Cold Weather Care for Laptops

When traveling with a laptop or any other kind of electronic equipment like a LCD projector please remember not to leave these devices in extremely cold temperatures. Laptops have been designed to work within a safe temperature range - normally 50 to 95 degrees F (10 - 35 degrees C). This range refers both to optimal usage temperature of the outside environment and the temperature the laptop should be warmed to before using. Protecting your laptop from cold weather is important and you should know how to protect your laptop from cold weather. Protect yourself and your laptop from the damage cold weather can cause.

Careful Storage

Never leave a laptop, even in a well-padded and insulated laptop case in the trunk of vehicle in cold weather. The laptop could freeze and you could lose all data contained in it.

Let It Warm Up

Once you bring a laptop in from the cold - allow it to warm up to room temperature before booting. The same is true when you go outdoors - allow the laptop to acclimatize to the outside temperature before booting up.

Incorrect Warming Methods

Do not use devices such as mug warmers or pocket warmers to heat or keep a laptop warm. They are not designed for this purpose and can create problems since they will not heat or keep a laptop warm in the right way. They could heat the wrong parts of a laptop or cause it to generate too much heat and melt internal components.

Protecting Your Display

Don't use heating pads or other external sources of heat to warm up or thaw a laptop display. Allow the display to warm on its own and do not boot up a laptop if you suspect the display is frozen.

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