Recycling Old Cell Phones (redux)?

Tweakmeister asks: "With the product cycle for cell phones being what seems like months, is there any use for old phones? How about pagers? A search reveals some initiatives to recycle them or send them to foreign countries. Have you found any alternative uses for old cell phones?" We last touched on this subject in this previous article, from two years ago. Have any new ideas shown up on the horizon, since then?

Keep one in your car.

[Pathwalker]

Any cell phone, even one without service, can call 911.

The old beat up cell phone (with an auto adaptor, or a single use emergency battery) in your glove box may save your life someday.

Re:Keep one in your car.

[Kizzle]

If I remember correctly, you can call the operator and place collect calls. Am I right?

Re:Keep one in your car.

[Profane Motherfucker]

Yes. With Verizon Wirless for example you can dial *611 for customer service, 911 for emergencies. If you try and dial any other number, on the Verizon Wireless network, they route you to an operator. To make a call you must have a credit card, and it costs at least $1 per minute.

It varies by the network, but you still can make calls with a CC.

Re:Keep one in your car.

[The_Laughing_God]

While there was a law mandating 911 access on deactivated phones, I've been told that (unlike analog cellphones), many or all of the most recent generation of digital phones do not. I doubt this is a change in the law (I'd think that I'd know if it were), but don't know if it's an oversight in current implementations of digital cellphone networks (how far down the priority list do you think *that* bug is?), or a semi-deliberate dodge.

Ordinarily I would investigate the roots of this apparent illegality myse

Re:Keep one in your car.

[jquirke]

Yes, any GSM phone is required to be able to make a call to '112' whether a SIM / PIN code is present or not. It simply sets the "EMERGENCY" cause establishment in the CHANNEL REQUEST message, and it is up to the network to decide whether or not to allow emergency calls (most do).

Donate them locally

[balamw]

There are various programs [wirelessrecycling.com] to collect used cell phones for various causes, one that makes a lot of sense is the Call to Protect [wirelessfoundation.org] which will benefit the victims of domestic violence.

Balam

Re:Donate them locally

[StillDocked]

I concur, and in most cases the donation is tax deductable. Not only do you create an excuse to buy new hardware, you also are doing something good for someone else, and receive a deduction for the full cost of the cell phone at purchase. This is a win-win-win situation.

Re:Donate them locally

[Gopher]

I also concur. You may want to ask Rape Crisis teams or women's shelters in your area if they want phones as donations. My sister-in-law volunteered as a counsellor for one, and they always accepted donations of cell phones.

Re:Donate them locally

[jjshoe]

this is the best way to go, its where i always pass cell phones on to. definatly a worth while cause. just having the cellphone can make a big difference in how the women feel moving about day to day

Re:Donate them locally

[foog]

I've always been skeptical of the effectiveness of these programs. If someone can't keep it together well enough to afford a pre-paid cell phone, do you really expect them to keep it together well enough to remember to carry the cell phone and to keep it charged?

Old Analog pnoes are great for 911

[zulux]

Here in the US*, any cell phone, regardless of network and acount status can call the 911 emergency number.

Old Motorola flip phones with a cheap $9 car charger make a great present for thos who can't afford a cell phone for emergency use.

*Some European countries are not so enlighented - they don't care if you die with a cell phone in your hand, only if you can pay your bill.

Re:Old Analog pnoes are great for 911

[Gordonjcp]

*All* European GSM networks are required to allow you to make calls to 112. Without exception. Oh, and as an added bonus, since the call setup packets are flagged as an emergency call, you can kick people off the celltower if it's busy.

How about ...

[one9nine]

Use it to make and receive calls. I've had my original cell phone for almost three years you insensitive clod.

the companies themselves..

[zogger]

...should make a phone that can be as easily upgraded as any desktop box. That would be nice, take your old phone in, they swap out the necessary components, or you can do it, "upgrade" to the latest and best. Then at least only part of the phone becomes trash.

Conversely, an easy mod to make a useable FRS radio would be nice. Probably real hard and illegal, though.

Cell phone to > music file player? Tablet PC adapter? Garage door opener, universal remote control?

My beef with new phones is they are all

Re:the companies themselves..

[bildstorm]

Driven the Crown Vic. Still like my <racist_remark>rice burner</racist_remark> better.

Kinda like if I go to a club, then having a small phone that I can simply answer is much nicer than looking like a fool with a big lump in his pants.

Re:the companies themselves..

[walt-sjc]

Yeah, I'll take my Q45 "rice burner" over a pile-of-crap crown vic any day.

But back on the topic at hand...

I would REALLY like to see some way of altering the frequency to run at 900M or 2.4G and use these things as a much-better home cordless. US Cell phones are pretty close to these frequencies arn't they?

In fact, it looks like this [cordlessmart.com] is just a nokia cell phone that's been adapted for exactly this use. Probably special software and such, but the basics are there.

Seems to me that someone could come up wi

Re:the companies themselves..

[b96miata]

Software radio for this level of sophistication is quite expensive. And no, US cell phones are not close to these frequencies. 800mhz/1900 mhz is the norm for analog/digital. The phones are so tightly integrated, including the parts that regulate frequency, not to mention the complexity of the base station, that what you are describing would be really not cost effective. Taking traditional (possibly downsized) cordless phone components and putting them in a pretty plastic shell is another matter, whic

Re:the companies themselves..

[dtldl]

www.vertu.com, not exactly your average joe phone, but since the case is jewel encrusted solid gold/platinum/silver etc. the insides can be swapped out for the latest technology. Assuming you can afford the £16k for it.
If you'd spend that on a phone though i bet you'd have enough redundant earnings to be upgrading the inside monthly.

It's hard when ...

[.milfox]

foreign countries have better cell phones than we've got. :P

And who would really want to saddle 'em with CDMA? Ewwwww! ;P

Serioulsy, the 911 backup idea is a good one, if their batteries can still hold charge, of course.

Batterd women's shelters

[barzok]

I seem to recall hearing that battered women's programs/shelters give phones to their clients. In the US (or maybe it's just New York), all cell phones must be able to connect to 911 even if they're not set up with a subscription. So, if someone's in trouble, they have a free call to 911 no matter where they are.

DUPE

[aztektum]

Here [slashdot.org]

911

[Apreche]

Cell phones, old ones, new ones, any phone whether it has service or not, whether anyone is paying for it or not, even the ones on demo in the store (if the batteries are charged) is required by law to be able to make 911 calls. Take old cell phones and cell them as "emergency only phones". Sell them as is or rewire them to have one button that just dials 911. The law says that it has to work.

Skeet.

[cybermace5]

"Pull!"

*BLAM*

"Can you hear me now?"

*maniacal laughter*

EBAY

[mpechner]

I just sell them on ebay. I've always gotten reasonable money for 2YO technology most of the time.

Paid for a nice dinner anyway.

Holy crap!

[jarran]

Send pagers to foreign countries? Are you insane? Aren't foreign countries full of terrorists who are just desperate to you foreign pagers to orchestrate the killing of freedom lovin' people?

One thing I plan to do

[mivok]

when I replace my current phone (in a few months - how nice of the phone company to give me a new phone for free). I'm thinking of leaving it connected to my computer as a dial-in modem (use a pay as you go sim, so there are no running costs), and have remote control over gsm for the pc.

Of course, this cant be done with all phones, just those with a GSM modem, but in a few months that could very well be the norm.

Another nice idea for a phone connected to the pc would be to get the pc to respond to incomin

just one..

[josepha48]

they make great doorstops.. ;-)

throw them at the homeless

[AssFace]

I like to leave them like a breadcrumb trail as I walk in new areas. That way I can always find my way home and I won't get attacked by wolves... or is it witches in candy houses?
Either way, old phones are a lifesaver that way.