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In the US, 85% of mobile phone users own smartphones. This means that there are probably a lot of not-so-smart phones lying around in dusty boxes. However, before you throw these phones in the trash (in fact, don’t do it at all), why not consider one of the following things you can do with your old cell phones.
1. Throw It in the Trunk for Emergencies
In older phones, the battery lasted for days or even weeks. You can buy a prepaid SIM card, charge it for a little conversation, and leave it in the car just in case. Remember to turn on your phone every few months to check the battery.
2. Donate It to Someone Who Can Use It
Older cell phones are great for making calls and texting. Many people still use this basic functionality. You can donate old phones that otherwise work well to Goodwill or your local charity.
3. Build Something Cool
Although old phones are considered obsolete, they are still complex technologies. You will find many projects on the Internet that detail how old phones can be used or just parts for various interesting projects.
If you can get your hands on an Arduino or other equivalent microcontroller, the possibilities for repurposing older phones will increase significantly. A good example is using an old phone as a GSM module instead of buying a separate device.
4. Take Retro Photos
While you might not want to replace your Samsung S21 Ultra with an old phone’s camera to take regular photos, there is a growing love for photos with a retro charm. You can try using a retro filter, but nothing beats using an outdated camera.
It’s especially fun to photograph modern things with old cameras, and an old camera phone is a great way to start this hobby.
5. Use It to Disconnect
There is growing concern about how smartphones induce compulsive and addictive behaviors. A constant stream of notifications and information keeps us hooked even when we need to disconnect and regain our mental energy.
Your old mobile phone, which can’t run social media apps, could be the perfect vacation phone. It still allows people to contact you in emergencies, but it doesn’t try to get your attention all the time. So when you’re heading on your next vacation, maybe leave your smartphone at home and take this simple phone with you.
6. Use It as an MP3 Player
Even though people are more and more into streaming music these days, there is always room for a dedicated music player. Instead of running around with an expensive and fragile smartphone to listen to music, why not download your favorite MP3 files to your old phone? When paired with an old hi-fi system, your old phone can become a working jukebox that works even when the network is disconnected.
7. Play Classic Phone Games
It’s easy to forget that before smartphones, there were already tons of mobile games worth trying. Retro games are widespread today, but they’re not limited to classic game consoles like the NES or old DOS games. A great example is Doom RPG.
An excellent turn-based version of the classic action shooter. You can of course run these games on an emulator, but nothing beats running them on original hardware.
8. Use It as a Basic Modem
While this is not possible with older phones, most of the latest generation feature phones can be used as a modem. They can only support slower data standards such as EGPR or 3G, but this may be sufficient for various projects or low bandwidth use cases.
9. Take It Apart for Fun
If you were going to get rid of your old phone anyway, why not take this as an opportunity to learn a little about the gadgets you use? Without fear of breaking anything important, get out a screwdriver and disassemble your old phone. You can even find a disassembly guide for this phone model on sites like YouTube to help you identify the various components.
The good news is, you don’t have to rebuild everything if you don’t want to. However, that leaves you with a pile of electronics that leaves you with only one last option before you’re done with your old phone.
10. Recycle It!
There are two good reasons to prevent old cell phones from ending up in a landfill. First, in some cases, these metals can be harmful. Although modern electronics reduce or minimize toxic substances, they are always there.
Second, cell phones can contain rare substances such as gold and copper that are difficult to recover from a landfill. Better to recycle your old phone and put these rare materials back into circulation for use with new devices. There is such a thing as conflict minerals, and by disposing of your phone, you are helping to reduce this problem, at least a little.
what to do with old phones
what to do with old phones
10 Things You Can Do With Your Old Cellphones
10 Things You Can Do With Your Old Cellphones
what to do with really old cell phones
what to do with really old cell phones
can old cell phones still be used
can old cell phones still be used
what to do with old mobile phones and chargers