Fight to Repair Daily: August 1, 2022
Samsung adds new 'repair mode' feature for smart phones in South Korea. Plus EV batteries are lasting longer than expected, delaying recycling programs.
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Samsung adds 'repair mode' that hides data on Galaxy smartphones in South Korea
When activated, repair mode prevents a range of behaviors – from casual snooping to outright lifting of personal data – by blocking access to photos, messages, and account information. The mode provides technicians with the access they require to make a fix, including the apps a user employs. But repairers won't see user data in apps, so content like photos, texts and emails remains secure. When users enable repair mode their device reboots. To exit, the user reboots again after logging in their normal way and turning the setting off.
Samsung has not explained how the feature works. Android devices already offer the chance to establish accounts for different users, so perhaps Samsung has created a role for repair technicians and made that easier to access. Most repair technicians won't want to view or steal a customer's personal data – but it does happen.
Apple was forced to pay millions last year after two iPhone repair contractors allegedly stole and posted a woman's nudes to the internet. That fiasco was in no way an isolated incident. In 2019 a Genius Bar employee allegedly texted himself explicit images taken from an iPhone he repaired and was subsequently fired. (The Register)
What to know about the e-waste left behind by your gadgets
Decades of the tech sector’s pressure to “innovate or die” have led to a long list of useful and flashy household tech products, but many of these same devices also have a need to be replaced at almost the same rapid rate that new technology emerges.
The result of this so-called planned obsolescence, combined with a limited number of options to repair older devices over the years, is a tsunami of electronic waste, also known as e-waste. And the fallout from it extends far beyond the headache of figuring out what to do with the clutter tucked away inside your home.
Before opting to donate or recycle used electronics, the EPA recommends considering upgrading the hardware or software of a computer instead of buying a brand new product. If you do decide to recycle, the EPA urges consumers to remove any batteries that may need to be recycled separately. The agency says that recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent of the electricity used by more than 3,500 US homes in a year. For every one million cell phones that are recycled, the agency says 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. (CNN)
Electric Car Batteries Lasting Longer Than Predicted Delays Recycling Programs
It’s clear that most EV batteries will outlast the vehicles they were installed in, and even then, they have a worthwhile second life before they need to be stripped down for recycling.
The worry was once what the world would do with millions of spent electric vehicle (EV) batteries after they no longer powered the cars and vans they propelled. But this glut of EV batteries has not yet materialized—Nissan has been making the electric Leaf since 2010—and automotive industry initiatives to recycle the lithium-ion cells bundled in EV batteries are slow to go mainstream in Europe and the U.S.
Such reuse is now commonplace in Japan, and it’s ramping up in the U.K. Thomas said that Nissan’s new billion-dollar gigawatt factory rising from the ground at its Sunderland plant will use EV batteries to store energy from solar panels and three wind turbines. (Forbes)
🎧 What The Fix?! Celebrating Scrap with Director Stacey Tenenbaum
This week we welcome Stacey Tenenbaum, a filmmaker who recently released her film SCRAP which “tells the story of people who each have a deep connection to objects that have reached their 'end of life.” Jack and Stacey chat about how we’ve come to our current culture of disposability and how having a deeper relationship with the things we own can keep waste out of landfills. As an artist herself, Stacey’s film spends time exploring the role that art plays in upcycling and restoring objects that would otherwise be seen as scrap. The full episode will be available for free subscribers on Thursday.
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