Getting Rid of your Old Mobile Phone? Here are 3 Very Important Things to Do First. (Well, OK, three-and-a-half Things)
In my previous blog I discussed 3 things you could do with your old mobile phone.
Once you decide to part company with your old cell phone, it is extremely important to follow these steps to protect your privacy. Make sure you:
1. Terminate your service contract
If you stayed with the same wireless provider, or ported your number to a new provider, then it is very likely your service has been disconnected. If you are not sure, call your old provider and make sure.
2. Erase your data on the phone
Associated Press reported on a company that bought a number of used phones from eBay as an experiment. They found personal data on an astonishing 90 percent of phones! It is not enough to simply delete your data; you have to do a hard reset. How?
- Check your phone’s user manual, or
- Search online – for example, how to hard reset Samsung Galaxy A12
- Find reset software on the internet, or
- Some models can be wiped remotely using software such as Windows Mobile.
3. Remove your SIM Card from your Old Mobile Phone
This is not absolutely necessary as it contains no data after a hard reset, however, many people believe it is better to physically remove it, just to be absolutely safe.
And….
Just one more thing – give your old mobile phone a quick clean before you pass it on!
Now you can sell, trade, donate or recycle your phone with confidence, knowing your data will not be compromised.
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Warm regards
Very good tips for making the most of a new phone transition.
Hi Green Goddess,
Indeed, I am right in the midst of this. My old phone was just about rolling over and dying the other day and was time for a new phone. Well, I purchased it the other day and have been charging it and using it just fine. And I just did a search online for a recycling place locally to go recycle my old cell phone, and thought I would check over here at the ecofriendlylink website to see what your recommendations were about recycling your old cell phone. Et Voila! Of course as The Green Goddess, you have a number of suggestions.
I knew to go erase all of my contacts, calls, and messages. However I had never even heard of the idea of a hard cleaning. So I am doing that now by emailing the resource you suggested.
Do you have an article on the various options we have in terms of what to do with our old cell phones?
Happy Hypno Holidays, lady!
April Braswell, MH
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