It is important to understand that the critical factor affecting device reliability and functionality is the junction temperature, not the ambient temperature even though they are interrelated. The lower the maximum ambient temperature, the easier it is to satisfy junction temperature for a given regulator. Meanwhile, a higher ambient temperature (hot) requires the use of a regulator with better thermal resistance.

Due to the nature of components changing performance with temperature, operating at cold temperatures can also influence the lifetime and performance of the device. The device can experience faulty conditions under cold temperatures such as poor start-up, stability and in some circumstance it might not start up at all.