Frequently asked questions

Tell us roughly how many laptops you have, wipe them, and make sure they're working. We normally arrange pickup and drop them off at a school that has asked for them. That's it.

You wipe the laptops before they leave your office, so your IT team stays in control the whole time. Our preparation guide covers resetting Windows, macOS and Chromebooks.

Working laptops of any brand, ideally reset with their original operating system and with chargers. Higher-spec laptops go to secondary schools for design, photography, art and technology. Lower-spec laptops suit primary and junior classes, often converted to Chromebooks with ChromeOS Flex. See what we accept.

No, sorry. We only take working laptops. Neither we nor the schools are set up to repair them.

Get in touch anyway. We understand it may be weeks or months before your next refresh. All we ask is that when you do refresh, the laptops you no longer need go to a school.

No. Generally 20–30 extra laptops make a huge difference to a school with a bring-your-own-device policy, but that doesn't have to come from one company. Even one or two laptops change things for the students who get them.

Most companies refresh staff laptops about every three years. By then they're fully depreciated and have no book value. They often sit in a cupboard "just in case" for a couple of years before being sent for recycling, when they could have been in a classroom.

Great. Let us know and we'll try to find a school that would gratefully accept them.

Absolutely. If your company wants a long-term relationship with a single school, that's great. Let us know if you'd like an introduction.

Laptops go to schools registered with The Laptop Drop. The only requirements are that a teacher or school leader requests them and that they're used for tamariki in an education setting. We leave the details to the educators. Schools use them as extra classroom devices, year-long student loans, or give them directly to students and whānau.

Sadly no, but if you talk to your child's teacher, they can register a project for the school. Other organisations supply devices directly to children and families.

4 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, able to boot from USB, and full administrator access to the BIOS.

It depends on what companies have available. Demand from schools is high, so some projects fill in weeks and others take months. We keep your project listed until it's filled.

We're not a registered charity and we don't accept monetary donations. If you don't have laptops but want to help, some donated laptops arrive without chargers. We can point you to the charger needed and the school to send it to. Some schools also need software, and we're happy to introduce you; they can issue donation receipts. Otherwise, consider donating to KidsCan.

The website and fixed costs are funded by the team at ResolvePay.

The Laptop Drop is a streamlined operation that doesn't need many volunteers. The best way to help is to send companies with spare laptops, or schools that need them, our way.