The way to repurpose your outdated Android cellphone

So, after a longtime together with your trusty Android cellphone, you’ve got lastly pulled the set off and purchased your self a brand new machine. The best smartphones of 2024 have a lot to supply, from glorious digicam programs to refined software features.

That mentioned, despite the fact that your new cellphone is quicker and has some cool options that the old one lacks, the previous remains to be no slouch both. So, despite the fact that it is tempting to chuck the outdated one right into a drawer someplace, there are a lot better makes use of for an outdated machine.

Due to a few apps, you may give your cellphone a brand new lease on life. Listed below are the most effective methods to repurpose your Android machine.

1 New infotainment system

Give your automotive a glow-up

The wonderful thing about automobiles is that, so long as they drive, you do not actually need that rather more from them. In fact, some creature comforts are good, however is it actually value shopping for a dearer mannequin simply because your present trip does not embrace a touchscreen display with Android Auto?

Thankfully, you may give virtually any automotive all of the options of a contemporary infotainment system together with your outdated cellphone. Simply discover a first rate automotive mount to your cellphone, and you may proceed utilizing your outdated machine as a devoted Android Auto hub. Join it to your audio system, arrange Google Maps, and it does mainly every thing a brand new stereo does, however with out the expensive funding.

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2 Do-it-yourself dashcam

All the time be prepared for motion

Dashcams look like a little bit of an extravagant piece of substances for a automotive — till one thing occurs, after which you do not need to be caught with out one. Thankfully, when you have an older cellphone, you needn’t spend something to equip your automotive with this excellent emergency feature.

As soon as once more, all you want hardware-wise is an inexpensive cellphone mount and your smartphone. Nonetheless, this time you will additionally have to get a specialised app. Thankfully, the one we would suggest, Droid Dashcam, is totally free as an ad-supported model. Now simply mount your cellphone, ensure that your digicam has a transparent view of the highway, and drive to your coronary heart’s content material.

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3 Retro console show

Lastly, play by way of all of the classics

Though your outgoing smartphone may be a bit lengthy within the tooth, it nonetheless has greater than sufficient energy to emulate older video games. The issue with enjoying on the go together with your major cellphone is battery life. In the event you get a bit too invested, a sport can rapidly drain your battery and go away you with nothing for the remainder of the day. That is why preserving a dedicated emulation machine is a superb use for an older cellphone.

Whether or not you need to play when commuting to work, flying on a airplane, or when stress-free on the sofa, your outdated machine can allow you to play by way of your favourite retro titles. There are numerous emulators on the Google Play Retailer, and (in fact, supplied you carry your individual ROMs) you’ll be able to even play video games from the PS2 technology. Listed below are a few of our favourite emulators organized by console:

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4 Devoted music participant

Degree up your music listening

These days, preserving observe of all of your music-playing units may be a bit complicated. You will have your private home stereo, your Sonos devices, your Bluetooth audio system and your headphones, and every thing is combating for a connection together with your cellphone. That is why turning your outdated smartphone right into a devoted music streaming heart is a good concept.

You need to use your outdated cellphone as a music supply for all of your audio system. Join it through Bluetooth or headphone jack to your go-to speaker, and obtain all of the music streaming companies you need. You then have a devoted place to play all of your music with handy controls and easy accessibility to all of the libraries.

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5 Common good house distant

A hub for all of your good house wants

Equipping your private home with good tech is thrilling and undoubtedly handy, but it surely additionally is usually a bit complicated if you have in mind all of the smart home apps that it is advisable juggle. You do not normally get all of your good home equipment from the identical producer, so you’ll be able to find yourself with dozens of various apps simply to function your good house.

That is why utilizing your older cellphone as a distant for all these apps is a good concept. You’ll be able to lastly do away with the junk apps out of your major cellphone and hold all of the good house widgets lively on the outdated one. That approach, you’ll be able to all the time simply and rapidly change your good house settings with a devoted distant, and unlock some house from the storage and the house display of your major cellphone.

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6 DIY house safety digicam

Enhance your private home safety

If you wish to stage up your private home safety, getting a security camera is a good begin. Nonetheless, the most effective internet-connected cameras might be dear, and when you have a cellphone mendacity round, you can also make your individual for utterly free. It’s going to work nice each as a everlasting answer, in addition to an occasional factor to arrange if you wish to watch your canine when you’re at work.

As soon as once more, the setup for this use case is extremely simple. You may have to obtain a free app. We would suggest IP Webcam, as it really works nice, and you may unlock all the extra options for only a flat charge of $5 in case you just like the software program. It enables you to preview your machine’s digicam from anyplace utilizing an online browser, and even helps movement detection and, in fact, video recording as nicely.

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7 Sensible alarm clock

Make your mornings simpler

One of many methods to begin your day nicely is getting your self a pleasant, practical alarm clock. There are numerous good variations available on the market, however you’ll be able to overlook about all of them when you have an outdated cellphone round. It’s going to do a superb job at waking you up within the morning.

All it is advisable flip your smartphone right into a smart alarm clock is a cellphone stand, and even an inexpensive one will do exactly effective. Then, arrange your clock app as a screensaver within the settings, and also you’re all set.

That mentioned, if you wish to make the expertise a bit extra superior, you may as well add a clock widget, a climate widget, and possibly a calendar widget to the house display. Then, flip off the display timeout and use that as your alarm clock to have all of the useful info all the time in your sight.

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8 Video calling machine

Save your major cellphone’s battery

Video calling is an unimaginable device to be in contact together with your family and friends, and particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been an extremely well-liked useful resource for companies as nicely. Sadly, if you wish to video call someone in your cellphone, you will rapidly understand that it is a fast strategy to kill your battery.

That is why preserving a devoted cellphone, ideally with a pleasant stand, to do all of your video calling on is a good concept. You do not have to fret about sporting out the cell in your major machine, and the spare cellphone is all the time prepared for the following dialog together with your grandma.

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9 Assist scientific analysis initiatives

Citizen scientist processing energy put to work

Getting your outdated cellphone working as one other type of machine in your house isn’t the one approach of constructing probably the most out of that machine. In the event you do not actually have the necessity for any of the above use instances, you need to use the processing energy of your outdated cellphone to assist researchers and scientists.

There are a number of apps and web sites that assist you to lend the computational energy of your machine to lecturers. This technique of crowdsourcing processing energy permits them to finish visualizations or calculations a lot sooner and inside strict educational budgets. So, if you wish to be a small a part of a challenge involved with the exploration of house or troublesome mathematical equations, that is a simple approach to assist out. In the event you’re , Zooniverse might be probably the most well-known app that permits you to assist out in quite a lot of fields.

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10 Promote or donate it

You won’t want it anymore, however another person may nonetheless use it

Lastly, in case you actually do not know what to do together with your outdated cellphone, letting it sit inside a drawer someplace remains to be not the most effective plan of action. If you cannot discover any various use for the outdated cellphone, you’ll be able to nonetheless promote it to get a few of your a refund. Even units which can be a few years outdated might be value a bit of cash, so getting them prepared for a sale and itemizing at an public sale is only a little bit of a trouble that may show you how to pay for part of the following new cellphone.

Alternatively, in case you do not need to cope with the patrons, delivery, and all the opposite potential issues of promoting a cellphone on-line, you’ll be able to simply donate it as nicely. It is a a lot better alternative than letting it sit idly in a drawer, as one thing that is not that helpful for you may be a game-changer for somebody much less lucky, so giving your cellphone a second life that approach is a superb approach of repurposing your outdated machine.

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