Learn how to repurpose your previous 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 digital camera techniques to refined software features.

That mentioned, despite the fact that your new cellphone is quicker and has some cool options the old one lacks, the previous did not lose all its use to you. So, despite the fact that it is tempting to chuck the previous one right into a drawer someplace, there are a lot better options for an previous machine.

Because of a few apps, you may give your cellphone a brand new lease on life. However listed below are the very best methods to repurpose your Android machine.

1 New infotainment system

Give your automobile a glow-up

The wonderful thing about automobiles is that, so long as they drive, you do not really want 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 experience does not embrace a touchscreen display with Android Auto?

Happily, you may give virtually any automobile all of the options of a contemporary infotainment system together with your previous cellphone. Simply discover a respectable automobile mount in your cellphone, and you’ll proceed utilizing your previous machine as a devoted Android Auto hub. Join it to your audio system, arrange Google Maps, and it does principally every part 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 drugs for a automobile — till one thing occurs, after which you do not need to be caught with out one. Happily, when you have an older cellphone, you needn’t spend something to equip your automobile with this excellent emergency feature.

As soon as once more, all you want hardware-wise is an inexpensive cellphone mount and your smartphone. Nevertheless, this time you may additionally have to get a specialised app. Happily, the one we might advocate, Droid Dashcam, is totally free as an ad-supported model. Now, simply mount your cellphone, ensure that your digital camera 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 means of all of the classics

Though your outgoing smartphone is perhaps 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 predominant cellphone is battery life. If you happen to get a bit too invested, a recreation can rapidly drain your battery and depart you with nothing for the remainder of the day. That is why conserving a dedicated emulation machine is a wonderful use for an older cellphone.

Whether or not you need to play when commuting to work, flying on a aircraft, or when stress-free on the sofa, your previous machine can allow you to play by means of your favourite retro titles. There are numerous emulators on the Google Play Retailer, and (in fact, supplied you deliver your personal 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, conserving observe of all of your music-playing units is perhaps a bit complicated. You’ve got your own home stereo, your Sonos devices, your Bluetooth audio system and your headphones, and every part is combating for a connection together with your cellphone. That is why turning your previous smartphone right into a devoted music streaming middle is a superb thought.

You should utilize your previous cellphone as a music supply for all of your audio system. Join it by way of 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 quick access to all of the libraries.

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5 Common good dwelling distant

A hub for all of your good dwelling wants

Equipping your own home with good tech is thrilling and undoubtedly handy, but it surely additionally could be a bit complicated once you have in mind all of the smart home apps that it’s essential 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 dwelling.

That is why utilizing your older cellphone as a distant for all these apps is a superb thought. You’ll be able to lastly eliminate the junk apps out of your predominant cellphone and maintain all of the good dwelling widgets energetic on the previous one. That approach, you’ll be able to all the time simply and rapidly change your good dwelling settings with a devoted distant, and release some area from the storage and the house display of your predominant cellphone.

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6 DIY dwelling safety digital camera

Enhance your own home safety

If you wish to degree up your own home safety, getting a security camera is a superb begin. Nevertheless, the very best internet-connected cameras will be dear, and when you have a cellphone mendacity round, you may make your personal for fully free. It’s going to work nice each as a everlasting resolution, in addition to an occasional factor to arrange if you wish to watch your canine whilst you’re at work.

As soon as once more, the setup for this use-case is extremely straightforward. You will have to obtain a free app. We might advocate IP Webcam, as it really works nice, and you’ll unlock all the extra options for only a flat price of $5 if you happen to just like the software program. It allows you to preview your machine’s digital camera from anyplace utilizing an online browser, and even helps movement detection and, in fact, video recording as properly.

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7 Sensible alarm clock

Make your mornings simpler

One of many methods to start out your day properly is getting your self a pleasant, practical alarm clock. There are numerous good variations in the marketplace, however you’ll be able to neglect about all of them when you have an previous cellphone round. It’s going to do a superb job at waking you up within the morning.

All it’s essential flip your smartphone right into a smart alarm clock is a cellphone stand, and even an inexpensive one will do exactly high quality. 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 can too add a clock widget, a climate widget, and perhaps 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 helpful info all the time in your sight.

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8 Video calling machine

Save your predominant cellphone’s battery

Video calling is an unimaginable instrument to communicate together with your family and friends, and particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been an extremely standard useful resource for companies as properly. Sadly, if you wish to video call someone in your cellphone, you may rapidly understand that it is a certain technique to kill your battery.

That is why conserving a devoted cellphone, ideally with a pleasant stand, to do all of your video calling on is a superb thought. You do not have to fret about sporting out the juice in your predominant 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 previous cellphone working as one other type of machine in your house isn’t the one approach of creating essentially the most out of that machine. If you happen to do not actually have the necessity for any of the above instances, you should utilize the processing energy of your previous cellphone to assist researchers and scientists.

There are a number of apps and web sites that help you lend the computational energy of your machine to lecturers. This methodology 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 undertaking involved with the exploration of area or tough mathematical equations, that is a straightforward approach to assist out. If you happen to’re , Zooniverse might be essentially the most well-known app that allows you to assist out in quite a lot of fields.

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10 Promote or donate it

You may not want it anymore, however another person might

Lastly, if you happen to actually do not know what to do together with your previous cellphone, letting it sit inside a drawer someplace nonetheless is not the very best plan of action. If you cannot discover any various use for the previous cellphone, you’ll be able to nonetheless promote it to get a few of your a refund. Even units which are a few years previous will 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 problem that may aid you pay for part of the following new cellphone.

Alternatively, if you happen to do not need to take care of the patrons, transport, and all the opposite potential issues of promoting a cellphone on-line, you’ll be able to simply donate it as properly. 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 is perhaps a game-changer for somebody much less lucky, so giving your cellphone a second life that approach is a wonderful approach of repurposing your previous machine.

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