is it safe to power on (not charge) a device with a bulging lithium battery?
i have a non-serviceable tablet i want to factory reset before i send it off to either be disposed or refurb. as soon as i noticed it bulging i shut it off, would it be safe to power on again for that?
the only way to take the battery out of this tablet is by heating up the adhesive that holds the screen in place to pry it apart, and heat is likely going to cause the already swelling battery to catch fire. so what am i supposed to do?!
i guess if i remove the battery myself i won't need to clear personal data off the tablet first, removing the need to power it on to do that. but i still need to heat it up in order to soften the screen adhesive to get the battery out, which is still scary. suggestions?
note that i cannot find a replacement battery in my country (lesser problem, since i just want to get rid of the bulging one first, but it's indicative no stores here are prepared to repair it) and i am not going to go to a physical cellphone repair store during a pandemic