Can You Bring Your Phone in a Sauna? 5 Shocking Risks

If you are new to the sauna experience, you might not enjoy the idea of having to sit still for the entire session. If so, a question arises: can you bring your phone in a sauna with you?

For a lot of people, a sauna session represents an opportunity to slow down and relax. It is a chance to do things they are too busy for throughout the day.

For example, you could listen to music, check messages, or even manage your wellness app. The problem is that high temperatures – and humidity in steam saunas – can affect electronic devices.

In this guide, we will explain the risks you could expose your device to if you use it inside a sauna.

Can You Bring Your Phone in a Sauna?

So, can you use your phone in a sauna? The short answer is that it is generally not recommended to do so.

Not because a sauna is a place where you should relax and take a break from the world. The real reason is that most smartphones were not designed to handle the conditions of a sauna.

Saunas are hot, and if you use a steam-based model, they are also highly humid. Most phones were not made to operate in that temperature range.

In short, saunas get too hot for your average smartphone. Your phone may start working, and even suffer irreparable damage.

A lot of users believe that their smartphones can survive saunas and steam rooms.

This is usually the case with those who own water-resistant devices. However, even if you take a water-resistant phone into the sauna, the heat can still get to it.

You could take pretty much any phone in the sauna for a few seconds, and it will likely be fine. But using it throughout the session will increase the risks significantly.

How Heat and Humidity Can Damage Your Phone

Like most electronic devices, smartphones are sensitive to moisture.

Water-resistant phones may be an exception, but most phones can be damaged by high humidity in a sauna. That is why mindfulness of your device’s weaknesses should be your priority.

With that said, whether your phone is water-resistant or not, it is still vulnerable to heat. Saunas are known for their high heat.

A portable sauna is usually not as hot as a traditional sauna, but it is still hot enough to damage your device. Heat and moisture combined affect your device’s battery life, performance, and general lifespan.

They can also damage other internal components, like the processor. Heat, in particular, can affect adhesives inside the device and cause permanent damage.

Your phone also heats up on its own during use. With internal heat on the rise and external heat contributing, your phone gets much more vulnerable.

Not to mention that, even if it survives the heat, moving it into a cooler environment can cause condensation. In other words, it is always best to keep your phone outside the sauna.

Doing so will protect your phone from the warm environment of a sauna and reduce the odds of damage.

Does the Risk Depend on the Type of Sauna?

Those familiar with different types of sauna know that there is quite a bit of variety. You have traditional dry saunas, steam rooms, portable steam saunas, and even infrared models.

Each has different temperatures and humidity. This is what makes them different from one another, after all.

With that in mind, you might wonder if the type of sauna changes the risk. The fact is that some types are riskier than others. A steam room, for example, is much riskier than an infrared sauna.

But even though risk to your phone varies depending on the sauna environment, it never fully goes away.

As mentioned, the biggest risk to your device are humidity and heat. While not all saunas use humidity, heat is present in all of them.

A steam-based environment is generally the worst-case scenario for a phone in sauna. You are exposing your device to both moisture risk and temperature risk.

But with saunas that don’t use humidity, the temperature tends ot be much higher. In other words, no sauna type is considered good for smartphones. Regardless of which one you are using, you should leave your phone outside.

While it might be tempting to bring phone in sauna, sauna temperatures are likely to break it.

Safer Alternatives to Bringing Your Phone Inside

While bringing your phone in a sauna may be tempting, there are alternative options. By following them, you will still get to enjoy relaxation and keep a functioning device.

To start off, do not bring a phone to a sauna. Just leave it outside, as the cons of taking your phone in outweigh the pros.

If you need it for practical things like a timer, there are many smartwatches that you can use instead. Of course, you should check that it is able to resist environments like a sauna.

But smartwatches are often made heat-resistant and generally sturdier than phones.

Alternatively, you can set a timer before entering, instead of bringing it into the sauna. Another thing that many users prefer to do is to download music or podcasts beforehand.

They can then play them through Bluetooth using external speakers kept outside the sauna.

Or, you can consider a bit of digital detox. Disconnect from your devices completely, and focus on having a proper sauna therapy.

There are many things you can do inside a sauna that don’t require phones or other devices.

Tips if You Decide to Bring Your Phone Anyway

While we strongly advise against using a phone in a sauna, some people may choose to take it in anyway. This is not uncommon behavior.

So, for those who choose to risk it and do it anyway, you should know the risks of bringing your phone and some tips that might help protect it.

As mentioned before, intense heat and moisture can cause damage to your phone. However, they won’t do it immediately the moment it enters the steam room or a tent.

This gives you a bit of time if you need to quickly do something. As long as you limit exposure time, high heat and humidity can be a relatively low threat.

One thing that you should absolutely not do is leave the phone on hot surfaces. Doing so will significantly increase the risks. It might even lead to immediate damage. While you are at it, keep it away from direct steam, as well. Steam is especially harmful to phones that are not water-resistant.

Some devices have overheating warnings appear on screen. This usually happens when the device’s hardware approaches critical temperatures. If you see this warning, remove the device from the sauna immediately.

Lastly, if you bring your phone to the sauna, let it cool off naturally once you take it out. This is especially important before charging.

Charging itself represents a transfer of energy, which produces heat. Heat, from any source, can damage the phone or its components. To avoid this, let it cool off first, and then put it on a charger.

Also, remember that these tips may reduce the risk of damage, but they certainly do not eliminate it completely. Taking your phone to the sauna means exposing it to high heat and humidity levels.

That means that it will be at risk for the entire time it spends in there. Some phones may survive ten minutes in, while others may break during the first few. There are no rules, so be aware of that.

FAQ

Conclusion

So, can you bring your phone in a sauna? Of course, nothing is stopping you from doing so. But if you do it, know that you are exposing your mobile device to a great risk.

You might think that your phone will enhance your sauna experience. But when you measure the pros and cons of taking your phone inside, the downsides are not worth the risk.

Mobile devices were not built for use in extreme heat or high humidity. They could slow down, shut down, or suffer permanent damage. That is why everyone will recommend you use the sauna without electrical devices.

Use your time in a sauna for breathing exercises, light stretching, quiet contemplation, meditation, or a similar activity. Relax in the sauna and stick to the sauna etiquette if you use a public steam room.

If you wish to use a sauna at home, consider getting a portable model. There are many options available, and we have a guide that can help you pick the best portable sauna tent for your home.