What do you do with your old phone?

[Golfdriver97]

I have a Nexus 5X as a backup. It has a partial charge on it, and I turn it on once a month to update, and potentially top up a little.

 

[pkcable]

I usually keep 1 for backup, but I sell the others. I go through LOTS of phones. Right now I have an iPhone 7 Plus, OnePlus 6, and an LG V30. iPhone and OP6 have SIMs, and I use the V30 for backup OR to pop in my Google Daydream, although more often I use a Oculus Go for VR. Really thinking about selling the V30, maybe WITH the Daydream thrown in! lol

 

[mwake4goten]

I normally sell mine on Swappa or to a friend. The only used phone I have as a back up is an HTC M8 which is my favorite smartphone to date. I power it up from time to time just to go down memory lane .

I read this comment on my HTC One M8 lol. Great phone. I basically just use it as my entertainment device playing games at home and movies and music. This tactic helps to preserve the longevity of my battery of my main phone HTC 10.

Sad that HTC have abandoned the audiophile focused angle, so my next one will probably be LG V40 when ever that is released.

 

[anon(10300249)]

Gave to my mom.

 

[Morty2264]

Gave to my mom.

That was nice of you! What kind of phone did she receive?

 

[anon(10300249)]

That was nice of you! What kind of phone did she receive?

Lenovo A600 Plus. She's new to smartphones and I'm explaining things to her almost everyday lol

That phone had problem with android update. It came with preinstalled android kitkat & when phone notified me for system update (lolipop) and did it, faced one big bad bug. Wifi which I was using almost all the time was keeping disconnected and reconnected all the time. It wasn't stable and couldn't find fix. Then I downloaded old kitkat build, installed on sd card and went back to kitkat and since that there's still kitlat. Lenovo support is horrible and that phone never even got any more android updates besides that bugged lolipop lol. After that I decided to never ever touch Lenovo devices.

 

[Morty2264]

Lenovo A600 Plus. She's new to smartphones and I'm explaining things to her almost everyday lol

That phone had problem with android update. It came with preinstalled android kitkat & when phone notified me for system update (lolipop) and did it, faced one big bad bug. Wifi which I was using almost all the time was keeping disconnected and reconnected all the time. It wasn't stable and couldn't find fix. Then I downloaded old kitkat build, installed on sd card and went back to kitkat and since that there's still kitlat. Lenovo support is horrible and that phone never even got any more android updates besides that bugged lolipop lol. After that I decided to never ever touch Lenovo devices.

That's good that you've moved onto a device that you like better! I've never used a Lenovo phone before - I like their laptops, though!

 

[kgambino]

I was wondering - what do you do with your old phone after buying a new one? Do you reuse it for something else? Do you keep it as a backup phone? Do you give it someone else? Or do you just throw it away or keep in a box/closet?

I myself tend to find a new use for it. I use one of my old phones as kind of a media player by installing TuneIn radio, Google Play Music and YouTube. The screen isn't all that great, but sound quality is good for podcasts, music and YouTube videos where the video itself isn't as important as the audio. Another old phone has an IR blaster so it's a good remote control for various set-top boxes and the TV. It's also great for controlling VLC and Kodi by installing VLC Mobile Remote and Kore.
Another use I saw somewhere is as a navigation system in your car. You just install Android Auto, maybe buy a car phone mount and you're good to go.

Pass it down to a kid, or set it up with kids games for the grandkids.

 

[kgambino]

Normally I keep all of them. I recently tried to sell two of my S7 Edge phones, my Note 8 and a few iPhones. All I got was lowball offers so I figured I would just keep the phones.

We have a guy at my job who was in prison for a while and has been doing some good things in his life and even got his monitor taken off and is proving he's a good guy in everything he does. He didn't even have a smart phone so I figured I would give him one of my unlocked S7 Edge phones. He's gotten it activated and got a nice screen protector and he babies the thing and he's just enjoying every second of that phone. That has made me happy knowing that even though I couldn't sell the phone, giving it to someone who is so appreciative of it is far more worth then any money I could have gotten for it. I gave him the box, all unopened brand new headset, cord and charger so it was basically a brand new phone for him including a case.

I wouldn't mind finding other people like this near me who could use a phone.

That was a wonderful gesture on your part. He will pay it forward, I'm sure. He sounds very appreciative.

 

[Morty2264]

Normally I keep all of them. I recently tried to sell two of my S7 Edge phones, my Note 8 and a few iPhones. All I got was lowball offers so I figured I would just keep the phones.

We have a guy at my job who was in prison for a while and has been doing some good things in his life and even got his monitor taken off and is proving he's a good guy in everything he does. He didn't even have a smart phone so I figured I would give him one of my unlocked S7 Edge phones. He's gotten it activated and got a nice screen protector and he babies the thing and he's just enjoying every second of that phone. That has made me happy knowing that even though I couldn't sell the phone, giving it to someone who is so appreciative of it is far more worth then any money I could have gotten for it. I gave him the box, all unopened brand new headset, cord and charger so it was basically a brand new phone for him including a case.

I wouldn't mind finding other people like this near me who could use a phone.

Wow, what a wonderful gesture! I'm sure he really appreciates it and your kindness towards him.

 

[Inders99]

Run 'em over with my truck.

 

[CarWashDumpsterBoy]

Keep it as backup, set up as a Security Webcam with Alfred Home Security on Google Play Store, use as a WiFi phone, selk to the ecoATM or Offer Up. If it's an iPhone you throw it away lol

 

[cardboard60]

Put it in a drawer.

 

[gmlongo]

Old phones always end up being used by one of my kids...

 

[bembol]

Sell it.

 

[anon(10181084)]

Stuffed in a cabinet. Sometimes I whip one out to tinker with ROMs or whatnot, or just for nostalgia purposes.

 

[Morty2264]

Stuffed in a cabinet. Sometimes I whip one out to tinker with ROMs or whatnot, or just for nostalgia purposes.

Nostalgia all the way!

 

[anon(10181084)]

I tried to run AI benchmark (with no overclock) on my Galaxy Tab 2 that I downgraded to CyanogenMod 10.2 (Android 4.3.1) and it didn't exactly go over too well, but I highly doubt it would've scored anything...

 

[davidnc]

I keep my old phones. Sometimes I use them to run early beta OS on them to test, before installing on my current phones.
Sometimes family or friends may need a used phone because their phone got broke somehow. I offer it to them for free but sometimes they sill want to pay something for the phone.

 

[VidJunky]

Everyone upgrades when I do. I get the new phone my son gets my old one and his sister gets his old one. This is working for now until she starts having wants of her own. They are both usually pretty happy because I always have one of the best phones and get them on or close to release.

Oh and by the time my daughter is through with the phone it's not really good for much. Usually can't trade or sell them.