✨Ringing in Change for 2025✨
Our Current Campaign
HI urgently needs donations of working disused mobile phones from the WA community to use on our Mobile Support Project with disadvantaged young people.
Our current end of year campaign will run from 15 December 2024 - 15 February 2025. Our goal for the campaign is to collect 500 disused mobile phones from across the WA community, to repair and provide to young people in need across all of WA.
Your mobile phone can make a big difference in the lives of young people who need to access critical services!
Donating your phone is simple - let us show you how.
What Kind Of Phones Do You Take?
Generally, any smartphone models from 2016 or newer are suitable for use by HI. This includes:
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iPhone: iPhone 6 or later.
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Samsung: S7 or newer; J1 or J3 2016 or later.
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Other Androids: Sony Xperia XZ or later; LG G5 or later; Google Pixel 1 or later.
All phones need to be carrier unlocked (most modern phones are), and have their cloud security account removed.
If you're not sure if your phone is suitable, you can always just ask us and if you're still not sure, you can donate it anyway We will ensure anything not suitable for our program is responsibly recycled.
How Do I Prepare My Phone To Donate?
Preparing your phone before you donate it is simple, and ensures that your donation will go to good use in the community. In short, you just need to ensure your data is erased and remove your device security. This means you need to remove the PIN lock and your cloud security account, and complete a factory reset. This allows us to ensure all your data is completely removed and safe to go to the community.
If you don't remove your PIN lock and cloud security, we will not be able to use your phone in our programs and we will have to send it to recycling.
If you're not sure how to go about this, we've created a handy guide (with screenshots). Just click on the model of your phone below for our guide.
How Can I Get My Phone To You?
There are a few different ways you can get your phone to us at HI if you've decided to donate your disused mobile phone.
Drop it off to a convenient collection point across the Perth Metropolitan area:
HI has partnered with a collection of good egg locations to host an easy drop off point for the Perth community.
Simply make sure your device is ready to donate by wiping your old data, and drop it into the box! Locations currently collecting devices include:
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Bentley - Curtin University: Curtin Stadium and the School of Population Health
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Belmont - Belmont Forum
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Como - Our Ruby Girl Cafe
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Crawley - University of WA: Student Central and the International Student Lounge
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Fremantle - City of Fremantle & Elizabeth's Bookshop (Queen Victoria Street)
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Northbridge - Perth Children's Court
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Perth CBD - Ground and Co Cafe (at the State Library) & Spacecubed (both Riff and Flux locations) & Perth City Farm (PCF is Mon-Fri drop offs only)
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Victoria Park - Perron Place
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West Perth - Big Fat Unicorn Cafe & Cafe Lucia
Psst - we're always looking for more locations happy to host a box. If you're happy to be a drop off point for us, please reach out to us at ashleigh@helloinitative.org.au to chat more.
Mail it straight to us:
You can also post your phone directly to us at: Perron Place, 61 Kitchener Ave, Victoria Park, WA 6100.
Don't forget to mark it for attention to Hello Initiative :)
Arrange a collection:
If you're donating 2 old phones or more, just fill in your details in in the form below and we'll reach out to confirm the donation and any details required.
❓Frequently Asked Questions❓
Does factory resetting/erasing my phone actually delete everything?
In short, yes. Modern phones are very careful with your data. Everything that's on your phone is protected by a secret encrypted password that only your phone knows. When you erase your phone, that password is deleted and as a result your information is no longer accessible. When you delete everything off your phone, all of your important information like contacts, passwords, and any digital bank cards should be backed up to your iCloud/Google account.
Do you take broken phones?
While we prefer devices that are referral-ready, we've worked very hard to build an in-house refurbishment process to get your broken phone back in working order. Not all broken devices can be fixed - if you have any questions about this process please contact us at hello@helloinitiative.org.au.
Are there any phones you don't take?
If your device is in working or repairable condition and connects to the 4G network, we would love to have it on our program. Once we've got the device, we will double check to make sure we can use it on our program. If we can't, we'll take it to an accredited e-waste recycler.
Are there any risks to donating my old mobile phone?
Risks are very minimal if you properly erase your personal data before donating, or contact us for support to achieve this if you're not sure how. If you donate your device without data being erased, we won't be able to use it on the program regardless, and will ensure it is disposed of.
Do all of the phones go to young people?
HI strives to use every device they receive for WA young people on our charitable programs. If it can't be used because it's too damaged to be repaired or too old to be safely donated, it gets sent to a trusted eWaste recycler. HI does not on-sell any devices and all devices are used in our charitable programs right here in WA.
iPhone Donation Prep Guide
How do I erase everything from my iPhone?
Click on the screenshots below for instructions to securely wipe your Apple iPhone. Make sure you back up your photos, contacts, and anything else on your device using our instructions below if you'd like to keep access to your old information on a new device.
Open your Settings app.
Scroll down the page and tap "General".
Tap on "Erase All Content and Settings" and follow the instructions. You may need to put in your iCloud email and password during this step.
Open your Settings app.
How do I back up my iPhone?
There’s two main ways you can back up your iPhone. 1) Back up to iCloud or 2) Back up on your computer. See below for instructions on how to do both. iCloud 1. Connect your device to your Wi-Fi 2. Open your Settings app 3. Tap your name at the top of the Settings app 4. Tap “iCloud” 5. Tap “iCloud Backup” 6. Tap “Back Up Now” and stay connected to your Wi-Fi until it’s completed 6a. Usually this takes about 30 minutes but can take longer if you’ve had the phone for a long time. Your phone will tell you when the back up is done. Apple Computer 1. Connect your iPhone and your computer with a cable 2. In the Finder sidebar on your Mac, select your iPhone 3. At the top of the Finder window, click General 4. Select “Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac” 5. Click “Back Up Now” Windows Computer 1. Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable. 2. In the iTunes app on your PC, click the iPhone button near the top left of the iTunes window. 3. Click Summary. 4. Click Back Up Now (below Backups). You’ll need iTunes installed on your computer for this method. If these instructions don’t work, check the Apple website linked below to see if your phone works slightly differently or contact us at hello@helloinitiative.org.au. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph3ecf67d29/ios
What is an iCloud account?
An iCloud account is the account that runs everything on your Apple account. It’s what you use to download apps, back up contacts and photos, and call people on Facetime. If you don’t remember your password, unfortunately Hello Initiative can’t help reset it. You’ll need to contact Apple directly for help. You can visit the website linked below from Apple for more information. https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/icloud/mm74e822f6de/icloud
Android Donation Prep Guide
How do I erase everything from my Android phone?
Click on the screenshots below for instructions to securely wipe your phone! Make sure you back up your photos, contacts, and anything else on your device using our instructions below. Your phone may look slightly different to these instructions as Android phones can be made by many different manufacturers. You can Google, “*your phone manufacturer* reset instructions” for specific instructions.
Open your Settings app.
Scroll down the page and tap “System”.
Tap “Erase all data (factory reset)”. You may need to enter your Google account email and password at this stage.
Open your Settings app.
How do I back up my Android phone?
Hello Initiative recommends using a Google Account to back up your device. We can’t help you create one of these but you can find instructions on how to do that by Googling "How to create a Google account". To backup your phone to your Google account follow these steps. 1. Open your Settings app 2. Scroll down the page and tap on “Accounts and backup” 3. Tap “Back up data” under Google Drive. 3a. You may need to enter your Google account email and password at this stage. 4. Tap “Back up now”
What is a Google account?
A Google account is the account that runs everything on your Android device. It’s what you use to download apps and back up contacts and photos. If you don’t remember your password, unfortunately Hello Initiative can’t help reset it. You’ll need to contact Google directly for help.
Samsung Donation Prep Guide
How do I erase everything from my Samsung?
See the screenshots below for instructions to securely wipe your phone! Make sure you back up your photos, contacts, and anything else on your device using our instructions below. You may need to put in the password for your Samsung and/or Google Account. Hello Initiative can’t help you reset these passwords.
Open your "Settings" app.
Scroll down the page and tap "General Management".
Tap "Factory Data Reset" and follow the instructions on the screen. You may need to put your Google or Samsung password in during this step.
Open your "Settings" app.
How do I back up my Samsung?
Hello Initiative recommends using a Google Account to back up your device. We can’t help you create one of these but you can find instructions on how to do that by Googling "How to create a Google account". To backup your phone to your Google account follow these steps. 1. Open your Settings app 2. Scroll down the page and tap on “Accounts and backup” 3. Tap “Back up data” under Google Drive. 3a. You may need to enter your Google account email and password at this stage. 4. Tap “Back up now”
What is a Google account?
A Google account is the account that runs everything on your Android device. It’s what you use to download apps and back up contacts and photos. If you don’t remember your password, unfortunately Hello Initiative can’t help reset it. You’ll need to contact Google directly for help.
What is a Samsung account?
A Samsung account helps run everything on your Samsung phone. You can use it to back up your device, install apps, and get help from Samsung. If you don’t remember your password, unfortunately Hello Initiative can’t help reset it. You’ll need to contact Samsung directly for help.