How to Destroy a Phone

For whatever reason, if and when you want to destroy your phone, breaking it with a hammer simply isn’t enough. Because even when physically destroyed, there are ways to extract data from most modern-day phones.

So, if you are wondering how to destroy a phone, completely, you have come to the right place. To destroy a phone and everything it contains, the most effective way is to disintegrate it completely by taking it apart.

Continue reading below to learn why and when you should destroy a phone and what are the best ways to do so. 

Why Destroy a Phone

In this age of technology, everything is open to the internet. If someone knows their way around the internet, they can obtain anyone’s information. Everyone leaves a footprint everywhere they visit. And sometimes it gets into the wrong hands.

Social security numbers, bank information, crucial personal data, and more are open for grabs if you are not careful enough. That is why people want to wipe up their data from an old device when switching to a new one. Or maybe to protect their personal information.

Most Effective Ways to Destroy a Phone

Below are some of the most effective ways to destroy a phone and get rid of all its data completely.

Destroying a Phone by Overwriting the Documents

One of the old methods of destroying a phone’s contents is to overwrite them. Every phone has a memory device. iOS doesn’t support external memory. While our good old-friendly Android supports external memory, it requires an extra component to destroy. 

To destroy and make things unrecoverable, you have to delete your documents first. Then copy a ton of unnecessary documents to your phone. Then do a system wipe again. This will overwrite an image over your past documents making it harder to recover. Though old school, a person has to go an extra length to recover the data.

Taking Out the Memory Devices and Physically Damaging Them

Every smartphone out there has a memory device in them. Android devices also support external ones along with their eMMC. iOS on the other hand just has their native logic board only. You temper with the logic board and it’s done.

When erasing isn’t enough, you go to this method. You have to be a bit of a tech geek to do things like this. You have to physically open the smartphone part by part. In iOS devices, just simply temper with the logic board or take it off and destroy it physically. The same goes for Android devices. But remember to take out the external card and sim card too.

It is always wise to wipe up or factory reset and overwrite the memory of your smartphone before you physically damage them. Only to be on the safe side.

Tampering With System Software

Once upon a time, Android users usually, liked to root their devices. It isn’t possible for iOS devices though.

We know that there is a system software that is keeping the device running in full glory. So if you somehow mismatch the wrong version of the software while rooting your android device, the device will brick. Brick means it’s not usable at all. It will turn on an empty screen. You need to connect your phone to a computer for this purpose. And walla! Your device is dead!

It is not a sure dead process, but still works depending on the length one would go to bring back your smartphone to life.

Applying Heat Damage to the Phone

Every smartphone has a tolerance to heat. Around 43-46 degrees Celsius to be exact. Over that temperature, they start to malfunction, and sometimes, die. It is an efficient way but with a cost.

Heating a tech component that has a battery built-in can be fatal. You might think, Oh! I can just throw it in the microwave and it’s done! It is not that simple. The acids in the battery and other materials that make up the smartphone are prone to bring destruction to its surroundings. Even life-altering events have happened in the past. It might have made the smartphone unusable, but with a cost. So remember to be safe before you want to use heat to damage your phone.

Malicious Virus Attack

Another method to destroy your phone is to expose it to any malicious virus. It is somewhat of a long shot as it doesn’t work all the time. You can download or buy a virus that gets the work done. Install it on your phone and it does its work.

Keep in mind, malicious viruses are made for a lot of purposes. Most of the time malicious viruses give up your confidential info and location. So instead of leaving no trace on your phone, you are being exposed to elsewhere.

Take It to the Science Table

We always loved to mix up liquid stuff when we were kids, right? And we thought of ourselves as scientists doing experiments. You can do the same thing here. But in an accurate manner. Buy some muriatic acid from the chemical shop and soak your phone in it. Your phone dissolves or gets destroyed to an extent where there is no coming back.

Another chemical experimental destruction would be burning it in a mixture of iron oxide and aluminum powder. You’ll need a stone mortar for this one. Put your phone in the mortar, mix up 70% iron oxide and 30% aluminum and ignite it. The cool thing about this method is that your phone melts. It will be a puddle of something in the end. This is one of the most effective ways to turn your phone into simply nothing.

The Good Old Hammer

You can never beat the old guys. Well, in this case, the hammer. Take apart your phone and start hammering it up. Bring out all your frustrations to it. It’s a nice relief with a work in process. Don’t stop till the pieces of your phones are into tiny tiny pieces. Though it’s a time-consuming method, it might bring you some mental satisfaction. Then you might want to ignite it if you are not feeling so sure about the process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Can you use a magnet on phone to destroy it?

A. Yes and no. Old-day phones kryptonite is a magnet. But the latest phones have a high tolerance level. You’ll need an industrial-grade magnet to destroy a phone or disrupt its contents.

Q. Is a hammer enough to destroy a phone?

A. No. You’ll need to do more than bang your phone with a hammer. The ideal thing to do is to break and throw the parts in different places so they cannot be put together.

Q. Can microwaves radiation destroy a phone?

A. Yes it can. But the fume that will be created by the phone is hazardous for humans and the microwave may blast. Practice caution before microwaving anything. It is not advised to microwave your phone in what so ever reason.

Conclusion

Destroying something is not an easy task. The more effort you put into it, the more satisfying result you get. It all depends on how severely you need to damage your phone. The easiest way however is to take it apart and destroy the circuit boards completely by smashing it with a hammer.