11 Things you can do with your old smartphone

better uses of your old smartphone

A drawer full of old Android phones at home and no idea what to do with it? Cell phone users ask themselves the same question every two to three years: What to do with the old cell phone? Well, they might not be old-fashioned yet. After all, they are a small computer that can do much more than just make mobile phone calls.

Here I will provide you with eleven ideas on how you can still use your old smartphone instead of selling them.

Mobile Hotspot

Via Tethering your old smartphone can be used as a mobile hotspot. Simply opt for a low-cost data plan and the old smartphone will be the gateway to the web. For e.g. your children can stream a movie in the back seat on the vacation trip. The tariff can either be flexibly booked via prepaid or run as a partner card to the current main contract. The maximum surfing speed always depends on the possibilities of the respective smartphone.

You should definitely pay attention to two things: First, you must ensure a sufficient battery charge. Older batteries are usually weak and the power consumption increases sharply when used as a hotspot. On the other hand, when connecting your laptop make sure to disable automatic updates so that you do not lose your monthly data volume in minutes.

Baby Monitors

This makes your phone especially good. All you need is one of the numerous apps that are already available in the playstore. If a certain noise level in the room is exceeded, your old smartphone sends a signal to another phone or calls you directly.

Advantage: The range is better than conventional baby monitors. Thick walls are then no longer an obstacle to go for a drink to the neighbors. Make sure that your old smartphone is sufficiently charged.

Digital Picture Frame

With apps like Dayframe, you can turn the phone into a digital picture frame, which automatically provides you with the latest photos from your own social media profiles like Facebook or Twitter. If you place the smartphone on the desk, next to the bed or in the kitchen, you always have new and constantly changing photos in view.

Alternatively, you can use an app like EarthCam and the events around the globe can be observed with this free webcam app.

Mini-Game Console For The Kids

Your discarded Phone is a perfect gaming device - small, light and always in your handbag or in the car. It is good for simple games and kids will like it. Simply install a few games and set up a restricted user profile on the Android smartphone - so you can make sure that the child really can only use the apps that you installed.

Mobile Gaming Platform

Well, why only let the kids play? Depending on how current the hardware of the old mobile phone is, you can still use the decommissioned mobile phone as a gaming console. So you can play on the go, without having to worry about the battery of the new phone. Simply load your favorite games onto the old device and you'll always have something to play along the way.

As A Security Camera

Alarm apps work much like a baby monitor. With apps like IP Webcam  you can easily convert an old smartphone to a network camera. This way you can always have a quick look at your pet on the way or at work, check if you actually closed the windows or just have the peace of mind that everything is fine at home.

As A Server

If you integrate your old mobile phone into the home network, you can use it in many ways as a server. For example, as your own web server or as a multimedia server that lets you stream different content to your desktop computer. There are also numerous apps for this.

E-Book Reader

A great strength of e-book readers is that they combine modern reading technology with a distraction-free environment. On the other hand, if you use reading apps like Google Play Books or Amazon Kindle on your smartphone, Facebook or Whatsapp notifications constantly appear, which discourage and distract from the flow of reading.

An old smartphone can be the solution: simply throw down all apps and install only the reading apps, so you can read in peace.

MP3 Player
The classic car radio has long been obsolete - instead use the aux input or the Bluetooth connection with your old smartphone for entertainment in the car. You can leave it permanently for this purpose in the car. This will eliminate the annoying fiddling with jack and charging cable at the beginning of the ride and you always have music and navigation with you.

Simply attach the old cell phone with a matching bracket in the car, load music on it and install a map app which also works offline and you should be good to go.

As A Microphone

Many desktop computers do not provide good sound quality for chatting or dictating. In connection with an app computer and mobile phone can be well connected, the smartphone is then recognized as an external microphone and can be used for all sound applications.

Emergency Telephone

As you may be aware of the fact that the emergency call service works on any mobile phone even without a SIM card inserted. Therefore, you can use an old cell phone as an emergency phone.

Tucked away in the car or on trips as an additional device in the backpack - if the actual mobile phone loses its juice or breaks, you are still able to call for help in a dangerous situation.