I've installed a thermometer app on my phone. It is 20 degrees in this room.

My thermostat is set at 16 degrees. I have gained 4 degrees from somewhere.

It is now 22 degrees. I have gained 6 degrees from somewhere.

It is 19.9 C in this room according to my digital room thermometer.

It has an outside probe too. It's 8.9 C outside.

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

I've installed a thermometer app on my phone. It is 20 degrees in this room.

My thermostat is set at 16 degrees. I have gained 4 degrees from somewhere.

But how does the app know what temperature it is in your room? Does your phone have a built-in thermometer reader device?

I don't have a clue how it knows but the phone only cost £25, so it's not a fancy one.

£25?

Luxury.

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

I don't have a clue how it knows but the phone only cost £25, so it's not a fancy one.

Then I don't think it can possibly be giving you the actual temperature of your room, whatever the app is. It would surely need to have a sensor built into it. Apps are clever things, but they can't suddenly transform your phone into a thermometer as far as I'm aware.

Don't phones have thermometer sensors though? They've got all kinds of other gadgets - accelerometers for example. My mobile phone can tell when I've picked it up, and it helpfully gives a brief display of the time in case I picked it up because I need to know what time it is.

My iPhone (on older model bought second hand in 2016) doesn't have a thermometer. I did once search for such an app but it appears any info like that is from central weather stations and not the phone itself.

How does the central weather station know what temperature it is in my house?

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

How does the central weather station know what temperature it is in my house?

Yes, the phone could know where you are, if you've got GPS turned on, but it would report an outdoor temperature from the weather station. I doubt very much if it's 22 C outside in Wendifield this evening.

In other news, it's now 20.7 C here in my computer room, and 8.8 C outside (where it's raining btw).

I think I've worked out how it works. It seems that every phone has a sensor that tells it how hot the battery is, in case it starts to overheat. I would assume that, when the phone's not in use, the battery settles down to room temperature and the battery temperature tells the app what temperature the room is.

It is currently 19 degrees C.

It's 22 C in our office.

The Call of the Wendigo wrote:

I think I've worked out how it works. It seems that every phone has a sensor that tells it how hot the battery is, in case it starts to overheat. I would assume that, when the phone's not in use, the battery settles down to room temperature and the battery temperature tells the app what temperature the room is.

A bit dubious, but then I have no other explanation. Whatever it is it doesn't seem an accurate reading and it could in theory simply be guessing room temperatures.

some randomer wrote:

The iPhone has a temperature sensor that blocks down all the functions in the iPhone once it reaches a temperature higher than 45 degrees. ... It has a temperature sensor which it uses to detect overheat. The phone will cease operation until the device cools down. The sensor is not otherwise available to applications.

Don't know about Haemorrhoids Android devices

I don't think Wendi realised what debate it would cause upon launching this thread.

https://thermometer.en.softonic.com/android

Quote :

Measure the Temperature Wherever You Go
Thermometer is a free app for Android devices that measures the ambient temperature in any given space. Whether indoors or outdoors, Thermometer can measure the temperature wherever you go on a Celsius or Fahrenheit scale and display it in a number of ways. From the classic thermometer look to a digital or analog style, it?s accurate for any phone with an ambient temperature sensor. For phones without this sensor, the temperature displayed will be that of the phone itself and likely warmer than the actual ambient temperature due to heat from the battery. In this case, launching the app immediately after starting your phone will give you the best reading possible.

I think we now have the answer, it's 6°C higher then the ambient temperature inside Wendykin's battery.

The battery on her phone

Quote :

launching the app immediately after starting your phone will give you the best reading possible.

Considering most people keep their phones on all of the time this isn't very helpful.