How do you dispose of company laptops and other IT equipment securely?

Count what you’re retiring

A spreadsheet, a photo of the pallet, or a rough count by type is enough to start. You don’t need a perfect asset register. Note where each group sits, and if you use an asset system, export the serial numbers and asset tags.

Count everything that’s leaving, not just the laptops:

• Laptops, Chromebooks and Macs
• Desktops and all-in-ones
• iPads
• Monitors
• Servers
• Networking and telecom gear
• Loose hard drives

Printers, copiers, projectors or anything else? List it too, and we’ll tell you how it’s handled. Tube (CRT) monitors need one extra step: tell us first, because they’re packed separately.

Returning a leased fleet? Your lease schedule works as the list.

Release management and activation locks

A device still tied to your organization can’t be released by anyone else, so do it before it leaves:

• Chromebooks: deprovision each device in the Google Admin console.
• Macs and iPads: turn off Activation Lock, and release the devices from Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
• Windows devices: deregister them from Windows Autopilot, if you use it, and remove them from your mobile device management (MDM) tool.
• Any other managed device: remove it from your MDM tool.
• BIOS or firmware passwords: remove them, or note which devices have one.

Start this one early. One locked device can hold up a whole batch. What to do with one that stays locked

Back up what you need

Copy anything you want to keep off the devices before pickup, including files saved only to a desktop or a local drive. Once a drive is wiped, the data is gone.

Plan the pickup spot

Pick one person who answers questions and approves the pickup, and one place where the devices wait. Then note the details the carrier needs:

• Loading dock or not: no dock is fine. Tell us, so the carrier brings a truck with a liftgate.
• How much is going: a rough count of boxes or pallets.
• Getting there: stairs, elevators, or a building that needs a pickup window.
• Who signs: the person who will sign the bill of lading when the carrier arrives.

For a small job, that’s the whole plan: one staging spot, one approval, one decision-maker.

Schedule the pickup

Send your count, and we’ll schedule the pickup. We ship you a packing kit and book the carrier. Your team packs, or we can help if needed. Small loads can go by parcel.

Send your count