Chosen Solution
Hello, Long story short, I got angry and smashed my phone. The entire front screen has broken off, ripping all of the connector cables inside off along with it and is not repairable. I am going to recycle/throw it out, but before I do, I would like to erase the contents of it and factory restore it. I cannot boot my phone into any form of DFU mode because I now no longer have a home button to press. I cannot use the restore/reset function on iTunes because it requires me to turn off Find My iPhone, which I cannot do because I can’t access the phone. I have disconnected the device from my icloud through the web browser, but that didn’t change anything. Yeah unique situation that could have been avoided, but here I am. Is there any way I can either A) factory restore the phone without having to access anything in the software itself, or B) can I mirror my phones “screen” to my Windows PC through WIFI/USB without being able to turn on AirPlay? Thanks!
Since you mentioned you want to recycle it or throw it, I believe your main concern is not to run the risk your private data might get around. If that’s the case and @benjamen50 advice won’t help, you can just finish the unfortunate job in the safest possible way with a hammer. Smash the big chip next to the Sim card reader and you’re done forever. As far as the iCloud 2 factors authentication is concerned, log into iCloud with a web browser and ask the code to be sent to the phone number you registered with an SMS. In case you didn’t supply a number it’s going to be troublesome..see here how things work in detail: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915
You can use 3utools to reboot the phone into recovery mode if it can detect the phone. Use the flash & JB tab on that window then go to multiple flash. Download the firmware and click on flash / ok. ck retain user data if needed before clicking on that.
Frankly, you can have your phone shredded and that would surely make data recovery impossible if you do that. Make sure to remove the battery before shredding your phone though! How to replace the battery in your iPhone 5s ''
If you want to have fun, you could just bring it to a shooting range and light it up. After that they won’t be able to do jack sugar honey ice tea with it, so you can safely throw it away or recycle it. Be sure to take the battery out of it so you don’t blow it up.
