You may no longer have your first mobile phone, but there is a good chance that you still have an old smartphone in a drawer somewhere. Maybe you were tired of it, the screen is shattered or your employer gave you a nice new phone. Whatever the reason, it is in any case a huge shame to let that phone get dusty. Here’s what you can do with an old smartphone.
Whatever you do with the phone: it is in any case wise to reset the device to the factory settings before it enters its second life. Maybe make another one backup of the files on the device and then go through the settings menu to the system settings to go to ‘backup & reset’ or search for something called ‘factory settings’.
It differs per phone where this function is located and what it is called, so Google your phone type and ‘factory settings’ or ‘factory reset’ so you know how to get started to completely free your phone from your personal data. Also check whether there is still a SIM card or a microSD card in the device and remove it before doing anything with the telephone.
To repair
If your old phone is broken, it’s often worth getting it repaired. You may then be able to use, pass on or sell it yourself, so that it actually gets a second life as a telephone. You often have to hire a repairman for this, so check what the expected repair costs are. Even if you decide not to repair it, it’s still good that you tried.
To sell
You can of course try to sell the phone. Sometimes that is even possible if it is broken, but make sure you are transparent about this to your potential buyer. For example, you can sell on marketplace or on a phone fan forum. Marktplaats is useful because you can first look up how much other people are asking for the same type of phone. This way you can ensure a competitive price so that you can quickly make someone else happy with your old gadget.
Pass along
Perhaps even better than selling is passing on your phone. For example, give your grandparents your old mobile so they can participate in the family WhatsApp group†Or maybe your little niece loves to play games and can use your phone for it. It can be very smart money-wise to sell a phone, but giving it away might be even better. You feel good about your good deed and who knows, you might get a delicious homemade cake or a nice hug in return.
Donate to a good cause
Many charities take back old smartphones. The Aap Foundation does not use the smartphones so that baboons can text with chimpanzees, but they are in contact with an organization that can give them money for the old smartphones (and old cartridges). And so there are more charities that are desperate for old telephones.
The nice thing about it is that the smartphone is recycled well and that a good cause also has some money left over. Plus: just like passing it on, it also gives you a nice feeling. So win-win-win. Prefer local? Then ask primary schools and petting zoos in your area if they do telephone collections.
Use as a camera
The advantage of a smartphone is that it is at home in all markets. In daily use it is used for all sorts of things, but an old telephone can be used very well for one function. For example, there are people who use the phone’s camera as a webcam, or as a security camera.
You have apps that can help you if you want to use your phone like that, such as Presence. Another way is to put Skype on it and automatically accept an incoming video call. That way you can see what’s happening at home by simply Skype yourself. If you download the Dormi app, you can also use it as a baby monitor.
Also read: Using Phone as Webcam with Iriun App
Keep him as an alternative phone
Of course not all telephones are sitting in drawers doing nothing: for many of those telephones, they are couchettes. They are there for the fateful day when your current smartphone gives up or is stolen. It is certainly useful to have a smartphone on hand, but you can in principle maintain that you only need one backup phone.
So if you still have 4 old telephones in drawers, some devices can really start a new life. Also keep in mind that software is only supported for so long, so the chance that an old phone no longer works properly or is safe to use is also very high.
Use it as an alarm clock
A lot of people don’t really want to start the day staring at their phone and end the day staring at their phone, and yet many people do. It is often recommended to keep the smartphone out of the bedroom so that you can sleep peacefully and so that you do not shine that box of blue light in your face for too long before going to sleep.
Many people use the excuse that they use their smartphone as an alarm clock and therefore take it with them. Of course you don’t have to. Using an old phone for the sole purpose of being an alarm clock allows you to leave the hustle and bustle of your regular smartphone behind and still enjoy a ‘mobile’ alarm clock.
Turn it into a Game Boy or MP3 player
You can also connect an old phone to the internet via WiFi and download music or games that can be played offline. When you get rid of the WiFi again, for example because you go outside for a while, you can use this phone to listen to music. Fine for a while offline.
The same applies to the Game Boy idea: if you are afraid that you will be too distracted by games on your own device, you can make a dedicated game device that you can also lend to little sisters or brothers to play.
Use it as a smarthome hub
Maybe you don’t just have an old phone, but also an old tablet (although you can certainly use it with just a phone): you can turn it into a perfect ‘console’ for your smart home. Make sure that the device can always be found at home and that it has the apps for the products that you use for your smarthome. It saves a lot of hassle on your own phone and you can quickly find what you’re looking for if you keep the old phone bare.
For example, other people can also use the device to address things in the house, such as dimming the lights or setting an alarm. Also nice: you can give it a double role as a digital photo frame when you put it down and via Google Photos starts a slideshow.
Throw away: so recycle
No matter how many applications there are in this article, there is one thing you really shouldn’t do with an old smartphone and that is throw it away. He ends up somewhere in a fire in the waste disposal and that is a shame. Did you know, for example, that there is so much gold in 200 smartphones that you can easily make a new wedding ring out of it?
In addition to gold, there is also iron, copper, cobalt and nickel in smartphones and these are resources that we must use sustainably. After all, quite a lot of environmental pollution is involved in collecting these raw materials.
If you really can’t use your old device for the above purposes, you can take it to a WeCycle point. This ensures that your appliance is properly recycled and does not end up in an incinerator. Not only are the sustainable substances such as gold and copper removed, it is also ensured that harmful substances do not burden the environment.
Enough choice
Millions of telephones in the Netherlands seem to do nothing in a drawer. So check the drawers, bedside tables and junk boxes in the attic to see if you are also participating. You now know what to do with your old mobile. Good luck!
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