Did you know that your old cell phone lying in the closet can do surprisingly effective things that you were ignorant about? Or, maybe there is a handful of them sitting around your office. All of us love switching to newer, faster, and advanced versions of it. And more often than not, the old ones pile up gathering dust and annoyingly eating up space. Here’s a little secret, though. These ignorantly lying gadgets are virtual gold mines if you know how to tap into their potential to render them a new life.
What to Do with Old Phones?
So, grab a dust buster to get your old phones to do stuff that could amaze you. Here’s a sneak peek of ten things that your seemingly useless gazette can do with perfection:
10. It Can Work as a Remote Computer Terminal
To have easy access from the office computer from home or vice-versa, your old phone can do that seamlessly. It could serve as an effective stationary screen to keep a remote system at an arm’s reach. Using the newer and free version of Chrome Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, and Companion App, we can create sync that would create a bridging interface.
9. Sell Your Cell
We know that you know this. However, the intention to mention was to remind and get your attention to this. There are tons of sites and places to sell old mobile phones even so that second-hand phones are over a billion-dollar market in the UK. If your phone is operational, cosmetically decent, and not that outdated, it can fetch some good hundred dollars. Even if it’s broken and dead, know that it still has a price that could surprise you. Mobile manufacturing organizations also trade in old mobile phones to get recycled stuff. Of course, there are stringent quality parameters to adhere to.
8. Your Separate Music Player
At the beach, poolside, or any place where there’s a risk of damage to your new phone, but you also need your favorite music, your old mobile phone could fit in melodiously. Play radio, podcasts, or listen to your most loved YouTube Channel with utmost peace of mind. You could play your stuff without worrying about it getting wet, sandy, or whatever.
7. Your Hidden Car Tracker
Choose a basic plan for your old smartphone and keep it hidden somewhere in your car. Not only would it serve as a backup phone in an emergency, but it would also silently track the vehicle in case of any unforeseen theft. This is just a cool handy trick for the vehicles that don’t have an inbuilt tracking mechanism. We know that you will ensure to keep it charged.
6. Personal Camera for Kids
Your kid wants to take photos throughout the day, but you’re hesitant to share your new and costly phone. Get them the old ones to do their stuff freely. They can also try their hands with an app like Canva that could get them started with their editing skills on the shots they take. Of course, they could rely on you to tell them to take a backup or move them to your repository.
5. A Free Standing Security Camera
You actually don’t need a fancy-schmancy connected security camera when an old phone is lying inside your cupboard. When integrated with third-party apps like IP Webcam, your old phone can instantly turn into a security camera to let you keep an eye on your assets and surroundings from anywhere. Advanced features like video recording and motion detection could also come into play, depending on your phone’s compatibility and features.
4. A Full-time Video Conferencing Station
You never knew, or maybe it never occurred to you that the ignorantly lying mobile phone could let you video chat across Zoom, Google Duo, Skype, Hangouts Meet, etc. Having it on your desk or conference room table – say hocus-pocus for good measure and ta-da. You’re all set to have a permanent access point for virtual face-to-face communications. With enough old phones lying idle in most of the homes these days, one can easily have an entire house or office-wide video conferencing system. When you sign in into each device with the room’s name as the username, connecting with anyone will just be a couple of quick taps.
3. Your Live Window into the World
Do you want more life and energy on your desk? Your old phone can be your window to wild and exciting global locales. Just download the EarthCam Webcams App to allow you one-touch access to an exciting and adventurous list of live streaming cameras worldwide. Maybe you can be a part of the rush of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street or virtually immerse into the whizzing serenity of Niagara Falls. There are hundreds of views, and you can pull up anyone you like, go full screen and let the positive vibes envelop you throughout the day. Should you need more variety with more live cameras worldwide, a one-time $5 subscription does it for you.
2. Your Dedicated E-reader
You’ve always wanted a distraction-free reading environment without all those phone notifications, temptations, and unconscious switching to unwanted tabs.
Get your old phone with only the apps you need for reading – Kindle, Nook, Play Books, or whatever your taste or text-ingesting fancy is. Having an Audible account could also serve you to listen to your favorite books. Disabling notifications from Gmail, noisy apps, and even putting it into an airplane mode once your stuff is downloaded can give your dedicated e-reader that doesn’t allow any disturbances.
1. Contribute Your Two Cents to Science
If your old smartphone phone still turns on, it’s perhaps as capable and powerful as your late-90s desktop. Donating it for a good cause would give you a sense of contribution. Though just for Android, The BOINC app developed by the University of Berkeley to garner your smartphone’s computing powers for crowdsourced science. You can also extend your support for health and sustainability research with IBM’s World Community Grid, which works for our planet to avoid getting hit by an asteroid and other similar projects. There are many other earth conservation and scientific innovation projects that you may want to back and help our species slide safely into the future. Whatever you do or intend to do with your old smartphone, please don’t let it add to the trash. A study by Environmental Protection Agency suggests that almost 35K Lbs. of copper, 772 Lbs of Silver, 75 Lbs of Gold, and 33Lbs of Palladium can be set aside from every one million phones recycled. It’s high time that your old smartphone sheds dust, gets out from the dark corners of your home, and helps you to lead a better and organized digital life.
