State by State Comparison of Broken iPhones

Here we go again.  We have gathered all of our iPhone buyback data (from the best way to sell your iphone, obviously), and we have created a heat map breakdown.

This map shows the percentage of broken iPhones that were sold using our buyback service.  Red states show that we purchased a higher percentage of broken iPhones from that state.  Green areas show that we purchased a higher percentage of used iPhones from that state.

Hopefully your state isn’t one of the dark red ones (sorry West Virginia and Kansas).  The data tends to show that our customers that are tend to be in the country (Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho) tend to break their iPhones more often.  While the Southern states tend to be quite good at taking care of their iPhones (as they tend to mostly sell their used iPhones instead of broken ones).

So maybe if your like us, and you happen to have broken your iPhone once or twice (or maybe more), then you should consider moving down to the South.  Otherwise, well, maybe its easier just to use our buyback service to sell your iPhone (don’t worry, we still pay a ton even if your iPhone is broken!)

How to turn off ‘Find My iPhone & Anti-theft Activation Lock’ from the phone you’re selling!

If you’re thinking of selling or giving away a stinky old iPhone, you need to understand how to turn off the ‘Find My iPhone’ function. ESPECIALLY if the device has been upgraded to iOS 7, whereby it will also be loaded with Apple’s Anti-theft Activation lock.

That’s not it. The Anti-theft Activation Lock introduced with iOS 7 is however super awesome for preventing theft by rendering the phone basically useless and worth roughly one eighth of its proper resale price. However, it also does this if you forget to turn it off before you sell it or give it away.

For instance, here at iPhone Antidote, we cannot give you the total quoted amount for your iPhone unless the Anti-theft Activation lock is turned off.

So, you guys need to know how to turn it off! And luckily for everyone involved, whilst not being the funnest 3 minutes you ever spend (we hope) it IS super easy! High Five!

There is a couple of different methods depending on the condition and location of your iPhone. If your iPhone works and is with you, you should-

Remove your iPhone from Find My iPhone by turning  it off on the iPhone.

Simple! On your iPhone, go to Settings > iCloud, then tap to turn off ‘Find My device.’ It will ask for your Apple ID password ( The one you use in the App Store), then BAM, both Find my iPhone and the Anti-theft activation lock is turned off.

YAY!

If your iPhone is not with you, already sold or given away OR broken or water damaged so that it won’t turn on, it’s also, really, really easy. HIGH FIVE!

If you can’t use your iPhone because it’s too damaged, or you’ve already sold it or given it away, you can remotely remove it from Find My iPhone and remotely remove the Anti-theft Activation Lock.

Your iPhone must be powered off. Easy to do if it’s broken! Also easy enough to do if you’ve sold it to a company such as ourselves or you can get in contact with the friend that you gave it to.

Then:

Sign in to icloud.com/#find with your Apple ID (the one you use with iCloud & the App Store).

Click ‘All Devices’ at the top of the page. Wait for the website to locate your iPhone, then select it from the drop down menu. It should appear as offline and grey.

A menu of options will appear on the right hand side of the screen. IGNORE THESE ( Unless you want to remotely erase your iPhone)

Click back on the ‘All Devices’ button at the top of the page. There should now be an X next to your iPhone.  Click it. Click it good.

Click “remove” on the next screen to confirm.

Aaaaaand you’re done! Now someone else can now activate the device, making it worth a whole lotta more clams from us/high fives from the friend you gave it to!

If you guys have any problems removing the anti theft activation lock from your iPhone – please contact us and let us know! We’d LOVE to help you out! And we give hugs too!

Images courtesy of  Appleinsider, Doblelol, grandfather.com, bidorbuy.com, iPhonehacks.com, Cheezburger.com & Dashburst.com

Smartphone Users, By The Numbers

INFOGRAPHICS! YEAH! These things make everything fun to read what with the colors and the shapes and the little pointy arrows!

We give you the best fun of 2014 so far- Smartphone infographics!

YEAH!

This Infographic is produced by Coupon Audit (provides Converse promo code) and iPhoneAntidote – Sell Your Cracked iPhone

Score some extra cash for the holidays with us!

Need some extra funds for the holiday season? It’s a pretty expensive time after all, what with the Furbies and the sparkle lights and the pretty fancy christmas party clothes and all that stuff you have to get for your true love ( I hear turtle doves are particularly expensive this year)!

So. That cash.

We wanna help!!

We’re planning on giving all our loved ones broken, water damaged and used iPhones for christmas (cos we’re cool like that) and we need some more! Can we PLEASE buy that stinky old iPhone that’s just sitting in your drawer?

Otherwise, Great Aunt Macy might have to go without and she’ll be so sad. You wanna make her sad?

We’ll pay you up to $450 clams for that stinky old iPhone, and we’ll make the selling process as easy as that pumpkin pie you just ate!

Mmm. Pie.

All you need to do is fill out an order form to sell your iPhone here, and either a pre-paid box will arrive on your doorstep OR if you’d prefer you’ll receive a label in your email to put on any ‘ol box you have lying around.

The pre-paid box contains a packing pouch and a pre-paid shipping label (oh, and some little christmas presents, cos we’re cool like that), so all you need to do is bundle up that stinky old iPhone, put it in a post box and we’ll send you a check or Paypal payment in NO time!

Easy as pumpkin pie and everyone’s happy, even Great Aunt Macy.

Thanks guys, you’re the best!

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Look out for our tech gift guide for this Christmas in the next few days so you know exactly what to buy with that cash!

Images courtesy of  The Cleveland Leader, Verybestbaking, cashflowlifestyle & freefever.

Country by country who has the most mobile phones?

There are over 6.8 BILLION mobile phones in the world. Yay! Everyone in the world has mobile tech!

Uh…not quite. (Zuckerberg is working on it though!)

Not everyone in the world has ( or wants?) access to mobile tech, but there’s quite a few people who do. Some even many times over.

Which country you think has the most mobile phones?

If you’re thinking it’s mostly dictated by, well, which country has the most people, you’d be about.. 63.2% right ( don’t try and calculate that, it’s a fakestimated percentage!)

Here is the list, ranked country by country of mobile phones ownership around the world.

1. China 1,206,553,000
2. India 867,800,000
3. United States  327,577,529 310
4. Brazil 268,440,423
5. Russia  256,116,000
6. Indonesia 236,800,000
7. Pakistan 125,012,860
8. Japan  121,246,700
9. Germany  107,000,000
10. Philippines 106,987,098

So there you go. Lots and lots and lots and lots ( is that enough lots?) and…lots of mobile phones! Who knew this would be a thing? ( Steve Jobs did.)

Image courtesy of Metskers.

The first guy to break his 5S

We just received our first iPhone 5S!  And it was, drumroll please:

Cracked!

Even though the guy at first was like:

We gave him $$$ CASHMONEY and turned that frown upside down!

Apparently, our lovely 5S customer was using his brand new shiny iPhone 5S in a crowded area, someone came running by and hit him in the shoulder and the shiny 5S went flying ever so prettily before smacking itself onto concrete. And there you have it- a cracked screen.

In his own words, just a bit of bad luck.

But good luck that he had heard of iPhone Antidote! Yay!

If you have an unlucky cracked or broken iPhone, or a stinky old used iPhone, go to iPhone Antidote right now!

We’ll give you CASHMONEY for those unlucky, stinky old iPhones and turn you from grumpy cat into happy, baller cat in one of the easiest, stress free transactions you’ll ever experience!

Images courtesy of Phonearena, Geeknation, Lol-cat & Pandawhale

What to do if you water, wine or vodka damage your iPhone

Hey guys. So we seem to have been referencing getting your beloved shiny iPhone wet recently. Tackling the hard to talk about stuff, as per usual…

We understand that it’s not funny when someone accidentally drops their phone into a pitcher of beer, or falls into a pool, or does something to a person that gets them so mad they revenge pee on their phone ( happened to a friend of a friend of ours…)

Well, no, scratch that. That stuff is really  funny, as long as it’s not your phone, and if it is your phone, you usually get your sense of humor back if, IF you can rescue your wet wet iPhone.

Here’s what you should do to try rescue that poor wet puppy!

1, Don’t freak out. Crying will just bring more wetness. Duh. Your phone needs you to be strong, just like your Grandfather when he used to, like, walk all day in the snow to get to work and stuff.

2,  If the phone is submerged, unsubmerge it. Dry the surfaces real quick.

3, If the phone is still on, turn it off ASAP. If it’s already off, don’t try and turn the phone on RESIST THE URGE! Trust us. If your iPhone refuses to respond to your touch and refuses to turn off, well… no you can probably cry a little bit.

4, From here, it kind of depends on what stores you have at your disposal. The easiest helpful drying ingredient most people can get their hands on is Rice.  Put some rice in a ziplock bag or tupperware container – anything airtight- and completely envelop the phone within.

5, Rice is a great option, but what’s better is Silica Gel. Silica Gel is the stuff that’s inside those little packets of stuff you get in Beef Jerkey bags.

You can buy these at craft stores ( It’s intended use here is for flower drying). Again, submerge your phone in an airtight container full of the sachet’s.

6, If you have a good hardware store nearby, you could try to get DampRid.Works the same as the Silica Gel. Again with the airtight container, submerge, etc.

7, Place the container/ziplock bag in a warm dry place.

8, DON’T TOUCH YOUR PHONE FOR 24 HOURS! Even if you think it might really be ok, and you’re expecting the most important text ever, leave it in there. We would actually recommend leaving the phone for a full 48 hours, but the minimum has to be 24 hours to give it the best chance of surviving.

Poor little fella.

If all of this fails, send him on over to us, we’ll give you some CASHMONEY and make a nice new home for him out here on the farm.  You can do this HERE. 

Image courtesy of gameconsoleworld.com, robotroom.com & countrylife.co.uk

Guys! iOS 7 makes your phone waterproof!

NO. NO IT DOESN’T

But some people said it did, because some people are big jerks. Like the guys behind this fake out video.

It is possible to waterproof your iPhone, but not by updating the software. Apparently, some people believed the big jerks. If anyone knows these kids, pass them our number yeah? iPhone Antidote.

How to pre-order the new iPhone 5C

Alright you guys, so this blog post is all about how to pre order the iPhone 5C. That’s cool. It’s also weirdly difficult to describe when this can actually happen. We know what’s right, we think, but it sounds wrong. So we’re gonna try it so that there can be no misunderstandings.

You will be able to pre order the iPhone 5C at 12:01, the night time version, on the 13th of September. So, like, when its the 12th of September, wait until it’s 11pm, wait an hour, and then you can go ahead and pre order!  That’s California time, too. Make sense?

Now, we got the time right, but what do you do then? Well, you do a little jig, cos you’re buying an iPhone 5C b*tches!

Then, you do this stuff. (Do most of this stuff before midnight though, cos the amount of iPhones available for pre order will shrink. Real fast.)

You need to decide if you’re buying on or off contract.

For the free spirits out there, you can buy the iPhone 5C off contract with T-Mobile, or SIM free. You can do both through Apple.

If you do this, you’ll be buying the phone outright for $549 for 16Gb, and $649 for 32Gb in both of these options, but you don’t get a SIM with the SIM free option. Duh.

If you choose the SIM free option you WILL need a SIM from somewhere at some stage for the phone to work as a phone. Specifically, you’ll need to get a GSM compatible nano-SIM. Your iPhone will be unlocked, so you can use a SIM from any carrier, domestically or international, as long as it has the right specifications as above.

If you choose to buy the iPhone 5C off-contract with T-Mobile, you will be choosing them as your mobile provider, and will pay them month to month for data, voice, text etc, but you won’t be locked in to a contract and can exit any time. Your phone will arrive with a nano-SIM card already installed that you can activate by visiting an Apple Retail Store or a T-Mobile store or by calling T-Mobile.

If you’re already on contract, but really want the new phone, you have the option to upgrade. You are of course eligible to upgrade once you have ended your current contract, after 2 years.

But, here’s the thing. A lot of people don’t realize that you are more than likely eligible for an upgrade 18 months after your contract started, not two years. It’s definitely worth checking! Go check, dudes.

For Verizon, Sprint and AT&T upgrade eligibility, you’ll most likely need the number for the phone you would like to upgrade, the last four digits of the primary account holder’s Social Security number, and the billing ZIP Code. To see if you’re eligible for an upgrade, or to see the price you qualify for, check out this link.

For Sprint you can also use your phone- dial *2, press send, press 1, enter your phone number and then press 1 to check for eligibility.

AT&T also has the option to check your upgrade eligibility via your phone, just dial *639# and press send and you will receive a text message shortly after letting you know when you’re eligible for an upgrade.

If you’re a little unsure about the whole idea of upgrading, you should talk to your carrier. BUT, you should also read this– If you are eligible for an upgrade, it means that all you have to pay to get the new phone is the price Apple shows next to the phone.

For the 5C, that means that when you upgrade and preorder, you will pay upfront and outright $99 for the 16Gb version and $199 for the 32Gb version. You will be committing to another 2 year contract with the provider.

If you are not eligible for an upgrade, but you reallllly want the new phone, you can, of course, get it. You will pay an extra fee, and how much that fee is depends on the carrier, but i’ll give you an example.

Say you started a new 2 year contract this time last year when you bought the iPhone 5. You’re a year into your contract, so you won’t be eligible for an upgrade, but you’re going to go ahead and get it anyway, because hey, it’s a free country right?

Your carrier will more than likely be absolutely cool with that, because that means they have your business guaranteed for another 2 years, but, they will charge a fee, which will more than likely be about $200. So you’ll be paying $300 upfront for the iPhone 5C 16Gb, and $400 upfront for the iPhone 5C 32Gb.

You also absolutely always get to keep your old phone, so that you can use it as financial leverage! It’s a stinky old iPhone! Sell it for CASHMONEY, YO!

If you’re joining up with a new provider, you’re looking at 2 year contract and paying upfront $99 for the 16Gb or $199 for the 32Gb. When choosing a new provider it’s important to look at their plans, and it’s also important to check out the coverage maps of each of the options. You can do this below by clicking on the blue links.

AT&T Coverage Map

Verizon Coverage Map

Sprint Coverage Map

T-Mobile Coverage map

Ok, so now you know what category you’re in, and you’re prepared for all your choices and options, how much you have to pay, which carrier, upgrade eligibilty, etc.

Now it’s almost midnight.

Dance!

And then, time to move!

You can pre-order on all of the carrier’s websites, as well as Apple’s.

To buy straight from Apple, go to this link.

Choose your color, you sparkle pony you. You have the option of blue, green, yellow , pink and white.

Next, choose the model you want, the smaller 16Gb or the 32Gb. The bigger the GB ( Gigabytes), the more stuff you can have on your phone, basically. Things that take up storage space include photos, videos, lots of songs or apps. 1000 songs is about 7Gb, for example.

Once those decisions are made and entered into the system, you’ll have to fill in some personal details, you will need a credit card, and you will need to press enter at the end. You will need to do a little dance. And send it to us. Yeah, do that.

Remember, if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 4S or older and have accessories that use the old connector port, such as a dock or something, you will also need to purchase a lightening to 30 pin adaptor.

And, guys, last year the iPhone 5 pre order was sold out in about an hour. So be quick. If you miss out, you have to wait until the 20th of September, when they’ll be available in store.

Happy pre-ordering! Remember – 11PM, Californian time, on Thursday the 12th of September. You have one hour after that until you can pre – order.

Image courtesy of The Verge. addictinginfo.com, iphonehacks.com, speres.com & sweetclipart.com

Deal of the day

Listen up kids! One most excellent deal of the day, brought to you by AT&T.

Online only, for a limited time and with waived activation, you can now get a new phone on a 2 year contract for HALF the price at AT&T. That’s  a HALF price discount. Divided by two, people.

Here’s how you get it:

Step 1. Choose a smartphone priced between $0.99 and $199.99 ( we’d say go for the iPhone 5. Wait, was that obvious?…).

Step 2. Magic! ( also…choosing an appropriate plan and stuff)

Step 3. You get a 50% discount automatically applied to the phone in your shopping cart.

So, iPhone Antidote, can you give me an example?

We sure can guys! This means that you can get a 16gb iPhone 5 for only $100! That’s RAD!

You wanna know what else would be rad?  I got a couple more steps for you…

1. Buy shiny new iPhone online using 50% discount. Laugh maniacally.

2. Send us your old stinky iPhone. Laugh maniacally.

3. We give you a bunch of cash for stinky old iPhone, and hey, that new phone cost you next to nothing! LAUGH MANIACALLY.

This deal is only available online and for a limited time so get your butts into gear! As always, terms and conditions apply, check out the deal here: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/smartphones.html

Image courtesy of Forbes.