Sony Xperia Z3+ Camera App Can Crash in Seconds Due to Overheating

Some Sony Xperia Z3+ and Xperia Z4 users had recently reported about overheating issues on the handset, and the company had confirmed it was working on the issue and will deliver a software fix. Now, according to new user reports, the Sony Xperia Z3+ is getting very hot to touch when using camera for long periods or while playing graphics-heavy games. The handset also closes the camera app citing the overheating issue with a popup message to the user.

The overheating issue on the Xperia Z3+ (the global variant of the Japan-only Xperia Z4) is plaguing the functionality of the camera app, specifically in a few intensive modes. Androidpit's Kris Carlon has discovered that the Xperia Z3+ camera crashes while using augmented reality mode or 4K mode within few seconds.

"Even if you've just been playing a hi-res game or doing a benchmark, if you go to the camera app an overheating warning will pop up after a few seconds and the camera app will crash a few seconds later," Carlon notes. The popup reads, "Note: The device temperature is rising. If it continues to rise, the app will close automatically." Just before killing the app, another message shows up, saying, "Note: Camera will turn off temporarily to cool down."

He added that the camera app crashed from up to three seconds to a minute after showing a notification popup for heating issue. Carlon added that Sony communicated to say it was aware about the problem and is working on a firmware patch.

Earlier in June, Sony Netherlands acknowledged the issue and said that it "recognises the problems." The Japanese company promised a software fix for the Sony Xperia Z3+. As a temporary fix, the company recommended users to turn off the smartphone multiple times during a day to avoid issues. Notably, some Sony Xperia Z4 users had also reported similar issues with their handsets.

Sony is not the first handset maker that has faced issue with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chipset, as LG previously claimed that it encountered heating issues in the initial sample of the G Flex2 but was able to tackle it. LG clarified that it received updated chipset and also worked with Qualcomm to resolve the issue. A report in January had suggested that Samsung, on the other hand, ditched Snapdragon 810 chipset for its flagship smartphone. Recent reports also found the HTC One M9 to be facing issues with the Snapdragon 810 in terms of overheating, issues that were fixed by subsequent software updates.