iPhone Demolished - Need to Erase Before Exchanging

If you cannot power on the device you cannot erase it. You can, however, disable Find My iPhone by logging into iCloud to erase the device. See this for help. What to do before you sell or give away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support See the section on "If you no longer have your iPhone". It would work the same way, since your device is unusable.

It’s sort of moot anyway. Even when you remove the device from your iCloud account in a web browser, that change is not reflected on the device until it next connects to the internet and the secure iCloud connection is severed.

If the phone is smashed to a point it will not power on at all, you can do nothing at all to it or about it in terms of the things you mention. And there is no way for the insurance company to know whether you removed it or not if it will not power on to begin with. A device that badly damaged is headed for the parts/material recycle bin, so I don’t understand why they’d care one way or another (and again, they have no way of knowing if find my iPhone is disabled or not on it since it won’t power on).

And if it is that badly damaged, your data is almost certainly toast now anyway. iOS and the device secure enclave require a functional, intact device to access the encrypted data on it.

Nunya_Binnez wrote:

So what is a poor Apple fanboy to do?

You could obliterate it by completely destroying the device, but I suppose your insurance provider requires that it be turned over to them as required (let's say) when a car is totaled. If you check YouTube, there are literally people who have completely destroyed iPhones using thermite or dropping one in molten lava. I don't recommend either of them because the battery can be pretty nasty when exposed to extreme heat (plus it's technically littering for the latter) but if you really want to it is possible to mechanically destroy one.

I really wouldn't worry about an insurance company and what they're going to do with it. If it is truly inoperable all they'll want to do is take it to a recycler to recover materials. There may be someone, somewhere in the world who might be able to recover the data (if it were of some serious interest), but for the most part nobody is going to care about a random iPhone.

Michael Black wrote:

Do not try and further destroy it.

Metallic lithium is quite toxic.

It needs to be properly and safely recycled.

Most recyclers would probably take out the battery. A logic board could be shredded. However, I don't think the OP is planning on doing any of that, and in any case what insurer would really care what's inside of a device that no longer works. It's just SOP to request the old device in order to satisfy a claim.

You were the one who mentioned to the OP they could “obliterate” it. I’m merely warning them (and anyone else) not to attempt that - they risk exposing themselves to some highly toxic materials.

Of course every professional recycler will remove the battery - to recover the lithium and to comply with waste disposal laws. Someone trying to “obliterate” it at home likely has no idea of the health risk they may expose themselves and others to.

Michael Black wrote:

You were the one who mentioned to the OP they could “obliterate” it. I’m merely warning them (and anyone else) not to attempt that - they risk exposing themselves to some highly toxic materials.

It's been done before as a stunt, although I rather question whether or not anyone doing so quite understands how dangerous it is to burn a lithium battery. However, anyone getting that close to molten lava probably needs to worry more about hydrogen sulfide than bursting lithium batteries. But setting a circuit board on fire isn't particularly dangerous other than maybe some toxic smoke from burning plastic.

For the most part I think most of the people concerned about their "privacy" don't quite understand how little anyone really cares about what they had on their iPhone.

deggie wrote:

That would depend on what that person has on their phone. Why even bring up all the ways you've seen a phone destroyed?

Some people take things to extreme measures even though it gets rather silly. That's all.

Nunya_Binnez wrote:

I care about my privacy with good reason which I have no intention of elaborating on. I mean, wouldn't that defeat the purpose? lol

I'm pretty sure your insurance company has a privacy policy. In life you have to trust that the document destruction company will properly shred those documents rather than comb through them for whatever. You'll have to trust they will just destroy it, or if they somehow manage to salvage working parts that they properly wipe it.

Do not try and further destroy it.

Metallic lithium is quite toxic.

It needs to be properly and safely recycled.

That would depend on what that person has on their phone. Why even bring up all the ways you've seen a phone destroyed?