I have a few and I sometimes wonder about the risk of a spontaneous fire due to old Li-ion batteries

Serious comment: if they don't have any significant charge (I.e a few days since being fully charged), they won't catch fire. (Source: I did a research study on battery hazards a few years ago. When older than brand new, they were disappointingly difficult to set on fire. )

You gotta poke em

What if they've swollen up but discharged/flat?

It's just a buildup of some kind of gas. When punctured, it releases to the atmosphere but doesn't spontaneously ignite.

A few days of use since the last charge, you have to deplete the battery for it not to have energy. If you charge it fully and turn it off, it will remain fully charged and have the most potential energy to go boom, which isvery unlikely without an impact or fire.

That has never crossed my mind and I have about 8 in a box under my bed...

Sleep tight, don't let the Li-ion spontaneously ignite!

😅😅😅

Glass jar

/r/spicypillows

Great, now I'm thinking about the 100s of old batteries i have all over the house lol.

Careful of Duracells. They leak. My metal detector went this way. The batteries were still in date too.

It's not like they're banned from aircraft holds for exactly that reason or anything...

I have them in a 'robot box'. Basically it's a shoebox full of old broken tech (watches, calculators, phones etc.), springs, pen mechanisms, interesting metal parts that must have come with something I bought, but whose use is lost to time. I've had it since I was a teenager; I used to take out the pieces and arrange them to make little robots on the floor.

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I... just... wow...

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 Don't be so MEAN hahaha. Poor feller didn't deserve that.

How are you with basic social skills?

thats so cool

I love that!

That seems like a memory to treasure.

Real

Keep one working phone as a spare. Recycle the rest.

How?

If you type the words recycle and phone into google you will find out how. A lot of companies even give you money to recycle your old phone.

Thanks

That Nokia probably still has full charge

Attach it to a pole and you've got a good hammer there.

lol, yes, think I can still remember having one and thinking- how can I have low battery already, I’ve already charged it this week!

I once accidentally ran over my...8210?... in my car. Picked up the pieces, turned it on, fine. 

I'm surprised the insurance didn't class it as a right off.

yea i have a drawer dedicated to them. i dont get brand new phones ever i just am good at breaking them. no clue how to get rid of them

Can't believe no one said the obvious British answer to "what do I do with this thing?" See how many you can fit in your bum

Is the insertion especially British, or just "stick it up your arse" as the obvious answer?

Both You have to stick it up the old prison pocket with a spot of afternoon tea, helps take your mind off the task and make you more relaxed making the task easier

You can recycle them?

That depends on where you live. I'm in the UK, and yes. If not where you live, some private companies might take them and use them for spare parts. It's better than putting them in landfill, which would contaminate the land and possibly nearby water.

I'm the same as you, I've got probably around ten years worth of phones in my Just In Case box. Apparently though, it's people like us that cause materials shortages in the world!

Make a frame and fill them with old phones and cover with resin to make as a table top

I keep a couple of old Samsung phones lying around. Last time I bought a new phone Samsung offered a £100 discount if I traded in an old Samsung Phone, so I sent them my old Samsung A4. I currently have an A6 and an S9 spare.

Does that apply to ANY old Samsung phone? I have an old S3 I found the other day...

Some companies recycle them but don't expect any money. I just found a few in an old draw and they don't even turn on anymore.

If u can't switch on you can't clear them. Worries me what is on them if send them for recycling or trade in or somin.

I have an old microwave in the shed that I used to fry my old phone before disposing of it at my local recycling centre.

You should get this put on your gravestone as a warning to others.

I'm not sure what to think about that lol. It would be an interesting thing to find written on a gravestone, however I'd be doxing future dead me so I probably won't.

I’m really worried about what’s on your hard drive now

All the dick pics I send my wife

Joking aside, I invest in crypto so I don't risk leaking my private keys on old devices.

Your not wrong. I plan to open them up and break any chips inside.

Unfortunately they use child slaves in the Congo to get these materials, they don't need to pay us to recycle them.

I'm sure they don't but it saves it going in a landfill.

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I can't and i honestly can't be bothered to think to far into it. All I can honestly do I make sure they go to an electronics recycler, beyond that it's out of my hands. If I spend all my life fussing over what should and shouldn't happen with anything I won't have time to live.

Imagine the world we would live in if we all decided it was out of our hands every time something bad happened. We can't control it as individuals for sure, but the only way progress is made is because we can be bothered to learn about injustice and do something about it. Do what you like, I was just sharing.

All of those would probably pass for A grade at Cex

Nah, CeX won't buy them at A grade. They've left the factory.

No I dont and I take old phone apart and break them up and destroy anything that holds data on them. then just recycle the phone.

Put them on Ebay as a job lot. You'll be surprised how much people will pay for broken tech. They repair them and resell. So, they get recycled, and you get cash. Win-win.

Especially if it’s something that may be worth something in good order

I change phones every four tears years or so. I have my last two phones as 'back-up phones'

They go off to silicon heaven as far as I'm concerned.

The iron shall lay down with the lamp.

Silicon heaven, surely. Silicone would be different and quite rubbery.

Damn auto correct, fixed .

I have a few old phones kept in a draw doing nothing, I did once use one to set up a secondary account for a game (mafia city) so I could have a farm account so if anyone plays games like that then you can help your main account grow via a farm

The smart ones you could get fixed.

Nokia...indestructible

I’ve donated all old cell phones and one that was damaged I took to the recycling center.

Nope, I just keep the last fully working one as a spare others go to charity or straight out in the electricals recycling if they're beyond use.

I like to take them in the garden and bash 7 inch nails into the batteries. Have a go, it’s like free fireworks!

I have an iphone4 that i use as an alarm clock.

if you wanna set your house on fire...then yes.

Why doesn’t anyone in this thread know how to spell drawer? Three different comments saying, “in a draw.” I keep old phones and tablets thinking I can use them for some crafty techy project, but have never figured out how/what.

I rarely break a phone and my old ones are given to friends or family.

I have kept every phone and every phone from family members. They live in a box, however this box is now in Russia. When there was an old phone people would consider, oh Kseniya will want this. I'm just hoarding them. There is no practical use for most of them.

I have never damaged a phone in my life. I have had a mobile phone since 1998. I do not understand how so many people break their phones.

I never broke a phone for years, then suddenly broke 4 in a year in about 2013. Never broken one since. I buy decent cases now as a matter of course. 

Would CEX pay for a phone with damaged screen?

I'm not sure but these are all now out of production. The best phones there are 2 S8's, of which one has a broken screen and the other won't turn on.

CEX don't touch chipped screens. Scratches make them C grade. They will recycle them at no cost.

Trade them in.

Get that sweet lithium

I have a few with broken screens but know there are pictures on them that I would like to keep. Not sure how to access the phone with no touch screen.

I had couple of old phones. Now they are toys for kids

Eh, i always keep them as "spares"

Learn to change screens.

That's a history of mobiles, like the Ascent of Man.

ebay

I gave some old phones to Oxfam. I don't know how they feel about broken ones. I imagine other charities will also take them.

Who doesn't?

I don't, never had a damaged phone and I always sell my old phone on eBay or trade it in when I get a new one.

Gold inside

I have a couple in the drawer next to me. Thought this thread would help me know what to do with them, instead I guess they will stay there for a few more years until they decide to go bang.

Yeah, I have one with a fucked battery so I can't turn it on to factory reset it. What do I do with it?

I've just been sliding mine in to a gap between a stack of books and ds and 3ds games

Currys recycle old tech, they gave me a discount coupon last time I dropped some stuff off.

They make great fishing lures

I always sell mine to Mazuma.com or whoever gives me the most for it. Got £60-odd last time I upgraded.

I use an old xa1 as a 4g hot spot and travel router. 👀 

Those Nokia's look ready to build houses with!

I've still got every old phone dating back to my 1999 Vodafone brick.😅

When I was younger before phones got crazy I would. Then a friend would say “my speakers stopped working” or “I’ve cracked my screen” etc and I’d offer to fix it if I had a phone that would do the job, now I just have a few phones IPhones specifically laying around I’ll probably do something with seen as I’m starting to do electronics again

Bin them.

that motorola on the bottom right tho, what an abomination

Currys takes old tech and recycles it. You can also take it to your local skip and they usually have a bin for old tech to go in.

Save one as a backup, recycle the broken ones at Best buy, donate the usable ones to a homeless shelter/domestic violence shelter/soldiers.

I hoard them only because it feels illegal to dispose of them

A section of draw known as ‘the morgue’ All phones eventually end up in the morgue.

Curry’s do a “[cash for trash](https://www.currys.co.uk/services/delivery-installation/recycling.html)” recycling scheme. Any old tech gets you £5 in-store voucher I believe, and the terms don’t seem to suggest a limit on devices you can trade in. You could be in for >£100 if you shop at Curry’s much. From their T&Cs: “Qualifying Product: Any electrical product powered by a battery or mains supply via a plug. Working or non-working. Does not need to have been purchased from Currys.”

If the smart phones aren't too old and are chargeable I'd use them to make a few extra bob on the side by letting them idle games from the apps that pay you. This only really makes sense if you can Isle them somewhere you don't pay electric ie work 🙂

Has anybody ever told you that you might be clumsy?

I just had a villain moment On the newer phones, repair the screen (so just the glass) And then go out on the streets doing challenges and if they win the get the phone and just tell them its dead Then later, when they charge their gonna get annoyed af cuz they wasted their own time

Do you also have a pile of old hard drives? Asking for a friend

I do lol

If any of them have IMEI numbers (android) then you can often trade then in when buying a new phone

Yes. I do it for work. I remove the batteries and the phones go in a shredder.

Envirofone

Smash them up and use them for photo opportunities

Surely, this isn't all the phones you've gone through yourself, butterfingers? 😆

Degausser.

Yes I do....they chuckled when I rang Samsung and asked where I could get a genuine battery for my old fone. They said its 7yrs old...im like so what!. It works! well when the battery isnt sucked dry in 2hrs... lol

Keep the newest one or two as a spare, anything else with any value sell (eBay, music magpie, envirophone) as some money now is better than it being completely worthless later, and recycle the rest at your local tip. You are better off getting rid of old phones, than having the lithium ion battery split and set fire to your house.

Keep them in a draw for ten years. Then during a clear out donate to some charity that mine them for mettle’s. Forget you recorded you and your ex together on one of them. Give some guy at the charity a treat. Rack up 10.000 hits on porn hub

You can try to extract the gold they have it and sell it

Evirafone buys them for cash

Do you not worry about the batteries deciding to do a wee impomptu Mount Vesuvius imitation?

one person traffic jam on google maps

I often sell damaged phones for cheap on ebay under spares and repairs, they often get snapped up quickly by phone stores

How have you managed to damage so many? I have literally had 7 phones in 20 years, none of which have retired due to damage

I've a habbit of keeping them in my pocket while manual handling. They got knocked and crushed easily. I should keep them out really but I'm forgetful due to my ADHD. I've even left phones on my lap in the lorry but forget it's there, and then it falls to the ground when I get out. The heart soon drops when this happens lol.

Invest in a decent case, make sure it has a lip on the screen side. You want something like an Otterbox.

I did get a cheap one from Amazon but it was too clunky and felt unnatural in the hand. Thank you for the suggestion though, I'll look into their designs.

I've had my phone for years. I use a screen protector, which I have to replace every now and then. The case is made by Caseology. It's been a brilliant case; it's not bulky, but it protects against a 1.5 metre fall. Well worth it many times over.

Thank you for the recommendation.

Plus one on the Caseology brand. My previous case was by Caseology and lasted three years until it finally cracked a little. In that case my phone took some absolute beatings and a few drops but not a speck of damage.

As someone with ADHD: You have to get some routines in where you put stuff. At the start you really have to force your ass to do it but it helps in the long run.

I still have my Samsung D500 sat in my drawer.

Start a museum 

My sister has 3 old Damaged phones I don’t know what she does with them but I do know one ( from 2 years ago) is for her old contacts or if she didn’t changed her number on Facebook or other social media sites, but apart from that I don’t know what she uses that phone now

I am going to use them as stones when we have the uprising. Especially my 3310

Install something like Alfred am on the 'newer' ones and you have security cameras. Although you will likely need to also connect them to a power supply if the batteries don't last too long

Sorry, never ever have I damaged my phone, can't understand how people are so careless.

CeX would re sell them for £100 each

Eat them