13 ideas what you can do with old cell phones gameandnews

There are good reasons not to use old smartphones anymore. For example, because there are no more updates, because new apps are pushing the cell phone to its limits, or because the display is broken. We have collected 13 tips on what you can still do with old smartphones.

In the video we have put together 13 tips for you to breathe new life into your old smartphones.

Backup device for two-factor authentication

Many services now rely on two-factor authentication. When logging in, you will be asked for a good password as well as a code that is displayed in an authenticator app. The more sites you have set up, the more important it becomes to secure the collected 2FA accounts somewhere else. After all, you don’t want to lock yourself out of your own emails, social media and many other apps. An old smartphone that otherwise just lies around in a drawer is ideal for this. If new accounts are transferred regularly, you can be sure that if the worst comes to the worst, you will still have access to everything.

Retrofit a current operating system with custom ROMs

Just because a smartphone may be old news for its manufacturer today doesn’t mean that it can’t still run a current operating system.
Depending on the smartphone, custom ROMs like LineageOS offer you the option of installing a more recent version of Android on an old cell phone. However, the procedure is not very uncomplicated and should only be carried out by you if you already have experience working in the command line.

Use as a mini PC

Some smartphones – like Samsung’s Galaxy S series – have their own desktop interface with which you can use the smartphone. So if you connect your device to a suitable dock (also called a hub), you can use your smartphone with a mouse and keyboard on a monitor.

You can find a cheap hub for most smartphones with USB-C at Amazon:

USB-C Hub (7 in 1)

with HDMI, 3× USB-A 3.0, and card reader (TF, SD, microSD)

The price may be higher now. Price as of 03/12/2023 10:39 am

More tips in the video.

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