The Recycled iPhone SE Second Generation

It is natural to form an emotional bond with the phones that we carry with us 23 and a half hours a day for two to four years, that come with us to festivals, to the cinema, to work, on hikes, on bike rides and more. It is normal to feel nostalgia for a device that allowed us to photograph babies that turn into toddlers, that become children. It is normal to feel nostalgia for a device that is an integral part of our live 24/7 for years.

This is why, when I retire a phone it usually lives in a drawer. The battery drains and it becomes forgotten. Usually a phone is retired out of desire for a new phone, or because the battery is slightly depleted. That's why I replaced almost all my phones.

This time, with the iPhone SE second generation from around 2022 or so it was different. When I was in Spain I saw the battery was getting very low so I had it replaced, but the battery wasn't that good for long, so having it replaced didn't resolve the problem. The replacement battery was a third party battery so it wasn't recognised by the phone.

Inflated Battery and Flawed Screen

I still kept using this phone for half a year or more but recently I noticed a spot in the top right quadrant of the screen, and some discolouration in the bottom half of the screen. I went off for a week, to avoid noise pollution from an event.

I plugged in the phone, for it to charge. Eventually I noticed that it was popping out of its case. At this moment I wanted to go for a walk but I also wanted to get rid of the phone. The phone was recharging, but when the battery was full it expanded.

If the phone was new, and if the screen was fine, then I could easily have walked to a local phone repair shop to get the battery replaced. In this case I would have had to replace the battery, and the screen.

Vintage and Obsolete

I already replaced the battery once. This would be the second battery swap. It would also require a screen replacement. In reality the issue wasn't replacing the battery, or the screen. The issue is that this is a vintage phone. The issue is that this phone is a year or two from becoming obsolete.

Planned Obsolescence and Apple

If it wasn't for planned obsolescence I would have had the phone battery replaced for the second time. I was considering it. In the end it's because the screen was starting to show signs of age that I didn't. I could replace the battery but the phone is already one OS behind. The phone is already being abandoned by Apple.

Network Planned Obsolescence

Aside from mobile phones becoming vintage because of the OS they also become obsolete because of the telecoms technology they're using. 3G is about to be turned off in Switzerland. When this happens millions of phones will become obsolete. Unless they have wifi and bluetooth they will be offline. It's not just that phones become obsolete. The entire infrastructure does.

The same is true of FM radio, when there was the switch from analogue to Digital Audio Broadcast. The point is, we might be frugal, we might want to make things last, but with connected tech we need for it to be supported.

The Original iPhone SE

I provide the context above because if I could, I would revive my original iPhone SE and I would start using that phone again. The issue is that because it requires 3G it will be obsolete in Europe very soon.

And Finally

If I could replace the battery myself at an affordable price I would have. I felt no compelling reason to upgrade to a new phone. If Apple made it easy to swap batteries I would have done that.

Imagine, you buy a 500 CHF phone, a phone case or two, and the phone becomes unusable because of the battery, after one and a half to two years of use. That's expensive.