Free Computers/Devices Available, Mostly for Low Income Families

The big news this week is that US President Biden signed the long-awaited infrastructure legislation, which includes $65B for universal broadband.  Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, said:  “We’re going to bring high-speed, affordable, and reliable broadband to 100% of Americans.”  While the money cannot be spent immediately, the imminent broadband infrastructure will bring affordable internet access to many rural and low income students.

 

In our last blog post, we explored ways to access the internet for free (or very low cost).  That information is, of course, not very helpful if you don’t have a device (computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone). 

 

There is one easy way for anyone to get access to a computer for free.  Public libraries often offer use of a computer for a set period of time.  As mentioned in the last blog post, the internet access at libraries is often not secured (not password-protected), so you probably don’t want to pay your bills or check your bank balance at the library.

 

There are additional options for getting a free computer or other device.  Most require that  you meet certain low income criteria, but anyone can look for used laptops available for free.  I’ve found several articles that identify various ways to do just that (find free computers or other devices).  Rather than repeating their excellent research, I’ll just send you there:

 

·      51 Best Ways to Get a Free Laptop (Even from Apple, Amazon & Dell) (updated May 2021)

·      7 Ways to Get Free Computers for Low Income Families (updated September 2021)

·      8 Ways to Get Free Laptops (updated November 2021)

·      6 Places That Will Send You a Free Computer (updated December 2020)

·      27 Best Ways to Get a Free Computer from the Government (updated March 2019)