Although in its time it was considered an addition reserved to the most advanced terminals, the launch of a smartphone is no longer conceived, without its cameras being accompanied by a flash. In addition to supporting poor light conditions, the flashlight function is used daily by millions of users. But unfortunately, the flash can become unavailable when we need it most, due to low battery. Why is this happening?
Apart from taking a photo with a flash, which can be more or less transcendental, the truth is that having a flashlight can be very useful, and even vital for many users in some extreme circumstances. Depending on a percentage that may vary depending on the device , but which is generally below 15%, the flash of many mobiles will stop working. We see how it is not possible to activate it when taking a photo, and it is not available as a flashlight option either.
The real reason
The main cause is that smartphones are designed to avoid unexpected blackouts. If the battery cannot provide enough battery power for the processor, display, and other active hardware, it can cause the processor to shut down unexpectedly, which could cause more serious problems or loss of data if you are in the middle of a task. We are therefore facing a security measure, where the system decides for us, to prioritize when there is the risk of these sudden blackouts, something that can motivate, among other factors, the flash.
Generally, this performance management works through an internal system check, which combines the temperature of the device, the state of charge of the battery and the impedance of the battery. In this case, the maximum performance of some system components , such as the CPU and the GPU, is limited to avoid unexpected shutdowns and high energy consumption functions are deactivated, as is the case at hand.
Makes sense?
The truth is that from the raised point of view it does. However, the margin is quite wide in many cases, so that the user cannot use the flash temporarily, when it still has 15 or 10% battery. We repeat that there may be circumstances in which our mobile phone can act as a “lifesaver” thanks to the flash, and where an unexpected blackout with data loss would be the least of our concerns. However, the user should have the power to decide what they want to spend every last “milliamp” on their mobile on.
The limitation can be broken as long as we get some Rom specially cooked for our mobile, and that it does not have this protection system. There are also miracle applications or mods for the cameras of various devices, which promise to use the flash to the end. However, many of them contain malware and will have to be downloaded from untrustworthy external websites.