Give Old iPhones and iPads a New Lease on Life

Save money and spare landfills by putting old smartphones and tablets to work as home security systems, picture frames, alarm clocks and more

What if you could give that old smartphone or tablet a second life? WSJ’s Geoffrey A. Fowler shows how to save money--and spare landfills--by putting them to work as home security systems, picture frames, second monitors and more.

I’ve got a museum of old gadgets once destined to change the world that now just look quaint. The original Apple iPhone sits snuggled next to Teddy Ruxpin, the talking bear.
Many of us keep a dusty box or drawer of cast-away tech, even if we don’t all treat them like antiques. These gadget graveyards fill up because we upgrade our phones, on average, once every 29 months and buy cheapy “disposable” tablets and other gear without thinking twice.
So what if you could give that old smartphone or tablet a second life? This week, I resurrected five old phones and three tablets dating back to the Samsung Galaxy S3, the iPhone 3Gs, and the first iPad. (Sorry, original iPhone, you’re beyond saving.) With a few simple weekend projects, you can awaken your tech Rip Van Winkles—and even save some money.
When you reuse an old gadget, you can also pat yourself on the back for resisting one of the tech industry’s biggest lies: that we need to keep buying new stuff. It’s bad for the environment, not to mention our budgets.

Some of us turn old devices into hand-me-downs for family who don’t necessarily need the latest and greatest. Children seem to be born infatuated with tablets, but you may have to lock one down before handing it to someone very young. (See this guide to making an iPad child-safe.)
If you’ve got a phone or tablet so old nobody even wants it as a gift, here are some of my favorite ways to make it part of your life again. None require breaking them open—just updating the operating system, and then downloading some apps. The hardest part may be finding the old charging cable.

Security System

Internet-connected cameras like the Nest Cam are popular for spying on—I mean checking in on—family and pets, or alerting you if there’s a burglary afoot. An old phone running on Wi-Fi can accomplish the same.

An app called Manything can turn a used Apple or Android phone into a security camera, so you can check on all the creatures in your home from afar. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal 

 

 

You’ll need a tiny tripod or some way to hold the phone upright, and an extension cord so it can stay plugged in all the time. Then you’ll need the Manything app: Like its full-fledged counterparts, it can send you alerts if there’s motion in certain areas, or even save your recordings to the cloud if you pay a monthly fee. (Click here for requirements.) One caveat: Unlike a dedicated security camera, your phone probably doesn’t have a dedicated night mode.
While you’re at it, you can also use your phone to bring your smoke alarm into the digital age. A free Android and iOS app called CleverLoop Smokey listens out for the siren on a traditional alarm when you’re not at home, and sends you a text if one goes off.

International Travel Phone

That old smartphone sitting in your drawer can save you hundreds on your next international trip. It burns me up how much carriers like to charge for roaming. One AT&T plan asks for $40 on top of your monthly fees for 200 MB of data—and you still have to pay $1 a minute for calls.

Old phones can save you money when you’re traveling abroad if you buy a new SIM card for local service. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal 

 

 

But in the UK, for example, buying local service with 100 minutes plus 1 GB of data costs just $13. All you have to do is swap in a new SIM card (the stamp-sized chip that slots in the side of the phone). Here’s the catch: Sometimes U.S. phones have software locks to prevent that. ( Verizon is the big exception—it’s 4G phones are unlocked.) However, you usually can unlock old phones that are no longer under contract, if you ask.
A few days before you travel, call your carrier or put in an unlock request on its website. (Here are the links for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. ) You should also check whether your model will work in the country where you’re traveling—phones and network standards do vary. And there’s this bonus: If your phone accidentally goes scuba diving with you, you won’t feel as bad.

Alarm Clock

A phone might no longer hold much charge—but plugged in, it can still be the world’s smartest alarm clock. There are apps like the $2 Wake for the iPhone that offer a gentle rise. Or, if you need more sadistic assistance, apps like I Can’t Wake Up for Android won’t let you snooze until you solve a puzzle. And even better than your current smartphone, it doesn’t blare with notifications and distract you from getting quality Zs.

The Wake app turns an iPhone into an alarm clock that you put in snooze mode just by placing a hand over the phone. Flip the phone over to turn off the alarm. Photo: Tiny Hearts/Wake 

 

 

A dedicated phone can also help you wake up at just the right time. A number of apps help you track your nocturnal activity. With my favorite, Sleep Cycle for iOS and Android, the phone sits on or next to your bed and uses its sensors and microphones to determine when you’re in deep sleep, and then wakes you up at the end of a cycle. A phone’s sensors may not be as accurate as dedicated sleep-tracking gear or a wrist-based tracker, but at least you don’t have to buy extra gear.

Remote Control

The best universal remote control is one that’s smart enough to know what’s on broadcast TV and streaming. A free app called Peel does that with an old phone or tablet that needs just Wi-Fi to operate. You do give up the feel of real buttons, but gain recommendations about what you’re most likely to want to watch.

The Peel app turns a phone or tablet into a smart remote control for TVs, cable boxes and home entertainment systems. iPhones and some other models may require an additional piece of equipment, the $50 Peel. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal 

 

 

Many Android phones already have built in the IR transmitter they need to control your TV and other entertainment devices. Unfortunately, the iPhone does not, so you’d need an additional piece of equipment, the $50 Peel Pronto, which serves as a 360-degree IR blaster for all your gear. (You can still use iPhone apps to control an Apple TV, Roku or TiVo simply over Wi-Fi.)

Picture Frame

If you’ve got the original iPad, it may feel slower than the Olympic Parade of Nations, but it still has a pretty fantastic screen. So why not just use it as a way to show family photos?
Prop it up on a shelf, plug it in, and open a photo album and tap slideshow. On newer iPads, you can even do this with a shared iCloud Photos collection, where you and other family members can keep adding new photos to the collection without having to touch anything.

An old iPad can become a second monitor for a Mac or even a Windows PC, with the Duet Display app. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal  

 

 

If you want to get extra fancy, buy an actual frame to go around the iPad. I found a wood model on Frontgate for $10.

Second Monitor

Why get a second monitor when you have an iPad? A few apps help you do this; my favorite is Duet Display, which costs $20, and works with both Macs and Windows PCs.
Once you’ve installed Duet, compatible with iPad 2 and later, on both the iPad and your computer, it’s as easy as just plugging it in. The iPad expands your available real estate so you can have a dedicated screen for spread sheets, email, or a live stream of the Olympics—whatever you count as being “more productive.”

An inexpensive seat mount turns an old iPad into a digital back-seat baby sitter for long road trips. Photo: Geoffrey A. Fowler/The Wall Street Journal 

 

 

Car TV

Even a first-generation iPad can still play movies. So if you’ve got a road trip ahead and restless munchkins in the back seat, invest in an inexpensive iPad mount for the car.
You can get fancy versions that suction on, but I was happy with a $15 model on Amazon that strapped around the headrest of the seat in front.

Kitchen Helper

Aside from streaming Netflix in bed, the most useful place to keep an iPad is the kitchen. There’s been a renaissance in iPad cooking apps. One of my favorites, Drop, not only shows beautiful recipes, but even connects to a baking scale to make sure you don’t screw up your cookies.
With an iPad nearby, you can ask Siri to set timers and tell you how many tablespoons are in a cup, or stream Julia Child for inspiration. The only problem in the kitchen is that things can get messy. For $20, you can get fridge mounts or even a tabletop stand with a washable stylus so you don’t smear your iPad screen with cookie dough.

Car TV

Even a first-generation iPad can still play movies. So if you’ve got a road trip ahead and restless munchkins in the back seat, invest in an inexpensive iPad mount for the car.
You can get fancy versions that suction on, but I was happy with a $15 model on Amazon that strapped around the headrest of the seat in front.

Kitchen Helper

Aside from streaming Netflix in bed, the most useful place to keep an iPad is the kitchen. There’s been a renaissance in iPad cooking apps. One of my favorites, Drop, not only shows beautiful recipes, but even connects to a baking scale to make sure you don’t screw up your cookies.
With an iPad nearby, you can ask Siri to set timers and tell you how many tablespoons are in a cup, or stream Julia Child for inspiration. The only problem in the kitchen is that things can get messy. For $20, you can get fridge mounts or even a tabletop stand with a washable stylus so you don’t smear your iPad screen with cookie dough.

Car TV

Even a first-generation iPad can still play movies. So if you’ve got a road trip ahead and restless munchkins in the back seat, invest in an inexpensive iPad mount for the car.
You can get fancy versions that suction on, but I was happy with a $15 model on Amazon that strapped around the headrest of the seat in front.

Kitchen Helper

Aside from streaming Netflix in bed, the most useful place to keep an iPad is the kitchen. There’s been a renaissance in iPad cooking apps. One of my favorites, Drop, not only shows beautiful recipes, but even connects to a baking scale to make sure you don’t screw up your cookies.

With an iPad nearby, you can ask Siri to set timers and tell you how many tablespoons are in a cup, or stream Julia Child for inspiration. The only problem in the kitchen is that things can get messy. For $20, you can get fridge mounts or even a tabletop stand with a washable stylus so you don’t smear your iPad screen with cookie dough.