The excitement of getting a replacement phone is usually tempered by nagging regret. tons of times, it’s not like there was anything really wrong with the old phone (unless there was — a bulging battery or a shattered screen is usually a nasty look). If it had been a breakup, the conversation with an old phone would start, “You’re terrific. It’s not you. It’s me. I just wanted a more moderen model.”
Ashamed of yourself? Don’t be. There’s no got to stick the old phone into a drawer or use it as a doorstop or furniture shim. There are many ways you’ll put your older phone to figure . After all, most older smartphones still have many horsepower. consider yours as a connected device that just doesn’t happen to possess a SIM card anymore. Here are some suggestions for what to try to to thereupon extra, older phone.
(All of this presumes that you’re not recycling or reselling your older Android or iOS device — two excellent options you ought to consider.)
KEEP A SPARE PHONE
I’m a belt-and-suspenders quite guy, especially when it involves gear I believe , like my phone. I always have a spare phone in my travel pack (assuming things ease up someday and that i can ever continue the road again). Nothing can hamper a visit sort of a broken, lost, or stolen smartphone. If your main ride goes astray when you’re faraway from home, learning a SIM card from a slot machine or tobacconist and popping it into a spare are often a literal lifesaver — and may be a batch cheaper, faster, and fewer complicated than buying a replacement phone during a strange city or country.
AN EXTRA REMOTE
I was late to get that smartphones make dandy remote controls for TVs or streaming devices. Apple TV features a great remote app for iOS, and therefore the Google Home app will control Chromecast devices on iOS and Android. Roku’s app for Android and iOS replicates its iconic remote. Other remote apps include Amazon Fire TV apps for Android and iOS, and TiVo apps for Android and iOS also .
In one way, the phone apps are better than the important thing: they need keypads, making it much faster to enter titles than scrolling round the on-screen keyboards of the devices themselves.
GAME PLATFORM
You can use your old phone as a gaming device. Gamers are inventive; there are many gadgets, just like the Moga Mobile Gaming Clip For Xbox Wireless Controllers, that permit you clamp your phone to Xbox or Playstation controllers to drive gameplay. If you’ve got Switch envy, the Razer Kishi gives iPhone and Android owners something to hold onto. But do be warned: compatibility isn’t universal across platforms or with all games, and a few controllers make more sense with some sorts of games. A puzzle player will have different needs than someone who loves first-person shooters. Consider how and what you play before you purchase the sport .
SET UP A WEBCAM
We’ve run a few of articles about this (see below), and you ought to check them out. Webcams are really useful for both security and for Zoom meetings, but they’re considerably in demand and may still be hard to seek out lately . If Amazon is demanding you wait three weeks for an upscale webcam, try using an older phone instead.
OLD-SCHOOL MEDIA DEVICE
Once upon a time, before the iPhone, you had to hold two devices: a cellphone and a separate music player, which can or might not are an iPod. (Ed note: Tell us another story about the Olden Times, Dad.) Your old phone can still work as a standalone media memory device , either to copy your library or for actual use. Because (if it’s still in operating condition) the Wi-Fi still works, you’ll even use your older phone as a streaming platform — assuming your account is licensed for multiple devices. this might even be an ideal solution for amusing alittle child on the go.
THEIR FIRST PHONE
Speaking of young children , your old phone makes an excellent starter device (yes, we’ve really gotten thereto point). you’ll put approved games and apps on the phone, activate parental controls, and you’re ready . If the device gets broken or lost, there could also be tears from the child , but from you? Not such a lot .
DONATE IT TO CHARITY
There are organizations out there that take old working phones, refurbish them, and put them to good use. a few of places to see out are Cell Phones for Soldiers, which provides free communications for soldiers and their families, and Medic Mobile, which recycles old phones to fund new phones for doctors in Asia, Latin America , and Africa. There are others also — but before you donate to any organization you don’t know, always check them out with Charity Navigator or GuideStar.
TAKE IT APART
There is, for some, an elemental joy in taking things apart and seeing what makes them tick. Your old phone was a part of your life for years; aren’t you curious to ascertain what’s inside? Sites like iFixit have detailed teardown instructions. Successful reassembly is that the advanced course. patiently , luck, and skill — and perhaps a couple of of bizarre tools ready to “> you’ll find online — you would possibly even be able to reassemble it with only a few extra parts left over.
