Can you mail a cell phone with a battery USPS? (all you must know)
If a friend asks you to send an old phone, or if you’re selling on a social media marketplace, you should be aware of some USPS limitations.
First, you can mail a cell phone USPS with a battery, if so, what does the USPS need to mail it safely? See below for the very important answers you seek!
Can you mail a cell phone with a battery through USPS in 2022?
You can mail cell phones with lithium batteries through the US Postal Service in 2022. However, you must follow strict safety measures to ensure these highly flammable batteries don’t catch fire en route. This includes guidelines for watt-hour ratings and packaging best practices, including a special label indicating the presence of lithium batteries.
Let’s delve into how to safely ship your phone using the postal service, what special labels are required and where to get it, and how even you can ship alkaline batteries!
How do you ship your phone through USPS?
You must be especially careful when shipping cell phones with lithium batteries through the US Postal Service.
First, make sure you have a sturdy cardboard box; this can be your own, or if you use flat-rate shipping, you can pick up a box for free from the post office (or order it online for free).
Your shipping options are:
- First class packages (if the package weighs less than 13 ounces)
- Priority Mail or Priority Mail Flat Rate (small boxes are great for shipping phones)
- Priority Mail Express
The First-Class Package is probably the cheapest option, but will also be the slowest; Priority Mail is the second fastest, but Priority Mail Express offers next-day or 2-day delivery.
Once you’ve chosen your shipping options and prepared the box, you’ll need to prepare your phone.
This means making sure the battery is securely attached to the phone; the accessory keeps the battery “grounded” or stable.
You must also make sure that the phone is turned off. If you have your phone’s original box, that’s actually the first step in keeping your phone and battery safe.
If not, no big deal — but you should invest in some bubble wrap around the phone, and then you might want to put peanuts in the box as well.
Quick note: In 2015, the USPS changed the shipping regulations for lithium batteries from lithium content standards to watt-hour standards.
The watt-hour rating for shipping the phone is limited to 20 watt-hours per cell, 100 watt-hours per battery, and only two batteries (or eight batteries) can be shipped at a time.
Once your phone is packed, you can print the postage at home and take it to the post office, or you can take it directly to the post office and let them calculate the postage.
Either way, your box will need an additional label, the DOT approved (DOT stands for Department of Transportation) lithium battery mark.
You can get it at the post office (always free). You might also consider adding words like “handle with care” or “go up” on the package.
A few other notes: If shipping isn’t covered, you might consider buying insurance ($50 for Priority Mail, $100 for Priority Mail Express).
Insurance is affordable and practical, especially since cell phones are fairly fragile.
All applicable shipping options also include tracking, so both you and your recipient can track the progress of your package.
Do you need a special label to ship your phone through USPS?
You do need special labels to ship your phone (or any other lithium battery powered device) through the postal service.
It’s called a lithium battery disposal label, and you can get it for free from the post office.
There is an example of what it looks like on this page of the USPS.com website (if you ordered a phone or other device, you may have seen it before).
According to the information site, the label is important because it identifies the following main information:
- Lithium metal or lithium ion battery or batteries inside
- Potentially flammable hazard inside
- Damaged packaging requires special handling
- Call for more information
Can you ship batteries internationally via USPS?
You can use lithium batteries internationally using the postal service.
However, they can only be shipped in limited quantities, and of course you must follow all safety precautions when shipping them domestically.
You need to be extra careful when packing devices that contain lithium batteries, as longer journeys can mean more chances for surprises.
The quantities of lithium batteries eligible for international shipping are as follows:
- Up to four batteries or two batteries
- The total power rating of each battery does not exceed 20 Wh max
- The total power rating of each battery does not exceed 100 Wh (max)
Additionally, termination of lithium-ion batteries not installed in equipment is not permitted internationally.
Can you mail alkaline batteries through USPS?
You can mail alkaline batteries, either inside or outside the device, without many of the limitations of lithium batteries.
This is because the USPS does not consider alkaline batteries to be as potentially dangerous as lithium batteries (which are flammable after all).
However, you cannot ship alkaline batteries internationally, only within the US
To learn more, you can also read our posts on Fastest USPS Shipping Methods, Shipping Clothes USPS, and USPS 3-Day Shipping.
in conclusion
You can ship a cell phone with a battery through USPS, even if the battery is a Li-Ion battery. However, there are limitations in watt-hours, which limit how much or how much you can ship in one box.
You must also use special hazardous materials labels that are provided free of charge by the Post Office to ensure careful handling during shipping and delivery.
