# Can you hear me now?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 2, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644 "2002-09-02T05:05:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Miss\_Creant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Creant)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/1 "2002-09-02T05:05:23Z")
What do you do with old cell phones? Between \*\* Mr. C\*\* and myself, we have at least 5. What do you do with them?
Can you sell them? I seem to recall that I can’t throw the battery out, but what about the rest of it?
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### Author:  [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/2 "2002-09-02T05:15:53Z")
There are programs where you can donate old cell phones to women’s shelters. They’re reprogrammed so all they can be used for is to call 911. Ask a cell-phone provider where you can do this in your area.
Robin
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Creant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Creant)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/3 "2002-09-02T05:35:57Z")
Yea! I didn’t know they could do that. (program for only 911) Brian said something about donating to charity, but I couldn’t imagine what a homeless person would want with a cell phone.
(no, I have no idea why I only thought of homeless shelters as a charity, it’s just how my mind works)
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### Author:  [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/4 "2002-09-02T05:37:18Z")
> **[CTIA Wireless Foundation - Home](https://www.wirelessfoundation.org/12give/index.htm)**
>
> CTIA Wireless Foundation initiates and oversees philanthropic programs that utilize wireless technology to help American communities.
[http://differentdawn.com/humanuspages/cellphones.html](http://differentdawn.com/humanuspages/cellphones.html)
[http://www.spies.com/~afrp/donation.html](http://www.spies.com/~afrp/donation.html)
[http://users.rcn.com/paws.nai/news07.html](http://users.rcn.com/paws.nai/news07.html)
[http://www.verizonwireless.com/jsp/aboutus/community\_service/hopeline\_fact.jsp](http://www.verizonwireless.com/jsp/aboutus/community_service/hopeline_fact.jsp)
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### Author:  [@typo\_mna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typo_mna)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/5 "2002-09-02T07:28:09Z")
If you’d like, I’d be happy to take one off your hands.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/6 "2002-09-02T16:04:30Z")
People give them to our thrift shops, we sell for about $5. People do buy them, I don’t know why as most of them need a card or codeo to activate the call screen.
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### Author:  [@therealblaze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/therealblaze)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-me-now/126644/7 "2002-09-02T16:22:24Z")
Here in Finland we have really good trade-in deals even for obsolete phones. Many dealers will accept even two or more phones. For example my Nokia 3310 which isn’t really worth much, would give me 80 - 100 $ depending of the phone’s price I would upgrade to. But of course giving them to charity would be good for your karma (besides maybe there even isn’t that kind of deals in the US).