iPhone 12 Pro Max Overheating – Flash Is Disabled Issue
Last updated on December 17th, 2020 at 09:03 am
Posted in Bug Fixes by Tyrone on November 24, 2020
iPhone 12 Pro Max overheating?
Is your brand new iPhone 12 Pro Max overheating? Does the device feel warm to touch when you pick it up without it being used before? Worse, are you prompted with the ‘Flash Is Disabled’ prompt when you open the Camera app. Does your device need to cool down before you can use the flash? This seems to be caused by an iOS 14 bug that causes the iPhone 12 Pro Max to excessively reindex apps in the background.
iPhone 12 Pro Max units plagued by the overheating issue are also experiencing lagging. This can be noticed when randomly opening apps, some might require up to 30 seconds to run. Reader Paolo F. has mailed us about this problem and also informs that he contacted Apple support about it. Apparently, this is a known issue and the company is collecting logs about the issue.
iPhone 12 Pro Max Overheating Issue
The app load problem is occurring in both iOS 14.2 and iOS 14.2.1 software versions. The iPhone 12 Pro Max ships with iOS 14.1 pre-installed.
Important: Please be aware that every time when you upgrade to a new iPhone the device requires one or two days until all apps and iCloud data are indexed and updated with your usual configurations. During this process most iPhones might overheat and act overloaded, especially if you’re running resource intensive apps, while indexing is performed in the background.
However, if you passed this stage and the the iPhone 12 is still overheating and lagging, this isn’t normal anymore.
How To Fix iPhone 12 Pro Max Overheating
There’s not much that you can do about it, until Apple releases a software update with an official fix. Here are some temporary troubleshooting tips:
1. Force Close Apps
An option to improve overheating is to make sure that you close apps for good after you stop using them, instead of allowing them to remain active in the background. This is done from the App Switcher. Swipe-up & hold from the bottom of the screen. Dismiss the cards of the apps that you want to permanently close.
2. Avoid Resources Intensive Apps
If your iPhone 12 Pro Max experiences overheating, it would be a wise move to refrain from using apps that demand a lot of resources. Such as complex gaming or photo & video editing software.
3. Charge In Airplane Mode
Enable Airplane Mode at night before you charge your device. This will cut the Internet connection, thus prevents app from indexing and overheating your iPhone. Your iPhone is prone to warm up when charging, if this overlaps with the iOS 14 app load bug, they device might overheat.
4. Charge With Lightning Cable
You should use the Lightning to USB-C cable that has shipped in the box with your new iPhone 12 model. Wired charging generates less heat than the wireless inductive charging process, promoted by MagSafe. In fact, we’ve got reports about iPhone 12 Pro Max units getting hot during MagSafe charging. Overlapping the app reindexing bug with potential overheating problems generated by magnetic charging could make your iPhone be literally hot.
Update (December 17): The iPhone 12 overheating issue seems to have been aggravated in iOS 14.3. Our devices overheat during FaceTime calls, although they haven’t in iOS 14.2. We’ve created a separate article about this escalation here.
Until now this problem has been isolated to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Are you experiencing similar overheating issues with the iPhone 12, 12 mini or 12 Pro. What about an other model? Use the comments section and share your feedback. Don’t forget to mention the iOS version that your iPhone is running when experiencing the issue.
Related: Other iPhone 12 Pro Max issues reported are:
– iPhone 12 No Service, poor signal and dropped calls problem.
– iPhone 12 Pro Max not charging wirelessly with MagSafe.
– iPhone 12 yellow screen issue.
– iPhone Lock Screen sound glitches when MagSafe case is added.
Yes my iPhone 12 pro max brand new overheats when charging and keeps freezing up. It freezes up 5 to 6 times a day it’s so annoying it a new phone shouldn’t be doing this.
Jen, thanks for sharing. Definitely a new iPhone shouldn’t freeze multiple times a day, unless your upgrading from an older iPhone and your new device is still indexing content from your iCloud account. However, this shouldn’t take more than 24 hours since you set up the device.
yeah well this didn’t help at all.
I had issues in the last 3 weeks with it, now I downloaded the ios 14.3 and they didn’t sort out this problem.
In the background basically there’s like 6 apps I allowed to refresh, so that can not be the reason.
The only time my phone cools down when I put it in airplane mode, but obviously this is a huge BS, as I didn’t pay this kind of money for a phone I can use only in offline mode.
If you could let me know if there’s any actual solution, or answer from apple when they’re not trying to sweep it under the rug I’d appreciate it.
endrdy, thanks for your feedback. We’re still unsure about how widespread this issue is because as you can notice there haven’t been that many users that complained about it yet. Usually when there are just a few isolated cases, a hardware flaw might be the cause. Perhaps you’ve been extremely unlucky and your iPhone 12 has shipped with a defective component. In this case your only solution is to bring it in to an Apple Store and ask for a replacement.
Get back to us and let us know if you managed to fix it.
I have 9 days with iPhone pro max and after updating to iOS 14.3 the phone overheat Quick? Battery drains so fast, I started using the phone at 8am, at midday was in 62% without any usage and very warm, I put to charge in airplane mode and after 2 hours dropped 40% and very hot with LTE IS WORST. I changed to 3G And the overheating issue persist.
Waldo, thanks for reporting this problem. I can confirm that my iPhone 12 Pro overheats abnormally since updating to iOS 14.3, during FaceTime calls, while using Memoji effects! However, your symptoms seem to be far worse. Have you tried to contact Apple support and see if they’re familiar with the issue?
I have less than a week iphone 12 and updated to iOS 14.3. Notice overheating my battery during usage of games (COD) also notice drain my battery faster. But on my iphone X i never experience overheating during play of COD. Apple Call center suggest to back-up and restore again to factory setting and install only the one i use and check battery will again overheat.
Also she suggested use only latest adapter for Iphone 12 and up.
Marcky, thanks for reporting this. I can confirm that we’re also experiencing overheating issues on iPhone 12 and iPhone XS since updating to iOS 14.3. In my case the iPhone is getting hot during FaceTime calls, when activating Memoji. This wasn’t the case in iOS 14.2. I’ve opened a second topic about this issue here: https://www.iphonetricks.org/iphone-overheating-during-facetime-calls-in-ios-14-3/ and also mentioned your problem. Let’s see if we get similar reports and if we can find a workaround.
P.S.: Are you charging your iPhone 12 Pro Max while gaming? or the device is overheating without being connected to the lightning cable?
I just purchased iphone 12 pro. I had an older SE before this. I received it on 12/23 and set it up on 12/25. I bought a nice EVO case and got a screen protector from Verizon wireless on 12/26. I noticed the battery going down to about 65% with no out of the ordinary activity. On 12/27 I charged it because it was 65%. I picked it up and it was hot to the touch and had a warning that it needed to cool down before useage. I shut it off and after an hour it is still hot. I don’t know which ios I have but it is the one it was shipped. I am not impressed and will not keep this phone if I have to manage both battery drainage as well as over heating issues. After spending a $1000 this shouldn’t be happening. What do I do? Any recommendations?
Karen, it’s kinda normal for a new iPhone to overheat in the first couple of days after setting it up, especially if you’re upgrading from an older device. The moment you set up your Apple ID, the new iPhone will start to download settings and media from your iCloud account. This will lead to battery drainage and moderate overheating. If you use the device intensively in the same time, overheating will be accentuated. I suggest you to turn your device on and allow it for 24 – 48 hours to index your iCloud data. When finished, upgrade to iOS 14.3, the current version. If you continue to have overheating problems after this stage you should consider an Apple Store appointment.
Apple needs to take these issues with the iPhone seriously as they could end up with a class-action lawsuit. This device is way too expensive, and these problems are unacceptable. I have the same issues with the quick battery drain, overheating and disabled flashlight periodically. I have followed recommendations online with the hope of making these glitches go away without success. I even erased the phone and did a factory reset without improvement. I also read about others doing an iPhone exchanged and having the same issues with the replacement. If Apple cannot fix the issues, the company needs to refund the money to the customers for creating a defective device. I expect near perfect performance for the price of the phone.
You make sense and the iPhone 12 seems to be plagued with a series of problems that you would not expect for such an expensive device. Let’s hope that any serious problems will be included in a free repair program, or Apple will find something in order to compensate these problems.
I’m actually pissed! After spending so much money buying the device only to find that I can’t even use it! I’m using my old iPhone 8 plus as in now cos the iPhone 12 Pro Max that I bought cash is overheating and dropping my calls. I feel like dying right now! I took it back to the store incredible connection where I bought and they have returned it with the report “everything was fine,there’s no fault “ which means I was lying about the problem. Right now when I’m reading the comments it seems like this is a well known problem and they they made me look like a liar! I’m so angry! I’ve spent so much money for what when I can’t even use the phone. iPhone should do something about this. They must take their stupid phone and return our money, we can’t keep up with this! This phone is useless even my calls can’t come through, even when they do I can’t even spend a minute on the phone, the call just drop! I’m so annoyed. The worst part is this i can’t even do anything about it as they’ve already sent it back. What do I do now? Keep it at home after I’ve spent so much money? It’s not even a month with this phone! I need answers and help please. I’m so frustrated!
Amanda are you also getting the iPhone 12 No Service issue, when you’re not in an active call? I mean does your device lose cellular signal while it’s in standby?
I have an iphone 12 pro max. Since the start i have noticed a couple of random bugs. 1- when using the camera in 4k wide angle 0,5 and 60 FPS it gets hot and then the screen becomes laggy. Sometimes the audio recorded becomes out of sync. 2- During a facetime call even on LTE or 5G the phone becomes hot and you can tell the phone is overheating just by the way i look so laggy in the corner , I know it is overheating because when I put it next to My car A/C the problem diapears and i no longer look laggy. it has becanme a joke when I facetime someone and he can tell that my phone is overheating because I look Laggy as hell. If i dont put it next to the A/C the phone gives me an error that it is overheating and needs to cool down before it can be used. Some time apps are unresponsive for a couple of minutes. I’m on ios 14.7.1 and tried all of the above. Nothing changed the fact that during a facetime call the phone is overheating.
Thanks for reporting this David. That’s unpleasant indeed and not what you would expect from such a high-end smartphone. I haven’t noticed the 4K wide angle overheating behavior, will have to test it. Have you tried to explain this to Apple support?
If you have the time, you can also try to try out iOS 15 and see if it makes any difference. You can either install the Public Beta now, or wait around 5 more weeks until it’s released to the general public.
P.S.: If you do go for the beta, do a full iPhone backup before. It will allow you to quickly downgrade after testing if the overheating behavior is still there in iOS 15. Would appreciate a follow up.