How do you recycle old phones and laptops?

[PaddingtonsMarmaladeSandwich]

Busy with a January declutter and have found a couple of old phones and laptops. What is the best way to recycle old electricals?

How do you ensure your personal data is removed before taking them to a recycling place? I’m worried about identity theft, but want to recycle them properly.

I think it’s one of those bits of knowledge most adults seem to learn by osmosis, but it’s passed me by!

TIA 🙂

I think you do a factory reset, it wipes everything. There's usually somewhere you stick and hold a pin on the device.

Local tip should have an electrical option. Delete all your personal info first. Lots of advice online.

I’ve got an old laptop that won’t switch on and not worth repairing. If someone could get it going though, it’s got loads of stuff on it, photos etc. I don’t know what to do with it!

Following as in the same boat!

Give them away for free on facebook!

https://solidaritech.com/

I've given phones and tablets to them. No problems, good service.

Same here so i smashed it up with a hammer, it was really hard to do and had to sheild eyes, I then was able to take out / break all the bits inside. Dont know if it worked but there was nothing left in one piece for anyone to get info from im sure.

Due to GDPR I’ve had to make sure all data is totally deleted. For PCs and laptops they have been dismantled and I throw the hard drive in the log burner. That pretty much destroys it.

No it doesn't, but it does pollute the environment.

Take the hard drive out, will be fiddly, loads of little screws and you may need to lever the case open, but you're not going to put it back together so it doesn't matter if you break a few plastic bits. Once the drive is out, put it a caddy connected to another laptop, and you should be able to recover the files. The old laptop, recycle at the tip, or my council will take small electricals, laptops, phones, toasters etc if you put them out in a bag on normal recycling day.

Currys recycled mine even though I didn't buy it from them.

Recycling old phones and laptops is actually quite straightforward, but it’s important to follow a few steps to make sure your data stays safe and the devices are disposed of properly.
First, make a backup of anything you want to keep such as photos, contacts, and files. Then sign out of all accounts (Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.), because simply deleting data is not enough.
Next, perform a factory reset or full wipe. On phones, use “Erase all content and settings,” and on laptops, use “Reset this PC (remove everything)” on Windows or “Erase Mac” on macOS. For extra security, some people also use secure wipe tools that overwrite data.
For recycling, you can use:

• Certified e-waste recycling centres
• Manufacturer trade-in programs
• Online recycling or resale services (if the device still works)

After a proper reset and account removal, the risk of identity theft is very low. If you want, you can also check this Recycle Pro site for a simple breakdown: It can be especially helpful if you’re decluttering multiple devices 👍