Do finger heat/hand oils damage phone screens?

[WWGD]

Hi,
Just paranoid about occasional phone problems: messages not sent, crackled sound. Just thinking of possible negative effects of heat and/or oils when finger comes into contact with screen. Is this true? Can something be done?

 

[Mark44]

Hi,
Just paranoid about occasional phone problems: messages not sent, crackled sound. Just thinking of possible negative effects of heat and/or oils when finger comes into contact with screen. Is this true? Can something be done?

I'm not expert in this area, but I don't believe that the heat of a finger has any effect whatsoever on a phone (unless your finger happens to be on fire...). The most significant effect, I believe, is that your screen will be harder to read, due to oils, dirt, whatever is on your finger tip.

Yes, you are being paranoid

Speaking for myself only, it seems backward to me to use an electronic device that you both look at and touch with your fingers.

 

[WWGD]

I'm not expert in this area, but I don't believe that the heat of a finger has any effect whatsoever on a phone (unless your finger happens to be on fire...). The most significant effect, I believe, is that your screen will be harder to read, due to oils, dirt, whatever is on your finger tip.

Yes, you are being paranoid

Thanks, so the inner circuits beyond the glass are not damaged by neither?

 

[Mark44]

Thanks, so the inner circuits beyond the glass are not damaged by neither?

To the best of my knowledge, no.

 

[jedishrfu]

Hi,
Just paranoid about occasional phone problems: messages not sent, crackled sound. Just thinking of possible negative effects of heat and/or oils when finger comes into contact with screen. Is this true? Can something be done?

Sometimes power lines can affect reception and transmission. I know when using Bluetooth headphones that they will occasionally dropout when crossing underground power lines.

Crackling sounds can sometimes be fixed by phone reboot or redialing your friend in case you got a bad connection. Other things are

https://itstillworks.com/fix-static-cell-phone-6181753.html

 

[Stavros Kiri]

Hi,
Just paranoid about occasional phone problems: messages not sent, crackled sound. Just thinking of possible negative effects of heat and/or oils when finger comes into contact with screen. Is this true? Can something be done?

Phone devices are usually quite durable for normal use and factors such as the ones that you describe. I agree with what the other people said. [Myself I am kind of an amateur phone expert, dealing and having dealt with many cell phone devices and models.] Even a few accidental "droppings" can be easily sustained (many times) with no damage whatsoever (unless the screen brakes). [That doesn't mean of course that we should drop them. Also, when you least expect it, sometimes a small misuse can create damage, where you would expect it wouldn't ... (I've seen all kinds of strange things with phones, that's why handling them with care is I think prudent, without however being paranoid about it ...)]

about occasional phone problems: messages not sent, crackled sound.

Wisely said:

Sometimes power lines can affect reception and transmission. I know when using Bluetooth headphones that they will occasionally dropout when crossing underground power lines.

Crackling sounds can sometimes be fixed by phone reboot or redialing your friend in case you got a bad connection.

Sometimes it can be a network problem rather than a device problem. Other times though, what appears to be a network issue (e.g. your phone shows off or busy to others while to you it seems perfectly on and normal) could be indeed a temporary (rarely permanent, but it could) phone device issue.
Phones, just like computers (and most smart electronic devices), can present errors and bugs related to their software/hardware.
Many times, restarting the phone solves problems. You might even need to restart more than one times, to have back all features and programs/apps of the phone running the way they are supposed to.

Note that the complete way to restart would be to also take out the battery (either before or even after shutting off the power), and sometimes that is the only way, especially if the phone freezes ... (you have no other choice). However, if power (on/off) switch works you could first try that way (keeping the other way as a second/ back-up solution/advantage - gives more options).
Finally, there is always the "total recall/restart to factory settings" solution (e.g. from the phone menu, or manual re-set switch), but that would result in loosing all your added to the phone data. [I keep that as last solution, and sometimes even for after taking it to a repair specialist, unless you don't mind loosing data or when there's nothing substantial in it (then it's a good general solution! [that works])]

Perhaps these exceed your original inquiry, but they are useful and related, and they are things you can do yourself or consider and eliminate before deciding to go to a repair specialist, simply because some things are normal and can happen to any phone [or computer etc.] (which might not need repair yet). Then there's also the "Troubleshooting" section in your manual ... (usually for practical device problems/solutions).

By the way,

messages not sent

or undelivered messages, can also sometimes be due to the network or a [messages] bound on the other end (or even the other phone is off). Tips:
1. Activate message delivery notifications from your settings menu.
2. In case of non delivery, try also to dial the number (e.g. as a scanning with a block on it perhaps, and hang up, to avoid confusion). Sometimes that reactivates a stuck or delayed message (e.g. SMS) in a loaded or malfunctioning carrier system/network.

If you're using a SIM card on your cell phone, problems can occur sometimes due to not correct/proper registeration of your card to the phone/network (happens automatically when you start the phone with the SIM in). In case of such failure, try to restart the phone or take out SIM and put back in (or both at the same time).

Finally, I've seen other strange things (seemingly unexplained, but not really) such as charging errors and charging malfunctions, that sometimes can affect or even damage the phones, but I am not going to get into that.

 

[jedishrfu]

Let me reiterate:

Sometimes power lines can affect reception and transmission. I know when using Bluetooth headphones that they will occasionally dropout when crossing underground power lines.

This is not due to some network dropout. It happens consistently at the same place and I know there's a majot electrical conduit below ground there.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201542