What To Do With Old Mobile Phone | Sell, Recycle & Charity

Once your mobile phone contract has ended and your handset’s been paid off, you’ll probably be looking to buy a new phone.

Before you discard your old one though, find out what you can do with it to earn some money, help the environment or support a charity. Here are the main things you could do with your old handset:

Sell it
Donate it
Recycle it
Trade it in

1. How to sell your phone

You can sell it yourself by either:

Advertising it online on a suitable site
Selling it to a company that buys used handsets

Sell it yourself

If you choose to sell it yourself, you could try one of these options:

Facebook marketplace - free to use
ebay - fees may apply
Gumtree - generally free to use

To get an idea of how much your phone might be worth, you can use the above sites to search for the make and model you’re looking to sell.

Sell it to a company

If you’d rather sell it directly to a company, here are some options:

It usually works like this:

Get an instant quote for your phone by typing in the make and model.
Confirm the sale and how you want to receive the money.
Wait for a freepost envelope to arrive at your address. Then package your phone up and send it back to them for free.
Allow time for your phone to be received and your payment to be processed (usually the same day they get your handset).

Shop around to get the best price for your phone and be sure to check the details.

For example, the initial price shown often assumes the phone’s in perfect condition and has the highest storage capacity. So, if your phone doesn’t match up, you’ll get less money for it.

Don’t wait to sell your phone as they quickly become outdated and are worth less when a new model comes out.

2. How to donate your phone

If you’re not bothered about getting any money for your phone and want to do a nice thing, most charities accept them.

If it’s not stated on their website, just call ahead and check, to save a wasted journey.

Charities can make money from your phone by passing it on to a company that will recycle it - so it’s also environmentally friendly.

3. How to recycle your phone

If you want to be greener, recycling your phone is a great step towards this and you could make some money from it too. Here are some options to try:

Mobile providers e.g. Three*
Apple
envirofone

*You don’t have to be a Three customer to use their service, they can recycle phones from any network.

You also have the option of taking your old handset to a Civic Amenity Site or WEEE recycling point, to be recycled with the electrical items. It’s free to do this but you won’t get any money back.

This ensures that each component is either disposed of safely or reused, and doesn’t end up in landfill.

Use the mywaste waste service locator to find your nearest electrical recycling facility.

4. How to trade in your phone

This is probably the easiest solution as you can trade your old handset when you buy your new phone. It also means you can offset the trade in price against things like:

Your new handset
Accessories
Your monthly bill
Pay as you go top ups

Most network providers like Vodafone, and some mobile retailers let you trade in any phone on any network.

When you trade it in, the retailer is likely to refurbish your phone or recycle it, so it’s a way of being paid to do the right thing for the environment.

Should you keep your phone?

It’s easy to get into the cycle of buying a new phone as soon as your contract ends, but is it always necessary?

Keeping your existing phone is a great way to save money.

Once your contract has ended, your phone is paid off which means you can simply switch to a SIM-only deal which is much cheaper because you’re just paying for the data, texts and minutes you need.

SIM-only plans are really flexible and usually on a rolling 30 day basis. So, if you decide to swap your phone a couple of months down the line, you won’t have to wait for a lengthy contract to end.

You could also keep your old handset as a spare, in case something goes wrong with your new phone or it goes missing.

So, if your phone’s in good condition and has all the functions you need, you might want to consider hanging onto it for a bit longer.

Compare SIM-only deals

What to do before you get rid of your phone

However you decide to get rid of your phone, there are a few things you should do first:

Back up your data e.g. photos, music, messages, emails, contacts etc
Turn off any payment services e.g. Apple pay where your card details are stored
Sign out of apps that hold your personal details e.g. Facebook, Gmail and LinkedIn
Delete any saved passwords on your browsers
Remove your SIM card and any external storage
Do a factory reset to wipe the phone

If you have an iPhone, make sure the ‘Find my iPhone’ feature is switched off.

If you’re not sure how to do any of these steps, you could check:

The user manual
The provider’s website, including the FAQ section
By searching on Google
By calling the provider directly

You should also pack the phone up in the original box if you have it, along with any accessories it came with, if they’ve been agreed as part of the sale.

How to find the best bill pay phone deal

If you’ve decided to get a new phone, check out our tips on how to find the best bill pay phone deal.

Whether you’re looking for an iPhone, Samsung, or Huawei, we compare some of the best deals in Ireland and help you understand each handset’s features.

If you’re investing in an expensive handset, our guide: Is mobile phone insurance worth it? is also well worth a read.

Compare bill pay phone deals