Disposing of Airport Extreme
My Airport Extreme just died and I had to replace it with another router. My question is, since it will not power on, is there any information on it that should be erased, or can I just take it to electronics recycling?
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An AirPort Extreme is a router only, so the only data stored on the device would be network settings......the name of your network, password, etc. Unfortunately, the AirPort Extreme needs to be powered on and operating correctly to reset the device and erase the settings.
However, it is extremely unlikely that anyone could retrieve any information from the device if it will not power on.
If your AirPort Extreme is really a Time Capsule......which is an AirPort Extreme with a built in hard drive......then there is likely a good deal of personal data stored on the hard drive. To be completely safe, open up the Time Capsule and pull out the hard drive......which may still be operable......before you take it in for recycling.