated as part of the system for heat dissipation.

I feel real stupid not figuring this out already.

True, I hadn't thought about it this way yet...the only time my Eris would get hot is during tethering....but it had a plastic cover...

I just wonder if cell phones have fans on the inside of them (like computers) to keep motherboard etc cool?

 

[rushmore]

True, I hadn't thought about it this way yet...the only time my Eris would get hot is during tethering....but it had a plastic cover...

I just wonder if cell phones have fans on the inside of them (like computers) to keep motherboard etc cool?

Nope. A key reason for great battery life on Android and the Arm chipsets is passive cooling. No fans. Intel's new chipset for Android tablets is supposed to be passive cooled as well.

Fans are a no-no for portable devices and battery life/form factor.

 

[jinwons]

How much does it need to be pushed to get overheated? For example, voice call, browsing web or streaming youtube for 20 mins would make it heated above 110?

 

[i_am_booked]

How much does it need to be pushed to get overheated? For example, voice call, browsing web or streaming youtube for 20 mins would make it heated above 110?

Drive around and use Google navigation for a bit. That should heat it up pretty good.

 

[PGLeLeux]

I'm curious about how you know it is overheating. All high end Android devices feel warm when the processor has been working hard for a little while. A reboot while feeling warm isn't anywhere near enough information to assume the device is overheating.

I think I can answer that question. If the phone is almost too frigging hot to hold in your hand I think it would be safe to say it's "overheating." It's happened twice to me and I'm looking for answers like the rest of the people here. There is also excessive battery drain. If used constantly it will last 2 hours compared to the 11 they claim. With very mild use-couple of texts and a short phone call or two-it may last half a day. My nephew has had his X for awhile and my battery is draining alot faster than his with much less use. I bought the X2 because he was so happy with his phone.

 

[PGLeLeux]

You will notice all small form factor devices like this will get hot while running those functions. I am doing some tests on other devices to confirm, but part of the issue was so obvious my big dumb head missed it. Just check how warm a Tom Tom type nav system gets and they usually have more robust heat dissipation, bigger and have a lot less stuff running in the background.

1. The DX2 has a metal back cover, so transfers heat far more efficiently than plastic. Plastic insulates (for better or worse) and gives the impression the device is cooler, though is probably just as hot and less means to dissipate the heat.

2. The cover design is being treated as part of the system for heat dissipation.

I feel real stupid not figuring this out already.

@secretaz, I am able to back out of Nav with the hardware button and the app asks if I want to exit Navigation. I then use a settings short-cut to kill GPS.

One thing to consider though is Motorola has GREAT power management functions, so sets radios to low power states, when not being used. This a a key why the DX2 has very good battery life.

Luckily, I had a back-up Garmin with me when the phone got hot and shut down. I can tell you the Garmin did not get anywhere near the temp the X2 reached. It could have been bad, because I was 4 hours from home in unknown territory and needed a navigation system when it shutdown.

 

[skipster]

I was playing with a friend's DX2 last night, helping him do some n00b setup. Just doing something as mundane as changing settings caused the phone to heat up to the point of discomfort. Maybe it's the dual-core monster in there, maybe a bug in the radios, but i did find it disconcerting. My Fascinate has gotten warm when using YouTube or some other data-heavy function, but never uncomfortably so. Granted, it has a single-core processor and a plastic back, but DAMN, that thing burned.

Looking at it, I can't wait to see it all GB'd and rooted with some slick debloated UV rom; I might just consider it at that point! Until then I am quite happy with my Kang-Banged Fascinate!

 

[rushmore]

The DX2 does not get any hotter than other devices, but feels hotter due to the metal transferring the heat- very efficiently.