I dug out an old iPod yesterday that has not been used for many years, ten perhaps. It looks pristine. I stuck it on an Apple charger and soon the display lit up and I left it to charge up. Returning a few hours later I found the screen had popped almost right off.
I had heard of the fire risk of lithium batteries generally but, until I Googled it yesterday, had not heard of batteries swelling. It is however a thing and, reputedly, potentially dangerous as the battery might split. It may be a fire risk too I guess.
For now it’s under a metal tray at the bottom of the garden while I let it run down any charge. I will see if my local dump will take it next week for safe disposal.
Meantime should I be concerned at batteries in a couple of long-unused iPhones that sit in the drawer or it it only when you come to charge them that it can be an issue? And is it really as dangerous as some online advice suggests.
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