When new phones get released, it is almost an unwritten rule that it is time to get a new phone. With all the speculations about Apple’s new iPhone 11 hitting the market soon, a lot of users are already putting aside special funds to get the new phone. It is always nice to be one of the first people to check out a new phone feature or be the coolest one in the pack to own the latest gadget.

 

 

But the question is what happens to your old phone? Do you trade it in? Do you gift it to a younger sibling or do you learn to do magic with it? An average smartphone has a great feature, from the cameras to storage abilities, it’s like carrying around a mini computer. But do you realise that your old smartphone can do so much more than you know? You can put it to great use with these few hacks.

 

1. Turn your phone into a baby monitor

 

Instead of investing in a new baby monitor, why not use your old smartphone? If you install Skype on both your old and new devices and connect them to the internet, you can get a great view of your baby’s activity from anywhere in the house. There are also downloadable baby monitor apps like Cloud Baby Monitor for iPhone and Dormi for Android.

 

2. Turn your phone into a universal remote control

 

The ability to control all your devices is one that your old phone possesses. Just download a remote-control app on it and sync it to your other devices like PS4, Apple TV and the likes. A great app is iRule; it works on both Android and iPhones. You can also control your smart light bulbs (there are great ones on Amazon) if you sync them with the old phone through the app. This is perfect for couch potato moments. You can binge watch on one spot all day. What are bathroom breaks?

 

3. Wireless mouse

 

Your old phones can be a great alternative for when your mouse decides to misbehave without notice. You will also need to download an app to help your phone with this function. Remote Mouse is a great one. It is available on both iPhone and Android devices. You will just need to connect your phone and desktop to the same Wi-Fi network. You can also easily carry it around with your laptop.

 

4. Security camera

 

A security camera app like Alfred can help turn your old phone into a home security camera. You can use it as your old phone to monitor your house when you are on the go without particularly installing a CCTV system. You just need to put the phone in the part of the house with the best view of the majority of the house. You can also set it outside to see who is at the door, especially when you are home and not looking to entertain certain guests.

 

5. Music player

 

You can always wipe the old device clean and move all the important things to the new phone. Of course, the music apps should stay on since you are about to turn the phone into a media player. You can connect the phone to a speaker during parties or have your favourite playlist when you have a lover over. No calls, no notifications.