Abandoned smartphones are often too good to be able to collect dust in the drawer. CHIP shows how to transform your old cell phone and open up new areas of application.
There should be a new cell phone in there from time to time, but it doesn’t make sense to throw previous phones in the trash. Many smartphones have a second or third life. What is often done: In many families, cell phones are passed down through different generations. If the parents have a spare cell phone, it is set up again and then passed on to the children.
Of course, you can also give it to friends or try to sell your abandoned cell phone. But sometimes there is also a creative field of application at home. We’ve got five suggestions on how to reuse your old phone.
Don’t Just Get Rid Of It: How To Sell Your Old Cell Phone
1. Mobile phone as a TV remote control
In some homes, TV remote controls are disappearing or piling up. A mobile phone can help either way if you turn it into remotes using apps.
It’s definitely worth visiting your TV manufacturer’s website, because Samsung, LG, Philips & Co. It has its own TV apps on offer. The app remote control is especially convenient if you have TVs from several manufacturers. Then the old smartphone becomes a universal remote control.
You can also control the popular Fire TV Stick from Amazon, not only with the included remote control, but also with your cell phone. To do this, install the Amazon Fire TV app.
2. A mobile phone as a landline
Of course, nowadays, you can also use your cell phone to make calls, and unlike in the past, it doesn’t cost much anymore. But the classic Internet access is still based on the terrestrial connection. You can set up an out of service mobile phone as an additional landline phone.
FritzBox users especially enjoy it easy, because AVM provides the practical FritzApp Fon. This allows you to turn your old cell phone into a cordless phone.
3. Mobile phone as a smart kitchen assistant
A smartphone is very useful in the kitchen. But you don’t want to touch an expensive mobile phone with dirty fingers or run the risk of getting it splashed. The old converted mobile phone can also handle the harsh daily life in the kitchen.
What you need next: Preferably a good charging station where the mobile phone stands upright and a convenient app with recipes for cooking at home. Kitchen Stories is well dealt here with rich cookbooks. Well-written instructions and video lessons are especially useful for beginners – you can see each step of the work in detail.
4. Mobile phone as a webcam
We are used to working from home and homeschooling. Important here: In video conferencing, the picture and sound must be correct. If you do not have a webcam or if your notebook camera offers somewhat poor quality, a mobile phone can also be turned into a webcam.
With the ManyCam tool, you can turn Android phones and iPhones into webcams. You need to install the ManyCam desktop version on your PC and the ManyCam app on your smartphone. Sign up for a ManyCam user account and sign in to both devices with the same account.
Then, you can add the Mobile App to ManyCam on the Windows desktop under Video Sources. Select your cell phone and allow the connection. You also have to turn off access in the app again, then you will see your mobile camera image in the ManyCam window on your desktop Now you can feed the new video source to Skype, Teams & Co. To do this, set “ManyCam Virtual Webcam” as a camera in the device settings.
ManyCam free version displays a watermark and does not allow more than two video sources. If you want more, you have to buy a paid package.
5. The mobile phone as a WLAN hotspot in the car
The in-car WLAN hotspot is practical and of course this luxury is already built in. But with the converted mobile phone, you can easily modify it. In addition to the mobile phone, only one charging option is required. Depending on the vehicle’s equipment, a USB cable is sufficient for this purpose or you can get a cigarette lighter charging cable.
A mobile phone that naturally becomes a hotspot needs a data connection. Second cards, which are available with many mobile phone contracts, are practical here. Setting up the hotspot works directly on Android and iOS, no additional application is necessary here.
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Samsung Galaxy A21s
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