Los Angeles County technology donation guidance
Before You Donate Phones, Tablets, and Laptops in Los Angeles
Before offering a device, back up what you need, remove personal data and accounts, check for activation or management locks, inspect the battery and screen, keep the correct charger with it, and call All Seniors Foundation to confirm current needs and the next step.
Short answer: prepare the device, then call first
Phones, tablets, laptops, and their correct chargers may be worth discussing when a device is usable and current needs allow, but acceptance is not automatic. The donor—not All Seniors Foundation—should remove personal information, sign out of accounts, remove SIM and memory cards, disable activation locks, and complete an appropriate reset before transferring a device.
Do not assume ASF will erase data, repair hardware, replace batteries, pick up, ship, refurbish, match, deliver, train a recipient, provide a destruction certificate, or issue particular tax documentation. Call before bringing, mailing, or leaving any electronics.
Who this electronics donation guide helps
This guide is for households, families, caregivers, offices, schools, community groups, and IT contacts in Los Angeles County who want to responsibly offer a phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, monitor, hotspot, webcam, keyboard, mouse, or charger. It covers donor preparation, privacy, condition, and recycling questions—not a guaranteed intake list or a promise of placement with a senior.
Identify the exact device
Note the type, maker, model, approximate age, operating system, serial number, storage, charger type, and whether it powers on and charges.
Protect personal information
Back up needed files, sign out, unlink the device, remove cards, disable locks, and follow the manufacturer’s current erase or reset process.
Check physical condition
Describe cracks, missing keys, damaged ports, liquid exposure, unusual heat, swelling, odors, broken hinges, screen issues, and battery behavior.
Details to gather before calling
- Device type, brand, model, serial number, approximate age, and operating system.
- Whether it powers on, starts normally, connects to power, and holds a charge.
- Screen, keyboard, camera, speaker, microphone, ports, buttons, and visible damage.
- Whether the correct charger, power adapter, cable, case, mouse, keyboard, or stylus is included.
- Whether all personal, family, work, school, healthcare, or financial data has been removed.
- Whether Find My, activation locks, passwords, carrier locks, encryption, or mobile-device management remain.
Stop if the battery is unsafe
Do not charge, press, puncture, bend, mail, or place a device with a swollen, leaking, smoking, hissing, unusually hot, or damaged lithium-ion battery in household trash or curbside recycling. Keep it away from heat and flammable materials and contact an appropriate local household hazardous-waste or electronics-recycling program for current instructions.
EPA advises that lithium-ion batteries and devices containing them should not go in household garbage or ordinary recycling bins. CalRecycle provides California electronics-management resources and local options.
A seven-step personal-data and device checklist
Back up what you need
Copy photos, contacts, documents, authentication information, and other needed files to a secure destination. Verify the backup before deleting anything.
Sign out and unlink accounts
Sign out of Apple, Google, Microsoft, carrier, browser, cloud, email, financial, healthcare, social, and other accounts. Remove the device from account dashboards where appropriate.
Remove SIM and storage cards
Take out the SIM, eSIM where applicable, SD card, USB storage, security keys, and any other removable media you intend to keep or separately destroy.
Disable activation and management locks
Turn off Find My or similar activation protection. Business and school devices should be released from mobile-device management, enrollment, and inventory systems by an authorized administrator.
Use the manufacturer’s current reset instructions
Follow official instructions for the exact model and operating system. A reset screen is not proof that every storage device or external card has been sanitized.
Restart and verify without entering new private data
Confirm that the device reaches the initial setup screen and no longer displays your accounts, files, messages, photos, browser data, passwords, or organization enrollment.
Call before transferring it
Describe the device, reset status, condition, charger, battery, and location. Wait for a confirmed next step before bringing, mailing, or leaving it anywhere.
Donation or certified recycling?
| Device situation | What to do before calling | Likely question |
|---|---|---|
| Working phone, tablet, or laptop | Back up, remove data and accounts, disable locks, reset, record the model, and keep the correct charger with it. | Does this match a current need and handling process? |
| Older but working device | Note its age, operating system, update status, battery behavior, ports, and accessories without assuming it is too old or useful. | Can it be considered, or is certified recycling more appropriate? |
| Cracked, water-damaged, locked, or non-working device | Do not conceal the condition. Protect data and ask a qualified recycler about safe handling. | Should this bypass donation and go to an approved electronics program? |
| Swollen, leaking, hot, or damaged battery | Do not charge, mail, place in trash, or put in curbside recycling. Follow local hazardous-battery guidance. | Which local program can safely receive it? |
| Business, school, or healthcare device | Obtain authority, remove MDM/enrollment, follow records-retention and data-security policy, and document disposition internally. | What proof of sanitization and authorization does your organization require? |
Business and organization devices
- Confirm that the person arranging disposal has authority to release the equipment.
- Follow the organization’s retention, privacy, security, legal-hold, licensing, and asset-disposition policies.
- Remove mobile-device management, domain enrollment, BIOS or firmware passwords, and activation locks.
- Record serial numbers and disposition internally if required; do not assume ASF provides chain-of-custody or destruction certificates.
- Never include employee, patient, customer, student, donor, or applicant records with a device.
Accessories and packing
Keep the correct charger and power adapter with the device when safe, and label which accessories belong together. Do not include unrelated cables, loose batteries, passwords, recovery codes, account credentials, original financial documents, or private paperwork.
Shipping lithium batteries is regulated and damaged batteries can present a fire risk. Do not mail a device unless the receiving organization has specifically confirmed the method and you have followed the carrier’s current requirements.
A simple device-donation call script
Describe only what you know and keep acceptance conditional.
“Hi. I have a used laptop in Los Angeles County. It powers on, the battery is not swollen, the original charger is included, and I have backed up my files, signed out, removed my accounts, and completed the manufacturer’s reset. Could you tell me what other details you need, whether it matches a current need, and what next step—if any—I should follow before transferring it?”
Official privacy, battery, and electronics resources
Use instructions for the exact device and check current local rules. These sources provide general guidance; they do not confirm ASF acceptance or services.
- Federal Trade Commission: Remove Personal Information Before Getting Rid of a Phone
- Federal Trade Commission: Remove Personal Information Before Getting Rid of a Computer
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Electronics Donation and Recycling
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Used Lithium-Ion Batteries
- CalRecycle: Electronic Waste Management in California
Explore other item-preparation pages through the main Donate page, or use the All Seniors Foundation Contact form to ask about a device without submitting sensitive files or passwords.
Have a device to offer?
Prepare the model, condition, reset status, charger, battery details, and location, then call for a current answer before transporting or mailing it.
Important: Donation acceptance depends on current needs, device type, age, condition, battery safety, reset status, account locks, accessories, storage, logistics, and staff review. All Seniors Foundation does not guarantee acceptance, pickup, drop-off, shipping, data erasure, repair, refurbishment, battery replacement, placement, delivery, setup, training, support, recycling, chain-of-custody documentation, a tax acknowledgment, tax treatment, or any specific outcome. This guide is general information, not legal, tax, cybersecurity, privacy, electronics-repair, hazardous-materials, or shipping advice.
