Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. We rely on them for communication, navigation, storing important files and photos, and more, which makes it all the more frustrating when they aren’t operating at one hundred percent. And with cell phone companies consistently churning out new models, it’s increasingly tempting to just replace your phone rather than revive an ailing model. Here’s what to consider when deciding whether it’s time to repair or recycle your cell phone.
Repairing vs. Recycling a Smartphone: Factors to Consider
Let’s take a look at a few of the main factors to consider when deciding whether to repair or replace your phone.
1. Warranty: You’ll first want to find out if your phone is still under warranty, which may qualify you for a free or low-cost repair or replacement. iPhone users can head to https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ and input their serial number to check their coverage, while Samsung users can use the online warranty checker along with their serial number and location.
2. Cost: If a repair is going to cost you half the price of a new phone (or more), you’re usually better off just buying a new phone and recycling your old smartphone.
3. Age: The average phone lasts three years or longer. If your phone is older than three years and has been lagging or glitching, it might be time to replace your phone.
When is it Time to Repair Your Phone?
Repairing your phone is more sustainable than immediately replacing it, and you might be surprised by some of the fixes that can improve your phone’s usability.
1. Your battery dies quickly. Having your phone quickly die after a full charge or lag throughout the day is extremely inconvenient, but can easily be fixed by a battery replacement.
2. You’re having mic problems. If callers can’t hear you despite having a good connection, you may benefit from replacing your phone’s microphone.
3. You’re running out of storage. You can easily remedy this problem yourself by deleting unused photos, videos, or apps.
4. Your screen is cracked, and you have insurance. Smartphone users with insurance benefit from much more affordable screen repairs. In fact, with the high cost of screen repair, 64% of people report they would buy a new phone rather than get theirs fixed.
How to Recycle a Cell Phone
Repairing your smartphone is the most environmentally friendly way to go—if everyone held on to their phones just one year longer, it would reduce emissions by a staggering amount. We’ve covered the environmental cost of throwing away old phones, and rest assured that when it’s finally time to recycle your phone, you’ll be saving enough energy to charge a laptop for about 44 hours.
Smartphone recycling is easy with Big Sky Recycling: just select a charity, print a shipping label, erase your data, and ship off your e-waste.
Choose Big Sky for Sustainable Cell Phone Recycling
When you recycle your phone with Big Sky Recycling, you’re investing in people and communities as well as the planet. We prioritize recycling mobile phones by responsibly disposing of devices to reduce electronic waste. We accept most broken devices to ensure they are properly recycled and resources are recovered, minimizing environmental impact.
Trust your used cell phone with our secure recycling program. Get started today.