Sun, sand and sea? Great for you. Terrible for your tech.

Whether you're heading abroad, off to a festival, or just spending more time outside, summer is tough on gadgets. Phones overheat, sand gets everywhere, smartwatches suffer under sweaty wrists, and power banks die just when you need them most.

So here’s some tips to protect your tech in sticky, sandy, suncream-filled situations!

1. Heat Hazards: It’s Not Just About Battery Drain

Gadgets don’t love heat. Beyond the usual battery complaints, overheating can lead to dimmed screens, glitchy performance, and unexpected shutdowns — especially if you're using power banks or charging while out in the sun.

Here’s how to avoid frying your tech:

• Avoid leaving devices in cars, on black surfaces or in direct sunlight. 
• Ditch bulky phone cases in hot weather — they trap heat.
• Never charge your phone when it’s already hot — it just makes things worse.
• If your device feels warm to the touch, give it a break.
• Want to keep an eye on things? Try AIDA64 (Android) or Lirum Device Info (iOS) to monitor internal temperature.

Bonus tip: keep your power bank shaded. Charging it in full sun is a shortcut to overheating and reduced battery life.

2. Sand & Sunscreen: Two Tiny Tech Killers

Sand is a gadget nightmare. It scratches screens, clogs up charging ports and speaker holes, and gets into buttons. Sunscreen, meanwhile, may be good for your skin — but the chemicals in it can damage screen coatings over time and leave a greasy mess.

Protect your devices with:

• Waterproof, touch-sensitive phone pouches (bonus: they keep water and sweat out too)
• Clean hands — don’t use your phone with sandy or suncreamy fingers
• A microfibre cloth on hand for wiping down screens (never tissues or paper napkins)
• Compressed air or a port-cleaning brush to clean ports — never a pin or cocktail stick [yes, we’ve all done it!]

If you're heading to the beach, keep your phone in a shaded, sealed pouch unless absolutely necessary.

3. Festivals, Beaches & Big Days Out: Practical Prep

Summer means being outside more — but that doesn’t mean you want to be tethered to a wall socket or worrying about your gear. Here are some smart bits of prep to keep you fully charged:

Apps worth downloading:

• Find My iPhone / Find My Device — for obvious reasons
• Battery Guru (Android) — tracks your battery health and gives alerts for heat/charging issues
• Opal or Forest — to help you actually enjoy the moment, not scroll through it

Tech worth packing:

• A cheap, basic fitness tracker if you're hitting a festival or beach
• A USB keyring charging cable — you’ll thank yourself when space is tight
• Power banks with pass-through charging, so you can charge both the bank and your phone overnight
• Waterproof belt bags or dry pouches 

4. Sweat, Steam & Showers: What’s Actually Waterproof?

"Water-resistant" doesn’t mean waterproof — and definitely doesn’t mean seawater-safe.

What to know:

• IP67/IP68 means a device can survive splashes and some immersion, but not salt water or hot steam
• Fitness trackers and earbuds often get wrecked by sweat, especially on hot days or during workouts
• Salt water from the sea can corrode charging points, speaker grills and metal fittings

Top tips:

• Rinse wearables in clean water after a beach day or sweaty workout
• Let them dry completely before charging
• Don’t wear devices in hot tubs, saunas or the sea — unless they're specifically rated for it

Check the IP rating on your gadgets before assuming they’re invincible.

5. Power Smart: Charging Without Frying Your Devices

Hot weather kills batteries faster — you’re using maps, taking photos, cranking up screen brightness, and maybe streaming music while you enjoy your holiday.

Here’s how to keep your battery alive:

• Stick to short, high-quality charging cables — they’re more efficient
• Keep power banks shaded and avoid storing them in direct sun
• Avoid charging from 0% to 100% every time — batteries last longer when kept between 30–80%
• Pre-charge everything before a big day out so you don’t get caught short!

Your gadgets might not love summer — but with a little planning, they’ll survive it. Skip the sticky fingers, keep things shaded, clean your ports (not with sand), and don’t believe every “waterproof” claim. And don’t forget the sunscreen — for you though, not your phone.