Done with a cell phone

Bionic Monkey

I know I can just give it to the provider for recycling, but I recall hearing about charities that use old cell phones, and was wondering where I could track some of these down.

Deusfaux

just wanted to mention its not a bad idea to have a backup phone in the event your primary is ever damaged or lost. if you lose yours you'll have to pay full price for one from the provider as you already got your discount (unless you get a used one on ebay or osmething)

JAEF

If you're with Verizon:

It's actually an extremely good idea to keep one around. If something happens to your phone it can take up to 2 business days to get another shipped out to you if you have insurance (all providers use the same insurance company, Asurion) and you can activate your old one while you wait for the replacement to arrive. Or if your phone stops working due to a manufacturer defect and cannot be replaced immediately (i.e. they have to ship one out to you.)

If you are adamant about donating your phone to a good cause and there is a retail store near you, walk in and drop it in their Hopeline box. It'll be taken care of.

If not please disregard.

Bionic Monkey

Our carrier is Sprint, actually. I hadn't thought about keeping it as a backup, as this is my third phone in six years, and I've had zero issues losing them. I might consider keeping it, in case, though that Hopeline sounds like exactly what I was looking for. My wife and I both replaced our phones today, so maybe we'll keep one and donate the other.

Thanks folks.

MrBallbaggins

Try your local library if you still want to donate it. Most of them around here have a box inside the door for old cell phones and chargers.

misbehavin

I actually change phones every 6-12 months, and I always keep my previous phone as a back-up (I have had to use this back-up 4 different times, so it's a time-tested strategy) and then donate the phone from 2 changes ago to Hopeline. I have now gone through 7 different phones, meaning 5 have been donated.

It's a good practice for me.