Hardware What is the safe temperature for a 3DS?

RombiteSkunk · Dec 17, 2024

Ok so... I have this question/issue:
When I use play games like Fe Fates, Mario 3d Land and even Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (overclocking as well) according to Rosalina Menu My 3ds is at 32°C

And recently while playing Fe Echoes Shadows of Valentia... Even if I'm not overclocking my 3DS, it still gets a bit hot, 34°C or 35°C

So, is ~35°C a safe temperature for my new 3ds xl? Or maybe the battery is at the end of its life or maybe it needs some cleaning inside?

E-

Deleted member 731084 · Dec 17, 2024

35 degrees is ambient in some places the 3DS got sold. I wouldn't worry about it.

RombiteSkunk · Dec 18, 2024

Aurelia said:
35 degrees is ambient in some places the 3DS got sold. I wouldn't worry about it.

And at what temperature would I should worry? :'0

Deleted member 731084 · Dec 18, 2024

The 3DS does not use a high performance chip. Not by todays standards, and not by those of the day. There's not even active cooling, so your concern about cleaning (which usually fixes airflow) is misplaced. I wouldn't worry about it, you're going to reach the limits of the silicon long before heat will become a problem, unless you mess with voltages.

rave420 · Dec 19, 2024

Start to be concerned when your 3DS hits a temp of 80°C+. It shouldn't ever get that high, considering the low-power nature of everything. Would be surprised if the battery can even provide enough power to heat it up that much. Speaking of batteries, the 3DS uses a lithium-ion battery, and those are generally safe between -20°C to 60°C, with the optimal temperature being closer to 0°C to 45°C. That being said, just because the 3DS's processor(s) exceeds 45°C doesn't mean that the battery is getting that hot.

Long story short, your temperatures are fine, stop obsessing over it. It is perfectly natural for something to get warm when it starts consuming power.

RombiteSkunk · Dec 19, 2024

Aurelia said:
The 3DS does not use a high performance chip. Not by todays standards, and not by those of the day. There's not even active cooling, so your concern about cleaning (which usually fixes airflow) is misplaced. I wouldn't worry about it, you're going to reach the limits of the silicon long before heat will become a problem, unless you mess with voltages.

I don't think I'd mess with voltages, I don't have that much experience with 3ds hardware-
Since I bought it a year ago I haven't given it a perfect cleaning, and I don't know if the previous owner did it before the sale...

Post automatically merged: Dec 19, 2024

rave420 said:
Start to be concerned when your 3DS hits a temp of 80°C+. It shouldn't ever get that high, considering the low-power nature of everything. Would be surprised if the battery can even provide enough power to heat it up that much. Speaking of batteries, the 3DS uses a lithium-ion battery, and those are generally safe between -20°C to 60°C, with the optimal temperature being closer to 0°C to 45°C. That being said, just because the 3DS's processor(s) exceeds 45°C doesn't mean that the battery is getting that hot.

Long story short, your temperatures are fine, stop obsessing over it. It is perfectly natural for something to get warm when it starts consuming power.

Noteeed~
So there's nothing to worry about, thank you c:
I was really worried about it reaching 35°C, but that's okay then. Thanks again ;3

anotherthing · Dec 19, 2024

RombiteSkunk said:
I was really worried about it reaching 35°C

35 C isn't that hot at all. Your mouth is around that. If 35 C was a problem, you wouldn't be able to take it outside during the summer or ever leave it in a car. If you can carry it around with you all year, 35 C is just fine.

SpaceGameJunkie · 2026-07-17T16:58:36+0100

Thank you for this thread. It's been great reading. I was wondering about heat because I keep my 3DS in a hard case in my backpack while I'm out, and I was concerned with the current heat wave whether I should take my 3DS with me in the heat or leave it at home.

It sounds like, if it's off or in sleep mode, it should be okay in my pack. Does that seem right to y'all?

Kwyjor · 2026-07-17T17:27:08+0100

SpaceGameJunkie said:
It's been great reading.

It's completely unrelated to your question..?

SpaceGameJunkie said:
Does that seem right to y'all?

If there was a problem with 3DS units getting overheated in backpacks, there would be thousands of threads screaming about it by now and at least a third of them would be accusing Nintendo of being clueless about hardware design.

SpaceGameJunkie · 2026-07-17T17:46:32+0100

Yeah, you're right. I asked my wife about it too, and she said, "Would your phone be okay in your backpack? So will your 3DS." As usually, she's likely correct.

Thank you!!

Hardware What is the safe temperature for a 3DS?

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