Where to Donate Old Cell Phones

✍️ LargestCharities Editorial Team | 📅 Last updated: September 2026

An old phone in a drawer is worth more than most household donations, because two national programs turn even broken ones into something: emergency phones for people in danger, and funding for military families. The step that matters more than the destination is wiping it, and doing that properly takes five minutes that most people skip. This page covers who takes phones in any condition and how to hand one over safely.

1. Secure the Call: 911 phones for people at risk

Secure the Call is a 501(c)(3) that has spent more than two decades turning donated phones into free emergency-call devices, and it states that it has provided free 911 phones and tablets to victims of domestic violence, senior citizen centers, and other high-risk communities, shipping to over 200 community partners nationwide who hand them out.

It accepts all working and broken cell phones, all working and broken tablets and iPads, and chargers and accessories, and explicitly does not take TVs, desktops, laptops, printers, or household batteries. Donors mail devices with a shipping label from its site. It reformats each usable device by hand, removes the SIM, tests it, and packages it with a charger, and states that this is how it ensures donor data is completely removed.

2. Cell Phones For Soldiers

Cell Phones For Soldiers provides communication services and emergency financial aid to active military members and veterans, funded by donated devices. It accepts smartphones, cell phones in any condition, tablets, and MP3 players, plus chargers and accessories in original packaging, and lists roughly 3,000 drop-off locations along with a mailing address in Austin, Texas. Devices are refurbished for homeless veterans or responsibly recycled, and the organization states that all donated devices are securely wiped of user data before processing.

3. Domestic violence programs and local shelters

Many local domestic violence organizations run their own phone programs, distributing devices that can reach emergency services to people leaving dangerous situations. Call to Safety and similar organizations distribute functional phones to survivors and recycle damaged ones as a funding source. A call to the nearest program is worth making before mailing a phone across the country, because a working recent phone placed locally can matter more than the same device in a national pipeline.

4. Schools, refurbishers, and carrier take-back

Digital inclusion nonprofits and refurbishers accept phones and tablets to distribute to students and low-income households, and the National Cristina Foundation, now operating through Digitunity, matches donated technology with schools and nonprofits at no cost to anyone. Carrier and retailer trade-in programs give store credit for recent models, which is worth checking first: a phone from the last three or four years often has real trade-in value, and donating the cash does more than donating the device.

5. Goodwill and thrift stores

Goodwill accepts phones and, at participating locations, routes electronics through the Dell Reconnect program for free recycling of computer equipment of any brand. It is a convenient drop for a phone you do not want to mail. It is also the least targeted use, because the device is sold or recycled rather than placed with someone who needs it. For a working phone, the programs above do more.

6. Wipe it properly before it leaves

  1. Back up anything you want. Once the reset runs, the phone's copy is gone.
  2. Sign out of your accounts on the device, especially the Apple or Google account. A phone still linked to an account is locked to it and useless to the recipient, and this is the single most common reason a donated phone is scrapped.
  3. Turn off activation lock (Find My iPhone, or Android's factory reset protection) by signing out before resetting, not after.
  4. Remove the SIM card and any memory card. These are not wiped by a reset and hold contacts, photos, and account data.
  5. Run the factory reset from settings, and confirm the phone boots to the setup screen.
  6. Note the charger. Both national programs accept chargers and accessories, and a phone with its charger is immediately usable.
A phone still signed in to an iCloud or Google account cannot be activated by anyone else, no matter how thoroughly it is reset afterward. Sign out first. Programs receive thousands of locked phones a year that can only be recycled for parts.
Broken phones count. Both national programs accept devices that do not power on, because the recovered materials fund the work. The drawer full of cracked screens is a donation, not trash.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I donate an old cell phone?
Secure the Call turns donated phones into free 911 emergency devices for domestic violence survivors and seniors. Cell Phones For Soldiers funds communication services for military members and veterans. Local domestic violence programs, digital inclusion nonprofits, and Goodwill also accept phones.
Do they take broken phones?
Yes. Secure the Call accepts all working and broken phones and tablets, and Cell Phones For Soldiers accepts cell phones in any condition. Non-working devices are recycled and the proceeds fund the programs.
How do I wipe a phone before donating it?
Back up your data, sign out of your Apple or Google account on the device, turn off activation lock, remove the SIM and any memory card, then run a factory reset and confirm it boots to the setup screen.
Why does signing out matter so much?
A phone still linked to an iCloud or Google account stays activation-locked and cannot be used by anyone else, however many times it is reset. Locked phones are the most common reason a donated device can only be scrapped.
Does Goodwill take cell phones?
Yes, and participating locations route electronics through Dell Reconnect for free recycling. A working recent phone does more good through a program that places devices with people who need them.
Should I sell or donate a recent phone?
Check a trade-in value first. A phone from the last few years often has real value, and donating the proceeds usually beats donating the device. Older and broken phones are better donated.
Can I donate tablets and iPads?
Yes. Both Secure the Call and Cell Phones For Soldiers accept tablets, working or broken, along with chargers and accessories.
Are phone donations tax deductible?
When a registered charity receives them and you itemize, at the device's fair market value, which for an older phone is small. Both national programs are nonprofits and can acknowledge donations.

Last updated September 2026. Errors: [email protected]

Why a 911-only phone still matters

Any cell phone in the United States can dial 911 whether or not it has active service, which is the fact the Secure the Call model is built on. A deactivated phone with a charged battery is a working emergency device, and for someone leaving an abusive home, or an older adult living alone, it is the difference between being able to call for help and not. It costs the donor nothing and the recipient nothing, and it is the single highest-value use of a phone too old to sell.

The rest of the drawer

Phones usually come out of a drawer alongside laptops, tablets, cables, and a printer nobody wants. Computers and TVs have their own destinations in where to donate computers and electronics, printers in where to donate a printer, and obsolete media in where to donate VHS tapes and CDs.

More Donation Guides