Why 30? You'll need 15 phones per kit, and we've generally found you'll get a "hit rate" of 50%, in terms of phones which work, and can be unlocked. If you can get people to remove their Google/Samsung account from their phone and reset it, then you'll need less.

Why Android? They are generally more abundant, easier to factory reset, and connect better with Chromebooks. However, for new entrant or Year 1/2 classes, iPhones can be good when teachers have MacBooks, as they can AirDrop photos from phones to their laptop. See iPhone Setup.

One more thing: it's best if the phones have the same charging port style - microUSB or USB-C - for ease of use (and purchase) of USB cables. You may like to also ask your community for donated cables.

Sourcing phones

The most important thing for people donating their old smartphones, is for them to check that they are still working, and remove their Samsung/Google accounts from the phone, and (ideally) reset their phones.

One way to achieve this is to host a phone collection event, where phones can be checked, signed out of, and prepped for data-wiping.

Here's an example blurb you can send out:

Kia ora koutou, we are collecting old Android smartphones for offline use in the classroom, so our students can take photos and videos of events and mahi.

If you have an old Android smartphone you are willing to donate, please charge it up, turn it on, and sign out of any cloud accounts (e.g. Google account) before handing in to the office. See How to wipe personal data from your smartphone for more details

Ngā mihi!

What to do with non-working phones

You may end up with dud phones, either because they won't start, have software problems, or are locked. Investigate who your nearest e-waste recycler is. If they are far away, you might like to consider charging $5 for freight and proper recycling of phones.

You will also need to separate the battery from the smartphone and send these separately, as the lithium-ion batteries are a fire hazard. Swollen batteries should not be sent.

What happens to the phones and batteries when they are "recycled" in Aotearoa NZ?

Lithium-ion batteries are sent to Australia where they are pulverised into black mass, which is sent to China to be re-used in new batteries.

Circuit boards from phones and computers are sent to Japan, where they are shredded, and valuable metals (like gold) are extracted through chemical processes.

It is much better that our old phones are re-used locally, as the carbon emissions from shipping them around the world is huge.

Step 2: Test phones

Use this document as a guide to test the smartphones donated by your community. You will need access to phone chargers and appropriate cables, unless you've purchased a charging station in advance.

These are common mobile phone charging ports and their adaptors (note, lightning is for iPhones).

Step 3: Wipe data from phones

You will need to erase pre-existing data from the phone and factory reset it.

There are 2 ways to do this:

1. Via Phone Settings
If you are able to access the phone without a pin code, you can factory reset the phone (which erases any personal data). See this document for in-depth details, or watch the video above, or follow these instructions:

Go to the Settings app on the phone
Find Accounts
Tap on each account, then tap the 3-dot menu (or "More") in the top right corner and select "Remove"
If you cannot remove an account, due to a password, you will need to do a hard reset (see next step)

2. Hard Reset
A "hard reset" uses the buttons on a smartphone to access the recovery menu, from which you can factory reset your phone.

Do a web search for the device model + “hard reset” to find the specific hardware buttons you need to press to bring up the recovery menu.

Step 4: Set up your Happy Phone

You've wiped your phone, now it's time to set it up!

1. Initial Phone Setup

When a phone starts up for the first time, there are some standard requests:

- Language & Region - if available, select English (New Zealand) and/or Māori
- WiFi - sometimes you can skip this, but a check will sometimes be run to see if the phone is locked to a Google account, for which it will need WiFi
- Transfer data & apps - you can skip this, unless you have a phone set up the way you want it for all your Happy Phones, and then, it could be a faster option
- Google settings - I tend to allow location, disable scanning for WiFi networks etc when wifi is off, and disable contributing to their improvement programme via anonymous data
- Samsung and other apps - there is often a series of requests for setting up Samsung/Dropbox/whatever accounts & apps, and I skip skip skip all of these, because they are unwanted & unnecessary.

2. Test file transfer

Some phones don't transfer files to Chromebooks, and some USB cables don't transfer files, so it's important that we test both. Please see our support doc for students.

3. Disable/Uninstall/Hide unwanted apps

By disabling or uninstalling unwanted apps (such as social media, games, or streaming apps), we are doing our utmost to ensure students stay focused and on-task. It is natural for them to explore, but we can hide and disable as much as possible.

Disabling an app keeps the app on the device, hides it from the Apps screen, and prevents it from starting.
Uninstalling an app removes it from the device.

There are 2 ways to disable/uninstall apps:

- Via Settings app > Applications
  1. Find the Settings app from the Apps Screen or by swiping down from the top of the screen and clicking the wheel/cog icon [insert image]
  2. Scroll down to Applications (or use the Settings search field to search for it) and tap it
  3. If there are multiple tabs - Running, Downloaded, All - tap ALL
  4. Tap the app you want to uninstall/disable
  5. Tap the Disable/Uninstall button. If the Disable button is "grayed out" and unclickable, that means it cannot be disabled.

- Via the Apps screen
  1. The process to disable/uninstall apps varies , however the first thing to try is to go to the Apps Screen and Tap & hold the app icon you want to get rid of - this may bring up options to drag the app icon to "Disable" or to "App Info", where you may find the Disable button.
  2. Another common option is disabling/uninstalling via a 3-dot menu in the top right-hand corner of the Apps Screen [insert photo] - (this option is sometimes available under Edit too)
  3. Finally, some older Android phones have a menu button at the bottom of the phone which can bring up options to Hide/Disable/Uninstall/Edit

4. Set up Home screen

By limiting the apps & widgets available on the home screens, we make it easy as possible for students to access the apps needed/wanted.

- Remove Apps/Widgets - again, this varies from phone to phone, but usually you can touch & hold the app icon, then drag it up to Remove at the top of the screen
- Remove extra home screens - touch & hold the screen; it may show options to drag the screen up to the top to remove
- Add apps to home screen
  1. Go to the Apps screen
  2. Touch & drag the app to near the top - this usually will show the home screen and allow you to place the app where you want it
  3. Do this for these apps: Camera, Gallery, Voice Recorder

5. Add a Happy Phones wallpaper

1. Download the 4 Happy Phone characters (also see below)
2. Touch & hold the home screen - you should see options for Wallpaper
3. Tap Wallpaper and select Gallery
4. Select the Happy Phones character you want for the Home/Lock screens
5. Ensure both Home & Lock Screens are selected during the process

Sparkles

Fuzz

Chippy

Bluey

6. Optional Extras

There are a few other things we can do to lock down and make access to apps easier:

Switch to Aeroplane Mode or turn off WiFi - you can often do this by swiping down from the top of the phone and touching the WiFi icon [insert image] if it is currently enabled/highlighted
Add Lock Screen shortcuts - this enables students to swipe the camera/gallery app directly from the Lock Screen (where they swipe to access the phone).
1. Open the Settings app
2. Search for Lock Screen if your Settings app has a search field; otherwise it is usually located under Display or Security.
3. Find Lock Screen shortcuts and follow the guidance for adding/editing shortcuts
4. Add the Camera & Gallery apps to lock screen shortcuts, if possible

Step 5: Assemble your kit

You will need:

15 Happy Phones
15 USB cables which fit the phones (plus a clear bag for holding them)
A 15-port USB charging station ⚡
A Foolscap filing box (I recommend a coloured box, to stand out)
Kaiako guide (double-sided, laminated) right
Student guides (Te Reo Māori, English)

Happy Phones - Box Overview

Right-click or tap & hold to bring up options to save the Happy Phones family image
Print out and stick to the box cover with glue.

Further Resources & Support

Presentation

You are welcome to use this presentation to introduce the concept of Happy Phones to your team or supporters!

Happy Phones DIY Presentation

Happy Phones classroom resources & lessons

Explore the resources!

Support with funding applications

Many local councils have Waste Minimisation funds which you can apply to, to help with the material costs of your Happy Phones kits.

Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa have produced this nifty guide which can help with your application.

2024__Local Government_A DECA guide to Waste Minimisation funding for digital initiatives .pdf

A big thank you to Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) for sponsoring this content!