Where can I donate a used but good cell phone?

[Linda Z]

My old cell phone works fine, but I switched providers and it doesn't work with the new service.

It seems I've heard you can donate them to places like shelters for abused women, but I'm not sure. Has anyone heard of such a thing?

I hate to just throw it out.

Edited July 16, 2006 by Linda Z

[dmiller]

Linda -- check with Walmart.

The one here takes old glasses and hearing aids.

(don't think they take cell phones though).

However -- they may be able to *link* you to an outlet. :)

[grand-daughter]

I've heard you can donote them to the shelters so women can at least call 911 if they need to.

[Shellon]

yeah, all those places as well as your local Senior Center

[HAPe4me]

In Boulder and Fort Collins, there are facilities to donate cell phones. If you are near a college town, you might check around there. College towns seem to have a more develoiped and wiseer community when it comes to sustainable living lifestyle .

At both these places, they do different things with them, depending on their condition and value and provider. Women's/ family shelters are one of them. some they dismantle and properly dispose of the various parts. (they also take old tennis shoes. an interesting combination- maybe its a prelude to a Get Smart type generation?)

A google search using donate cellphone your town/state ought to find a place. Here is one site:

http://www.easycallcellular.com/recycle-cellphones.shtml

I think you are in Ohio as I recall, so you might try these:

Here is a site called ActionOhio, which has specific info and directions on donating cellphones to charities ( I REALLY LIKE this site, great info there):

http://www.actionohio.org/cellphone_collection.htm

Here is Ohio's Dept. of Natural Resourses Recycling page (although it is primarily about recycling, you might find more there about donating):

http://www.ohiodnr.com/recycling/awareness/facts/

there are a number of other places that show up on a google search, depending on your actual location.

~HAP

Edited July 16, 2006 by HAPe4me

[WhiteDove]

Linda the shelters here work with the YWCA they can put the phone to use.

[Linda Z]

Thanks, everyone!

[ChasUFarley]

Linda -

You can also have the phone hacked so the SIMS card will work with your new provider. You may want to consider doing this so that you have a backup phone. I keep a spare phone in the glove box in the car, just in case. If you check eBay, you'll see where this service costs $10-$20 and all you do is mail your phone to them, and they send it back usually within 5-7 business days.

[satori001]

Different providers use different technologies. Some phones don't use SIM cards at all. Others do, but they are incompatible with other SIM-using phones.

Cingular/ATT is GSM. Verizon is CDMA. Sprint is CDMA. T-Mobile is something else, probably GSM. Nextel (now part of Sprint) is something else (iDEN, a version of TDMA, which facilitates their instant walkie-talkie thing). Therefore their phones are often not interchangable - no matter how "hacked."

If you want to have your phone unlocked ("hacked"), some companies (Cingular for instance) will do it (provide the code and procedure) for free, as long as you've completed the original term of your agreement. Others won't.

Cell phones and their batteries contain extremely toxic material and need to be turned in to a special recycling center (found at some Walmarts, and many company-owned wirelesss retailers) at the end of their useful lives.

[Belle]

Freecycle is a site I learned about from Cindy! and have been using it ever since. I've provided cell phones, VCRs, backyard swimming pools, etc. for free to needy people and gotten some pretty cool and much needed things myself. :)

Helps keep our landfills less crowded, too!