Reuse
Extending the life of your mobile phone.
Reuse options
Extending the life of a product is an important part of the circular economy and will reduce their environmental impact. Our members can help extend the life of your phone through their repair, reuse and trade-in programs. MobileMuster works with charities, service centres and repair shops to ensure that any mobiles and components that can’t be reused are recycled the right way.
If your mobile is still working consider extending its life by either selling it or passing it on to friends and family. Remember to remove any data that you would like to keep, take a look at our data management tips, before you sell or give your phone away.
Learn more
Extending the life of your phone
Use it or recycle it
Trade-in programs
A number of our members provide trade-in programs. You will need to check to see if your device is eligible and make sure it is in good working condition. Trade-in programs can provide credit towards your next purchase or account.
Get in contact with your network provider or manufacturer to see if your phone is eligible and how much credit you could get. Before you trade-in your device, make sure your safely back up, trasfer and reset your mobile phone. You will also need to remove all locks, passwords and logout of online accounts.
Donating
When it comes to reuse most of us are passing on our old phones to family members. Increasingly, mobile phones are being handed down from parents to children. In fact, 72% of children receive their first phone as a hand-me-down from their parents.
If your phone is in good working order, you could donate it to a charitable organisation in Australia that accepts phones and will put it in the hands of someone in need. You should always perform a factory reset before donating and check to see that the charity will securely erase any data left on the device.
MobileMuster partners with charities in Australia to ensure that any phones that can’t be reused are recycled through the program. One such organisation is The Reconnect Project, who provide refurbished phones, tablets and laptops to social service organisations to support people experiencing domestic and family violence, refugee families, at-risk youth and people in transitional housing.
Another organisation is DV Safe Phone who collect and repurpose mobile phones, and provide them to victims of domestic violence. They estimate that there are over 2 million known victims of domestic violence, and their goal is to get a safe phone into the hands of every victim.
Another option is GIVIT, who are a not-for-profit donation platform that works with more than 4,500 organisations around Australia to provide essential items, including digital devices, to vulnerable Australians recovering from natural disasters, experiencing family and domestic violence, homelessness, mental illness, financial hardship or living with a disability.
Selling
It’s becoming more popular to buy and sell second hand mobile phones. Depending on the model and condition your old phone could be resued by someone else. MobileMuster is the recycling partner of a number of commercial reuse programs in Australia. These programs include Mobile Monster, Moorup, and Phone Cycle.
If you sell or donate your phone make sure you are dealing with a reputable and responsible organisation. We encourage you to manage and remove the data on your mobile phone before you pass it on. It is important to ask lots of questions when selling your mobile and understand how it will be reused and what will happen to it when it reaches its end of life.
We don’t want our old mobiles ending up as an e-waste problem in another country. If your phone doesn’t have any resale value or has stopped working then it is time to recycle it.
Data management
Before you recycle, sell or give away your mobile phone, you should remove your personal information. If your mobile phone is still working watch our How to videos and follow our steps for managing data on your Android or iOS device. Instructions can vary depending on your mobile phone. If you still need help, look up your phone manufactures website or contact their support services.
How to videos
How to manage the data on your phone (Android)
How to manage the data on your phone (iOS)
How to guides
We’ll show you how easy it is to safely manage the data on your old Android and iOS phone so that it’s ready to be reused or recycled. Remember that instructions can vary depending on your mobile phone. If you need help, look up the phone manufactures website.
1. Disconnect any external accessories such as smartwatches or smart home units. Open your phones settings app. Select your connected devices. Disconnect or unpair the accessory.
2. Back up or transfer files and information you want to keep to a computer or online storage. You can back up your old phone to your cloud, Google account or by connecting your phone to a computer.Google Photos app is a good option to backup your photos.
3. Log out of all your accounts such as the Play Store and social media accounts.
4. Perform a reset. A reset will erase all the data from your device. Open your phones settings app. Select backup and reset. Select factory data reset.
5. Remember to remove the SIM card and any external storage such as a micro SD card.
6. If your phone is damaged and you’re unable to remove the data, no problem. MobileMuster makes sure all your data is destroyed in the recycling process.
7. Now your phone is ready to be recycled the right way. Find your nearest drop off point.
1. Back up your phone to iCloud or a computer.
2. Disconnect any Apple-paired devices that are connected to your phone.
3. Log out of all your accounts such as iTunes an the App store. This will remove your phone from Find my iPhone. If you are switching to a non-Apple phone, you’ll need to logout of iMessage.
4. Perform a reset. A reset will erase all settings, apps and content from your device’s internal storage.
5. If you need help, contact Apple Support.
6. If your phone is damaged and you’re unable to remove the data, no problem. MobileMuster makes sure all your data is destroyed in the recycling process
7. Now your phone is ready to be recycled the right way. Find your nearest drop off point.
Switching phones
Transfer tools allow you to transfer all your contacts and content from your old phone to a new phone in a few simple steps. You may be able to transfer all your photos, calendar dates and alarms to make the switch easier. Follow the links below for information on transfer tools by handset manufacturer or network providers
Apple support site
HTC Transfer
Oppo Clone Phone
Pixel Phone Help
Samsung Smart Switch
If you need help you can talk to your local mobile phone provider to see what technical support they offer in store. Please note that some of these services may include a service fee.
Disclaimer
While we make every effort to ensure that the material and information on this website is accurate and up-to-date when published, it is general information intended as a guide only. Please keep in mind that you are solely responsible to ensure that any personal information has been erased from your mobile device prior to drop off. Any data that has not been removed from your mobile device will be destroyed as promptly as practicable as part of the recycling process. MobileMuster does not accept any responsibility or liability for any lost, damaged or destroyed files or data. If needed, seek advice relevant to your mobile phone from the manufacturer.