There are a few reasons why your phone charger might be hot. The most common reason is that the charger is using up electricity from your phone. If your phone has a battery, it will slowly lose power as time goes on. If the charger isn’t properly designed or built, it can heat up and cause problems.
Normally, Electronics Produce Some Heat
Some warmth is normal in any phone charger. Your charger converts AC power from your outlet into DC power for your phone, and it generates heat in the process.
To perform the AC/DC conversion, the charger uses an electrical component called a transformer. Transformers produce heat due to the regular process of conducting electricity and also through eddy currents and other losses, which are a side effect of how transformers work. In general, the more current a transformer provides, the more heat it will produce.
Under normal circumstances, a phone charger might feel a little warm to the touch, and that’s ok—it is operating as designed. But if it’s more than just warm, or unusually warm suddenly when it hasn’t been warm before, then you might have a problem.
How Hot is Too Hot?
If your charger is hot to the point where it‘s uncomfortable to hold or touch, that‘s a clear sign that something is wrong. This might be due to a malfunction inside the charger itself or a problem with the connection between the charger and the outlet. High quality, authentic chargers have protection circuitry that will automatically shut down the charger if something goes wrong. But this circuit could malfunction, or you could be using a low-quality or counterfeit charger.
If your charger is uncomfortably hot, unplug it from the outlet and look for any visible signs of dirt or obstructions on the prongs that plug into the wall outlet. Also, check to make sure the charging port on your phone is clean, and inspect the USB port on the charger itself (if it has one) for signs of dirt or lint build-up.
Once the port is clean, try again, and if it still gets warm, use a different cable to see if the problem persists. Even so, there are some cases where you don’t want to take any chances with trying different cables, which we’ll cover below.
When Does a Hot Charger Become a Fire Hazard?
If you see any of these warning signs in your charger or charging cable, discontinue using the charger or cable immediately and replace it. If you have a faulty charger, you could try contacting customer support of the manufacturer to get a replacement.
Visible signs of melting in the charger plastic or charger cable. An unusual smell coming from the charger, such as the smell of smoke or melting plastic. Scorch marks (black or brown burn marks) on the charger, cable, or the outlet the charger is plugged into. A sudden amount of heat that is new or unusual. Fraying, cracks, or physical damage to the cable or charger.
Also, remember to charge your phone far away from anything flammable or combustible. That goes for any charger, even one that is working well.
Stick With High Quality, Name-Brand Chargers
As we briefly mentioned above, one reason you might have a hot phone charger is because it is a low quality or counterfeit part. These parts do not comply with safety standards and regulations that keep us safe.
