John Morrison Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Hi all have an ancient iPad that has come to the end, how do I safely and security dispose of it? John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Hello John, I’m not sure if the iPad has a hard disk, but when I used to dispose of old computers I’d take the disk out and drill half a dozen 1/2 inch holes through it. Maybe a bit over the top but not quite as drastic as the computers I used to buy from “Tom Smith’s” scrap yard at Bloxham. These computers came from GCHQ and they had already had the disks removed. Next to the skips of computers was a skip full of swarf and the remains of the hubs of the hard disks. It would seem that the platters had been removed and mounted on a lathe and then reduced to lengths of curly aluminium foil. If no hard disk I’d just smash the thing to pieces with a big sledgehammer until all the chips are no longer functional, then take it to the local tip and put in the bin reserved for scrap electronics. I think it comes under some regulation with a name like “WEEE” and the local tip has to provide a special bin for such stuff. Charlie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Reset it to “ Factory Settings” but after that anybody's guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Unfortunately any resetting process is unlikely to actually remove any sensitive information stored on the device Sue. (ie internet banking info, e-mail messages etc.) The file headers may be erased but the info is still there in the memory and can be retrieved with the appropriate utility ( the same goes for SD cards too ). Short of using some app that over-writes everything with random characters, Charlie is right - the only sure way is physical destruction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Maybe via Apple ? https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/trade-in Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Further to my post above, it appears an i-pad may have an over-write function built into the OS, so an app is not required. Quote from Techopedia: "iPad users simply need to access a feature on the device operating system called "Erase all content and settings." This feature is listed under the Settings>General>Rest menu. Depending on the type of iPad device operating system, the process can take several hours." The long time taken must be due to a byte-by-byte overwriting process rather than a simple removal of headers which would take seconds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 43 minutes ago, RobH said: ...must be due to a byte-by-byte overwriting process... And when that is finished hit it with a big hammer just to make sure. Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MilesA Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 +1 Miles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted September 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 OK Guys - thanks. I did wonder if a powerful magnet would corrupt things enough, forget th ename just now but I do have one that is difficult to 'Unstick' from anything metal? John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 (edited) John, I think "Neodymium" is the word you are looking for. Very useful for many things. Just be careful if you ever have two of them not to get your fingers between them. You can end up with a big blood blister when you finally get them apart. It may well work on the iPad memory, but you can't actually see what it has done. With a big hammer, it's obvious what it has done . Charlie. Edited September 21, 2022 by Charlie D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 (edited) There's nothing in an i-pad that a magnet will affect, other than perhaps the speaker. The storage is solid state, not magnetic. Edited September 21, 2022 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 Stick it in a draw and forget about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 21, 2022 Report Share Posted September 21, 2022 21 minutes ago, Hamish said: Stick it in a draw What, raffle it ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted September 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 Thanks for the advise guys, off to find my lump hammer! John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) 11 hours ago, Hamish said: Stick it in a draw and forget about it. +1. I’ve got a drawer full of old I- phones and two old I-pads one of which was purchased on the first day I-pads were ever sold (my son wants it kept). Edited September 22, 2022 by SuzanneH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 <spelling nazi hat on> (Sigh)The sliding thing in a cupboard is a DRAWER folks. <spelling nazi hat off> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 Why not just take it to an Apple store ( maybe you can even post it?) and get it properly recycled? Iain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 1 minute ago, RobH said: <spelling nazi hat on> (Sigh)The sliding thing in a cupboard is a DRAWER folks. <spelling nazi hat off> Sorry, I have edited my post to be correct now, I too dislike errors and don’t know how I missed this one. English was never my best subject though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 4 minutes ago, iain said: Why not just take it to an Apple store ( maybe you can even post it?) and get it properly recycled? One reason not to is that the people there will certainly know how to read any sensitive data that you have not erased properly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 58 minutes ago, RobH said: One reason not to is that the people there will certainly know how to read any sensitive data that you have not erased properly. Hi Rob Whilst I could understand that may be a potential problem, surely we should be recycling these things correctly? Apple must have a data security policy. Iain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 19 minutes ago, iain said: surely we should be recycling these things correctly? The WEEE bin at the local tip is fine for that and it doesn't matter if the i pad is in one piece or not 20 minutes ago, iain said: Apple must have a data security policy. Maybe - but who is to say it is always observed? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 1 hour ago, RobH said: <spelling nazi hat on> (Sigh)The sliding thing in a cupboard is a DRAWER folks. <spelling nazi hat off> Thanks rob some do actually suffer from syndromes that affect writing and rely heavily on spell check systems I’m sorry it didn’t pick up this context - but I guess you understood my intention? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 Indeed Hamish I do understand - but there are some things that get me 'triggered' as they say . 'Draw/drawer' is one, lose/loose' is another but the worst is 'of' used where it should be 'have' as in.... 'you could of'..... the short pronunciation 'could've' is widely misunderstood nowadays. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 My car had a punctuation. It came to a full stop Sorry Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boxofbits Posted September 22, 2022 Report Share Posted September 22, 2022 5 hours ago, RogerH said: My car had a punctuation. It came to a full stop Sorry Roger Was it a Comma by any chance? Doubly sorry for both spelling AND joke. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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