10 Ways to Repurpose an Old Smartphone

That old phone in your drawer still has a working camera, speaker, Wi-Fi, sensors, and processor. Instead of recycling it, turn it into something useful. Factory reset it first (Settings > General > Reset), then set it up for one of these dedicated purposes.

1. Security Camera

Download Alfred Camera (free, iOS and Android) on both your old phone and your current phone. The old phone becomes a motion-detecting camera that streams live video to your current phone. Mount it near your front door, pointed at a window, or in a baby’s room. Alfred stores motion clips in the cloud for free and sends push notifications when it detects movement.

2. Dedicated Music Player

Load your music library or sign into Spotify/YouTube Music. Connect the old phone to a Bluetooth speaker and leave it as a permanent music station in the kitchen, workshop, or garage. Your main phone stays free for calls and messages without interrupting your playlist.

3. Kitchen Recipe Display

Mount the old phone on the fridge or a small stand on the counter. Open recipe websites or the Paprika app. The dedicated screen stays on the recipe while you cook, so you never lose your place or get flour on your daily phone.

4. E-Reader

Install Kindle, Libby (for library books), or Google Play Books. An old phone with a 5-to-6-inch screen is a perfectly fine e-reader. Enable dark mode for nighttime reading. It is lighter than a tablet and the smaller screen is less distracting.

5. Car Dashcam

Mount the old phone on your windshield with a $5 phone mount. Install a dashcam app like AutoBoy (Android) or DailyRoads Voyager. Plug it into a car USB charger for continuous power. It records your drives and overwrites old footage when storage fills up. You now have a dashcam without spending $100+ on a dedicated device.

6. Digital Photo Frame

Download Google Photos or Fotoo (dedicated digital frame app). Set the phone on a small stand on a shelf or nightstand. It cycles through your favorite photos automatically. Fotoo can pull photos from Google Photos, Dropbox, or a local folder and display them as a slideshow with transitions.

7. Baby Monitor

Similar to the security camera setup but optimized for audio. Use the Baby Monitor 3G app or Alfred Camera. The old phone sits in the nursery and streams audio and video to your current phone. Most baby monitor apps alert you when sound exceeds a threshold, so you do not have to watch the stream constantly.

8. Dedicated GPS for Your Car

Download Google Maps or Waze for offline use. Mount it on the dashboard. This saves your main phone’s battery during long drives and keeps the navigation screen visible while you use your main phone for music or calls.

9. White Noise / Sleep Machine

Install a white noise app (myNoise, Relax Melodies, or the free White Noise app). Place the old phone on your nightstand. It plays rain, ocean waves, fan sounds, or brown noise all night without draining your main phone’s battery or tying up its speaker.

10. Remote Control for Smart Home

Install your smart home apps (Google Home, Alexa, HomeKit) on the old phone. Mount it on the wall near your front door or bedroom. Tap to control lights, thermostat, locks, and speakers without pulling out your main phone. It functions as a dedicated smart home control panel.

Setup Tips

Factory reset before repurposing to clear personal data
Keep the old phone plugged in permanently for always-on uses (camera, music, photo frame)
Disable all notifications except the one app you are using
Turn off automatic updates to prevent the phone from slowing down with new OS features it cannot handle
If the battery is swollen or the phone overheats, do not leave it plugged in permanently; recycle it instead

Bottom Line

An old phone makes an excellent security camera, dedicated music player, or dashcam. Factory reset it, install one app, and give it a permanent spot. Every phone in a drawer is a useful device waiting for a single purpose.