I Need to Kill My Old Phone
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- Holman
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I Need to Kill My Old Phone
The phone I've been using for the past few years is a refurbished iPhone 7 that has lost its ability to take a charge. The lightning connector (where you plug in the charging line) just can't hold the plug: when I put it in, it falls right out, and even if I hold it myself or wiggle it or whatever, no charging occurs. (OK OK, make your sex jokes; I'll wait.)
The plug itself isn't the problem, as it works fine in other Apple devices. This phone is just worn out. Naturally, its battery ran fully out days ago. (I already have a new phone to which I've transferred my number, and everything there is fine.)
So I've got a dead phone that I can't turn on to "erase," as the usual update process calls for. I'd like to recycle it, but I want to make sure that it retains no trace of my history (including of course stored passwords, etc). What can I do to make this happen? Would removing and destroying the SIM card be enough?
The plug itself isn't the problem, as it works fine in other Apple devices. This phone is just worn out. Naturally, its battery ran fully out days ago. (I already have a new phone to which I've transferred my number, and everything there is fine.)
So I've got a dead phone that I can't turn on to "erase," as the usual update process calls for. I'd like to recycle it, but I want to make sure that it retains no trace of my history (including of course stored passwords, etc). What can I do to make this happen? Would removing and destroying the SIM card be enough?
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- Isgrimnur
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Smoove_B
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I thought I'd try to be helpful, but pretty much everything I saw online suggested complete and total destruction is your only option.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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- Holman
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Just curious: would taking the phone (or an old hard drive) out to the sidewalk and smashing it with a hammer until I could hear or see many pieces rattling around actually do the job?
I've got a small bag of old hard drives filled with purchase histories (and therefore credit card info, etc) that I'm wondering what to do with.
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- Lorini
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
They don't have electronic recycling where you are? I just take miine to Best Buy and they take care of it. In CA you have to pay a recycling fee when you buy electronics.Holman wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 6:21 pmJust curious: would taking the phone (or an old hard drive) out to the sidewalk and smashing it with a hammer until I could hear or see many pieces rattling around actually do the job?
I've got a small bag of old hard drives filled with purchase histories (and therefore credit card info, etc) that I'm wondering what to do with.
Not sure that I'd worry about my hard drive in a recycling situation, Best Buy must get 100's of these a week. Nowadays everything is in the cloud so won't have the issue anymore.
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- Chraolic
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I don't know if you want to spend anything on getting it properly deleted, but apparently there are wireless charging cases for the iPhone 7 and I do know there are third-party QI chargers for under a fiver. I'm not sure I'd recommend using those on the regular, but they should be safe enough to use once or twice. Probably.
- Anonymous Bosch
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
If you want to be absolutely certain the phone is securely destroyed, contact a certified cell phone destruction service in your area instead of simply dropping it off at a Best Buy or the like.Holman wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:36 pm The phone I've been using for the past few years is a refurbished iPhone 7 that has lost its ability to take a charge. The lightning connector (where you plug in the charging line) just can't hold the plug: when I put it in, it falls right out, and even if I hold it myself or wiggle it or whatever, no charging occurs. (OK OK, make your sex jokes; I'll wait.)
The plug itself isn't the problem, as it works fine in other Apple devices. This phone is just worn out. Naturally, its battery ran fully out days ago. (I already have a new phone to which I've transferred my number, and everything there is fine.)
So I've got a dead phone that I can't turn on to "erase," as the usual update process calls for. I'd like to recycle it, but I want to make sure that it retains no trace of my history (including of course stored passwords, etc). What can I do to make this happen? Would removing and destroying the SIM card be enough?
Failing that, if you'd prefer to try physically destroying the device yourself, perhaps the simplest and easiest method of doing so without using tools would be to place it on a sheet of paper and drive your vehicle slowly over it back and forth several times. The destruction obviously won't be as secure as relying upon a certified destruction service, but it ought to be sufficient to deter amateur attempts at accessing your data.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
- Daehawk
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Everyone has a hammer.
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- Anonymous Bosch
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Granted, but taking a hammer to it is messier and more cumbersome than what I suggested. Using a vehicle with a sheet of paper or the like helps keep the potentially toxic materials within the device contained, and eases the process of disposal vs. having shards flying all over the place with a hammer.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
- Isgrimnur
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
And iPhone batteries aren’t easily removable. Piercing it for destruction will get you on the nightly news.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Holman
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I've taken hard drives out and just smashed them with a hammer until they sounded like a cereal box when I shook them. I assume that was enough.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
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- Kraken
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
A few years ago I donated an old laptop to charity via a local computer repair shop on the condition that they replace the hard drive (which had failed) and destroy the old one. The owner deftly removed it, handed me a hammer, and asked if I'd like to do the honors. I did, and it was satisfying.
- LawBeefaroni
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Degausser? I remember my dad having a company issued one back in the day (80s). Not sure if today's phones are hardened against that sort of thing. It wiped everything you could throw at it back then.
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- Skinypupy
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
My kids loved “hard drive breaking day”.Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:03 pmA few years ago I donated an old laptop to charity via a local computer repair shop on the condition that they replace the hard drive (which had failed) and destroy the old one. The owner deftly removed it, handed me a hammer, and asked if I'd like to do the honors. I did, and it was satisfying.
A hammer, safety goggles, and a bag full of old drives from both mine and my in-laws PCs made for a fun way to kill a couple hours a while back.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
- Isgrimnur
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Back up in your ass with the resurrection!
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Scuzz
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I am still using a 3G flip phone. I know I will soon be given (I was given the 3G phone) a new phone by AT&T because 3G will disappear. I really don't care about a new phone.
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- Unagi
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Could you put it in a bucket of water for a couple weeks, then give it to Best Buy?
- The Meal
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
No hard drive in an iPhone 7. All the memory is solid state.
Being concerned about internals outgassing is for real. I'd wrap the device thoroughly in packing tape (or duct tape) and then go to town with a hammer. Were it a hard drive and were you not interested in some sort of recycling, I'd have suggested using a drill. The tape also serves purpose to keep the shards of glass from the phone's face from being something you'd have to deal with.
This decombobulates the device well enough that someone would have to go through a lot of work to see if they could get at your data. The SSD (solid state drive) is likely no longer connected the the screen (and the screen is likely no longer doing input/output). Have you completely made your data irretrievable? Maybe.
Now you want to take the tape off and use Unagi's suggestion with the bucket of water. Give 'er a good 48 hours completely immersed. If you did a thorough enough job with the hammer, you've now accomplished everything you could reasonably accomplish and still have something a recycling place would know how to handle.
I can't really think of an easy way for a layman to destroy the SSD without making useless a bunch of other phone components (the stuff a recycling place would really be trying to save). Push your representatives in the direction of enacting right-of-repair laws which give you a better chance of removing specific internal components from your devices.
Being concerned about internals outgassing is for real. I'd wrap the device thoroughly in packing tape (or duct tape) and then go to town with a hammer. Were it a hard drive and were you not interested in some sort of recycling, I'd have suggested using a drill. The tape also serves purpose to keep the shards of glass from the phone's face from being something you'd have to deal with.
This decombobulates the device well enough that someone would have to go through a lot of work to see if they could get at your data. The SSD (solid state drive) is likely no longer connected the the screen (and the screen is likely no longer doing input/output). Have you completely made your data irretrievable? Maybe.
Now you want to take the tape off and use Unagi's suggestion with the bucket of water. Give 'er a good 48 hours completely immersed. If you did a thorough enough job with the hammer, you've now accomplished everything you could reasonably accomplish and still have something a recycling place would know how to handle.
I can't really think of an easy way for a layman to destroy the SSD without making useless a bunch of other phone components (the stuff a recycling place would really be trying to save). Push your representatives in the direction of enacting right-of-repair laws which give you a better chance of removing specific internal components from your devices.
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- Blackhawk
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I'm facing something similar with an old phone (S7) that died rather spectacularly. It can be turned on, but the internal display and glass are both shot, so there is no way to actually see it.
I suppose I could yank data off with a USB cable, but it wouldn't be irretrievable. If I weren't concerned about recycling, I would just smash it, drill it, and throw it away wrapped in a diaper (I know people with small kids - it wouldn't have to actually be used to keep people from poking around in it.) A number of security experts have suggested burning it, some of them suggesting in the barbecue, but I don't think I want mercury (and whatever else) sitting in the bottom of my grill.
But I won't throw it away, and recycling options here are limited. I still have a window air conditioner that's been sitting on the floor in the kids' room for eight or ten years. Why? Because disposing of it correctly would involve a 200-mile round trip and a steep fee at the end of the trip. I can either sneak it into a trash can, or I can leave it in the house.
Most likely I will squash it, drown it, and then stick it into storage for the next ten or twenty years until the data is useless.
I suppose I could yank data off with a USB cable, but it wouldn't be irretrievable. If I weren't concerned about recycling, I would just smash it, drill it, and throw it away wrapped in a diaper (I know people with small kids - it wouldn't have to actually be used to keep people from poking around in it.) A number of security experts have suggested burning it, some of them suggesting in the barbecue, but I don't think I want mercury (and whatever else) sitting in the bottom of my grill.
But I won't throw it away, and recycling options here are limited. I still have a window air conditioner that's been sitting on the floor in the kids' room for eight or ten years. Why? Because disposing of it correctly would involve a 200-mile round trip and a steep fee at the end of the trip. I can either sneak it into a trash can, or I can leave it in the house.
Most likely I will squash it, drown it, and then stick it into storage for the next ten or twenty years until the data is useless.
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- Carpet_pissr
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Rolling over with a car is not a great idea. My middle kid "inherited" an iPhone (7 or 8 maybe?) from my nephew, who had accidentally run over it with a forklift. The frame was bent, but it still booted up and worked until she upgraded (still works AFAIK).
I would think a decent dunking in salted water for 24 hours or even less would do it for that model, since they weren't making them waterproof (or maybe even water resistant) back then.
I know this because I dropped my iphone 6 into my salt water pool (and it was in the shallow water for all of 2 seconds, TOPS), but it still died several days later. Apparently circuit boards are SUPER sensitive to salt. And obviously water. Mix the two together and you have a delicious iPhone cocktail of assured death.
I would think a decent dunking in salted water for 24 hours or even less would do it for that model, since they weren't making them waterproof (or maybe even water resistant) back then.
I know this because I dropped my iphone 6 into my salt water pool (and it was in the shallow water for all of 2 seconds, TOPS), but it still died several days later. Apparently circuit boards are SUPER sensitive to salt. And obviously water. Mix the two together and you have a delicious iPhone cocktail of assured death.
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Not that I ever owned an iPhone, but there seem to be a few different ways that you can wipe a phone that still powers on and/or has a functional USB cable connection. It's when you don't have either one of those options that it becomes an issue.
- Anonymous Bosch
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
There's a world of difference between accidentally running over it once with a forklift (which can weigh less than a mid- to large-sized car), and doing so repeatedly, slowly back and forth.Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:34 pm Rolling over with a car is not a great idea. My middle kid "inherited" an iPhone (7 or 8 maybe?) from my nephew, who had accidentally run over it with a forklift. The frame was bent, but it still booted up and worked until she upgraded (still works AFAIK).
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
An S7 is not an iPhone. It's a Samsung Galaxy S7, and as Android as Android can be.gilraen wrote: ↑Sun Jun 06, 2021 2:25 pmNot that I ever owned an iPhone, but there seem to be a few different ways that you can wipe a phone that still powers on and/or has a functional USB cable connection. It's when you don't have either one of those options that it becomes an issue.
The thing is, it's easy to make a phone non-functional. There are a thousand way. Making the data irretrievable is a different story. Deleting doesn't do it unless you are also able to wipe it. Drilling would do it, as it destroys the storage itself. Does a salt water dunking an effect on solid state memory? Unless you can ensure the data block/chip/whatever is smashed, drilled, melted, or otherwise destroyed, smashing the rest of the phone doesn't matter.
If one were just tossing it in the trash it would be relatively safe, as nobody would be likely to ever see it again. But putting it in a recycling box puts a spotlight on it.
Thus the 'destroy what I can and lose it in storage for 20 years' plan.
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Right, sorry, I misread.
I have an old S5 that I need to recycle, it doesn't really power on anymore (doesn't hold a charge and the charging cable can barely stay in, if you don't breathe on it). I'm just gonna do a factory reset on it and not worry about it. And honestly, if I can't keep it powered long enough to do that...I'll recycle it anyway and not worry about it.
- Chraolic
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
I doubt it. Phones nowadays have water-proof certification at a depth of 1 meter for at least 30 minutes, but it doesn't mean they will definitely fail if they are submerged for longer. Also I accidentally had a memory card go through a laundry cycle once, and it still works.
- Carpet_pissr
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Operative word there being "nowadays". This is an OLD phone.Chraolic wrote: ↑Sun Jun 06, 2021 4:52 pmI doubt it. Phones nowadays have water-proof certification at a depth of 1 meter for at least 30 minutes, but it doesn't mean they will definitely fail if they are submerged for longer. Also I accidentally had a memory card go through a laundry cycle once, and it still works.
- Holman
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
I think I'll be going with "duct-tape and hammer" destruction.
I think I'll be going with "duct-tape and hammer" destruction.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- Daehawk
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
At this point are we sure he is talking about his phone? I no longer feel comfortable being part of this.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
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"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
My phone no longer buzzes or makes noise when I get incoming messages on Google or FB, and only sometimes on a phone call. Wife has authorized me getting a cheap Samsung model as a father's day present. I don't know if their cheaper models do all of the fitness stuff that my S7 does, and I told her switching to something that doesn't has no appeal for me. She thinks our 7 year old is a candidate for a hand-me-down, but he already knows he can play games on it and it's already a challenge to get him spending quality time doing something else.
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Re: I Need to Kill My Old Phone
To everyone talking about beating a phone into oblivion or drilling holes through it, keep in mind that there is a lithium battery inside. If that starts leaking in the wrong way, it can be a very serious problem...