There are very high chances that you would have one or two mobile phones cluttering up your drawer in your home. But believe me, your old mobile phone still has life in it. You may be enjoying your newly purchased mobile phone, which I am sure you bought for quite a handsome amount. But the old phone you thought is resting in peace in your cupboard, has still some breath in it and you can use it for various purposes.
Of course, you can do mobile recycling but if you do not have any intentions for doing this, you can re-use your old mobile phones as I am doing with my old smartphone which I purchased many years ago.
We all know that a smartphone works like a computer. Although it has a small screen But seriously it is just like a mini PC in your pocket having so much powerful and interesting features. You must be wondering that after upgrading to a better mobile phone model, what to do with the old one. Your ex-mobile phone doesn’t have signals but you can still use it for browsing the internet and making it a small tablet. No matter you were using Android or iOS, you can still use the apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Skype and many others. Of course, there are many prudent ways that can help you get rid of an old phone like selling it or trading it. But you can repurpose your old buddy (mobile phone) in many ways. You can give it your little sibling who can use it to play games. Cutting the story short, don’t let the old phone waste away in your drawer, just re-use it.
Do you know any method or ways that can help you in re-using the old phone? Well if not, then here are some smart things you can do with your old phone.
As an Alarm Clock and Sleep Tracker
Almost every mobile phone comes with a built-in alarm. Even if you are not using your old gadget for making calls or doing texts, you can perhaps still use it for the already downloaded apps. You can use your old phone as a high tech alarm clock and sleep, tracker. Just download your required app from the store and use it for the above-mentioned purpose.
Use it for eReader
The apps Nooks and Kindles were actually designed as eReaders but there are also many apps available that enable you to read books on your phone. iBooks is another example app to read books on your smartphone. So it’s a wonderful idea to use your old phone to keep an entire library of books in it.
Entertainment Centre
Mobile phones do store data and in recent years, their storage capacity has grown exponentially. Latest phones are offering storage space up to 256 GB and it’s huge. This big storage space can be used to store songs, movies, games, books, podcasts etc. This idea will work very well on your old phone since you won’t receive calls and messages on it. In this way, you can use your old phone to watch and download movies from Netflix, iTunes, Amazon and many other apps.
Make your old phone Kid Friendly
You know? You can make your old phone into a kid-friendly entertainment by just locking down the settings. If your old phone is iPhone then this would be easy for you. Just restrict your kids to using certain apps and settings. In iPhone, restrictions settings apply on Photos, Camera, Web Browser, Location services and locking down the in-app purchases.
For Android phones, just make another user account for your child and apply the restrictions on that account. So after doing these steps, go to iPhone app store or Google play store and download your kid’s favourite app or game and let him play that. But before playing don’t forget to put your phone into aeroplane mode.
Children’s Camera
Another two useful uses for your old mobile phone are to use it as a camera for your child or as a VR headset. You may have retired your smartphone but the camera is still useful. If your child loves to photograph then this camera would be a perfect learning tool for him. So let your child practice the photography skills through the camera of your old mobile phone.
VR Headset
Virtual Reality is here and we are witnessing it. We see people strapping the phone in front of their eyes and play games and experience new worlds through VR (virtual reality). And here is the fun fact, your old smartphone can easily become your VR gadget. If you have an iPhone then just pick VR goggles that are compatible with your device, download any of the VR apps available at Apple App Store. Same goes with Google Android Phone. So before going to sell old mobile phone, you can use it as VR headset for your kid.
Set-up Home Security
Due to advancements in mobile technology, many mobile phone users are turning their mobile phones into a home security system. And it’s a great idea to use your old used phone to monitor your home. For sophisticated surveillance of your home, you can find home security apps from play store or app store. And there are some apps also available who record when they detect any movement.
Turn your phone into mp3va Player
If you have an old phone, you can re-use it in many ways. Let say you are songs lover and have a habit of listening songs all the time, so instead of downloading millions of songs and taking too much storage space of your space, why don’t use your old phone as a dedicated mp3va player.
Turn it into a Gaming Device
Gamers will love to read this point. If you have an extra phone, turn it into a gaming device. All you have to do is to buy game controllers or adapters that turn your old mobile phone into a traditional and comfortable machine. So instead of playing games on your new mobile phone just re-use your old phone.
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