If You Have An Old iPhone Or Android Phone And You Think You Don’t Need To Replace It, You Are Wrong! Using An Old Phone Can Cause You Many Problems.

Smartphones are an inseparable part of people’s daily life. These gadgets are usually present in people in all situations; along with basic things like making calls or sending messages, they help them arrange events and work appointments and connect to different devices.

However, no matter how you take care of your phone, there will eventually come a time when you will have to replace it. This can be due to physical damage, such as being hit, or other reasons, such as the end of software support.

In any case, it should be noted that it is necessary to replace your old phone before it is exposed to problems such as fire, data loss, etc.

In the following, we will examine why you should replace your old phone. So if you have a phone from ten years ago and you think it is unnecessary to replace it, stay with us until the end of this article.

Why should we change our old phone?

Serious security risks threaten old phones.

You must have heard different stories about hackers accessing other people’s phones and stealing their information. But did you know this generally happens to people who use older phones that lack software and security support?

When a phone company ends its support for a product, it will stop providing security updates and will not undertake its repairs.

Note that updating modern smartphones is more than adding new features to their user interface; an update protects your phone from cyber threats such as hacking by fixing bugs and closing security holes.

Of course, hacking of old phones is not only limited to Android phones; even iPhones that are out of Apple’s update cycle are also exposed to many risks. This happened to many iPhone users earlier, and the Pegasus malware spied on their phones.

Of course, there are general solutions that you can use to reduce the chances of your phone being hacked. However, security updates will provide you with a new layer of security against cyber threats.

Therefore, if your phone has not received security updates from the manufacturer for a long time, it is probably time to replace it!

Note that the security value is always higher than the bank account’s balance!

Old phones may set your house on fire!

You must be aware of the scandal caused by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 a few years ago.

The improper design of the battery of this device significantly increased the chance of it catching fire. This defect caused many incidents, resulting in Samsung recalling all Galaxy Note 7 phones from the market!

At the same time, it’s not just poor battery module design that can increase the risk of catching a phone fire; its aging is another influential factor in fire accidents.

Modern electronic devices generally use lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged repeatedly.

Of course, this continuous charging has its risks that increase over time! This happens because the chemical substance used in these batteries loses its ability over time and turns into a gas. The same gas produced is the reason for the inflation of old lithium-ion batteries and can bring irreparable risks.

In this way, if an old phone is exposed to heat or pressure, it will explode and may cause a fire.

Of course, battery fires can happen to any phone of any age. However, older lithium-ion batteries are more at risk due to the accumulation of these flammable gases.

Therefore, if you feel that your phone’s battery is swollen for any reason, it is necessary to replace it immediately to avoid possible dangers.

Older gadgets are not able to connect to newer and faster networks

Since 2018, smartphone manufacturing companies have gradually installed 5G towers worldwide and keyed the fifth generation of telecommunication technologies.

Naturally, 4G phones will not be able to enjoy the speed and more capabilities of the fifth generation, and sooner or later, they will have to replace their phones.

Of course, most smartphones worldwide can connect to 4G and 5G networks. However, some users still use 3G phones! According to many experts, these devices are not considered innovative by some modern standards!

Also, another point in this regard is that since last year, telecommunication companies have started to collect their 3G masts. In this way, for some time, old phones that cannot connect to 4G and 5G networks will become a screen and a few keys and lose their use.

This will indeed happen to 4G phones sooner or later. So try to buy a suitable 5G phone as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Google also stops supporting ancient versions of Android from time to time and cuts off their access to its services. For example, the owners of phones equipped with Android 2.3.7 could practically not access the Google Play store and the benefits of this company.

Of course, Android phones can still function without Google and its services. However, their use will be severely limited.

Don’t forget to properly reset your old device before selling it!

If the above reasons compel you to get rid of your old phone, observing some points before throwing it away or giving it to someone else is necessary.

If your phone is still usable, you must ensure its information will not fall into anyone else’s hands! The most important way to do this is to factory reset or restore the phone to its factory settings.

Of course, the factory reset process is the same for most phones. However, doing this wrong in many cases will lead to heavy consequences for users.

To restore the iPhone to its initial settings, enter the settings menu, and select the Transfer or Reset iPhone option after entering the General section. In this section, you only have to select the Reset option; Because other options will cause the phone data to remain.

Android users can also enter the settings menu, select System, and then Reset Options. In the next step, it is necessary to choose one of the following options depending on the model of your phone:

• Factory Reset
• Erase All Data
• Reset Phone

Be careful that if you don’t do the factory reset process or don’t follow the steps exactly as told, you have exposed your information to the future users of your old phone.

This can cause many problems, such as access to sensitive information, data theft, or even the personal information of your contacts being leaked.

Please do not throw away the phone; Because it will cause severe damage to the environment.

Ordinary waste is eroded over time and gradually disappears. However, this is not true regarding the destruction of electronic devices; Because these devices are generally non-degradable, and on the contrary, over time, they may release toxic compounds and lead to more pollution of the environment!

According to the results of the most recent surveys, about 20% of people in the world throw away their old electronic devices like ordinary garbage!

Considering that electronic parts are generally not degradable, the solution to eliminate these wastes is to burn them. But even this method is not the answer to eradicate some electronic waste; Because some electronic components, when burned, produce gaseous compounds and toxic substances and pollute the air.

Research shows these toxic substances will be produced even if e-waste is exposed to open air.

So instead of throwing away your old phone or any other electronic device, try to find different ways to recycle or reuse them with some research.

Burning old phones can cause fires.

As mentioned earlier, inflated lithium batteries are ready to explode like gunpowder. Therefore, the more you keep them in your home, the more likely it is to catch fire.

At the same time, it should be noted that throwing away the lithium-ion battery of an old phone will never reduce the possibility of fire; But it only transfers the fire from your house to another place!

Lithium-ion batteries explode wherever the conditions for explosion and fire are provided! However, even though their blast in a residential house is considered unfortunate, their shot in an environment such as a waste disposal site can cause a much larger fire.

The reason is that the chance of flammable items being present in waste disposal areas is much higher. Secondly, the possibility of sudden shocks and physical stress to the battery in these places is very high. For this reason, a small explosion in these areas can lead to an uncontrollable fire.

Destroy or recycle unused batteries. The solution to prevent these incidents is to recycle the inflated lithium-ion batteries in old phones. To do this, it is necessary to go to authorized repairers or experts who can replace the battery and use their unique methods.

In this situation, getting help from Google or specialized forums might not be wrong.

Use different parts of old phones as much as possible

Three words with the first letter R are essential in discussing recycling items and various items: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

For example, if we recycle cellulose products like paper properly, we can reduce the need to minimize trees by reusing them!

This issue applies to electronic components as well. Therefore, users should always consider recycling electronic devices before throwing them away. Because throwing them away, as mentioned in the previous case, can have irreparable effects on nature; While recycling old devices, some of their parts or components may be used for other purposes.

Even if these parts are not directly applicable to the user, they may still have many uses for electronic device repairers or component manufacturers.

The appropriate solution in this situation is to hand over the old or unused phone to authorized repairers and recycling companies. These companies can separate different parts of electronic devices and extract usable ones.

Even if these companies cannot recycle the internal parts of your smartphone, at least you will be relieved of not damaging the phone battery or other parts of nature.