All mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are powered by lithium-ion batteries to provide the necessary energy, and this also applies to GSM listening devices.
Due to poor construction and assembly of these batteries in the GSM device, short circuits can occur, leading to explosions or fires. It is well known from the media that numerous cell phones have already experienced serious incidents, such as house fires and severe injuries caused by exploding lithium batteries.
If a device is damaged by cheap batteries from China, faulty processing, such as poor solder joints or inadequate insulation, an internal reaction can occur that releases extreme heat very quickly. This can lead to a violent explosion. The larger the battery, the bigger the explosion! However, even the explosion in a relatively small battery can release up to 1000 degrees Celsius.
That this explosion hazard can have fatal consequences should be clear to everyone!
With the devices shown below from backyard workshops of Eastern European hobby electricians, you must take these consequences into account.
These "cuckoo eggs" have no casing and are easily recognizable by being wrapped in a so-called thermoplastic "shrink tube" that contracts, or shrinks, when heated with a "hot air blower." Inside are cheap GSM modules that are soldered together with lithium batteries without sufficient insulation, resulting in many open and risky contact points. The openings for card slots and controls are then cut in with a carpet knife. The chance of a short circuit occurring in such a "wobbly pudding" is extremely high. Most of the time, cables hang out up to several centimeters.
This makes these adventurous constructions literally highly dangerous!
None of the devices shown below have certification and approval. You will search in vain for a CE mark because these "cobbled together" products do not meet the minimum requirements in any way and are therefore not eligible for approval.
A botched pseudo-GSM eavesdropping device, consisting of the cheapest Chinese GSM module without a casing, wrapped in shrink-wrap. Openings for SIM cards and charging port cut with a carpet knife. Attached cable as an antenna. Functionality can be classified as borderline.
Amateurishly cobbled together construction from a cheap GSM board, battery, and shrink tubing. Protruding antenna, exposed solder joints, and roughly cut openings for SIM and charging port.
Electronics without any protective measures, far from modern standards. Battery and board botched together and packed in shrink-wrap – with significant fire risk.
Removed original casing, soldered-on battery, and shrink tubing are supposed to feign professionalism. In reality, it poses a safety risk.