Your phone is built to work in air up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry sauna can reach 185. That gap is most of the answer. If you are wondering "can I bring my phone in a sauna," the short version is no, at least not for a full session, because Apple and Samsung set their limits far below sauna heat, and Google says a Pixel that keeps heating up can turn itself off. My advice is to leave it in the locker. Below is what the heat does to a phone, how dry and infrared saunas differ, and what to do with your AirPods.
Key Takeaways
- Apple and Samsung rate phones for air up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry sauna can reach 185.
- Apple lists using an iPhone in a sauna or steam room among the things that cause liquid damage.
- Apple says very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life.
- Apple tells owners not to wear AirPods in a sauna or steam room, whatever their water rating.
- Leave the phone in a cool locker, and if it overheats, let it cool before you use it again.
What phone makers say about a phone in a sauna
Apple, Samsung and Google all warn about heat, and the two that print a number set it far below a sauna. Apple says iPhone is designed for use where the air is between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and that very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life. Samsung gives Galaxy phones the same 32 to 95 degree range for normal use. Google says a Pixel that keeps heating up may show a warning, drop into low power mode and turn itself off.
Apple goes one step further. Its page on water resistance lists using an iPhone "in a sauna or steam room" among the things to avoid to prevent liquid damage, in the same list as swimming with it. The same page says water resistance is not permanent, can decrease with normal wear, and that liquid damage is not covered under warranty.
The people who built the phone have already answered the question, and their answer is to keep it out.
How hot a sauna gets next to your phone's limit
Harvard Health puts the dry heat of a sauna as high as 185 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough that your skin reaches about 104 degrees within minutes. That is 90 degrees past the top of the range Apple and Samsung give.
Here is how the three common rooms compare.
- A traditional dry sauna can reach 185 degrees, nearly twice the phone's 95 degree limit.
- A steam room runs on humidity rather than dry heat, Cleveland Clinic notes, which adds the extremely humid conditions Apple tells iPhone owners to avoid.
- An infrared sauna warms you with infrared light instead of hot air, so it runs cooler, though still well past 95 degrees.
Even the storage limit does not help. Apple says to store an iPhone between minus 4 and 113 degrees, and it warns that a parked car can get hotter than that.
What heat and steam do to a phone
Heat does its damage in two stages. First, the phone protects itself. Apple says an iPhone that runs too hot may slow or stop charging, dim or black out the display, weaken its cellular signal and turn off the camera flash for a while. Past a set threshold it shows a temperature warning screen, and the page on its built-in protections against overheating lists each step. Samsung describes the same pattern for Galaxy phones, from a cooling notice to paused charging to a full shutdown.
The second stage is the one that lasts. Apple says very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life, and Battery University rates lithium-ion cells to charge only between 32 and 113 degrees. A phone that leaves the sauna and goes straight onto a charger is the worst case.
If your battery already feels tired, here is how to make your phone battery last longer.
Can I bring my phone in a dry sauna?
A dry sauna is the hottest of the three rooms, so it is the hardest on a phone. Low humidity does not save it, because the heat alone pushes the phone out of its range. At up to 185 degrees, the air sits about 90 degrees above Apple's and Samsung's limit for the whole session.
My answer for a dry sauna is a firm no for a full session. If you must carry it in to check a message, walk it straight back out, because no maker gives a safe time in that heat. Any temperature warning means the phone has already passed its limit.
Can I bring my phone and AirPods in a sauna?
No, and AirPods are the easy call, because Apple answers it in one line. Its page on AirPods sweat and water resistance says "Don't wear AirPods in a sauna or steam room." That covers every model on the page, from the IPX4 rating of the first AirPods Pro to the IP57 rating of AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5.
Those ratings cover sweat and water for non-water sports and exercise, and dust too on the IP54 and IP57 models. None of them is a heat rating, so a better rating does not make earbuds safe in hot air. Apple also says AirPods are sweat and water resistant but not waterproof or sweatproof.
I would keep both the phone and the earbuds out of the hot room, and enjoy the quiet.
Can I bring my phone in an infrared sauna?
An infrared sauna is gentler, but not gentle enough. Cleveland Clinic explains that infrared saunas warm you with infrared light rather than superheated air or steam, so they run at lower temperatures than traditional saunas. Instead of mainly heating the air, they warm your body more directly. Even so, Clearlight, which makes infrared saunas, puts them at about 113 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, well past the 95 degree limit.
So a phone in an infrared room may heat up more slowly, and slower is not the same as safe. Clearlight itself tells its customers not to take a phone into an infrared sauna.
So, can I bring my phone in a sauna for a quick check?
A quick look at the time is a small risk, and a full session is a real one. Here is the routine I would follow.
- Leave the phone in a locker or bag outside the hot room and out of direct sun, which Apple, Samsung and Google all name as a cause of overheating.
- Wait before you charge it. A hot iPhone slows or stops charging anyway, and Battery University puts the top charging temperature for lithium-ion at 113 degrees.
- If it overheats, unplug it, move it somewhere cooler and let it cool before you use it again.
No phone is immune to heat, so a current backup is cheap insurance. If yours is out of date, here is how to back up photos before your next spa day.
Leave It in the Locker
A sauna is one of the few places left where nobody expects a reply, so let the phone sit this one out. Your battery lasts longer, your AirPods stay within Apple's rules, and the time on the bench is all yours.
FAQs about phones in a sauna
- Can I bring my phone in a sauna?
- Only for a moment, if at all. Apple and Samsung rate their phones for air up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and Apple lists using an iPhone in a sauna or steam room among the things to avoid.
- Will a waterproof case keep my phone safe in a sauna?
- A case may keep sweat off the phone, but the air around it is still far above the 95 degree limit. Apple's sauna warning makes no exception for phones in a case.
- Can I use my phone in a steam room?
- Apple lists a steam room beside a sauna among the causes of liquid damage, and it names extremely humid conditions separately. Treat a steam room like a sauna and leave the phone outside.
- What should I do if my phone overheated in the sauna?
- Unplug it if it is charging, move it somewhere cooler and wait until it cools before you use it. Google says to let a Pixel that turned off cool down and then restart it, and Samsung says not to use a Galaxy phone until it cools down completely.
- Why does my iPhone say it needs to cool down?
- An iPhone shows that warning once it passes a set temperature threshold, and it may still be able to make emergency calls while it does. Apple says to turn it off, move it out of direct sun to somewhere cooler, and let it cool down.
- Is my phone safe in a locker next to the sauna?
- A locker outside the hot room is the right place, as long as it stays below Apple's storage limit of 113 degrees. Apple warns that parked cars can pass that limit, so a locker beats the car.
- How long can a phone stay in a sauna?
- Apple, Samsung and Google give no safe time, because a sauna is outside the conditions they support. Google says a Pixel that keeps heating up could show a warning, enter low power mode and turn off, so if a warning appears, take the phone out at once.
- Can I wear AirPods in an infrared sauna?
- Apple says not to wear AirPods in a sauna or steam room, and its line names no kind of sauna as an exception. An infrared room runs cooler than a dry one, but the safe call is the same.
