Old tech hanging around the house? Here is how to make unused devices useful again

We are all guilty of it. Open a drawer and you are bound to stumble across an old smartphone or a forgotten storage drive.

Households are sitting on a mountain of potential e-waste and we are adding to it a little more every week. The pace of tech advances may have slowed and the replacement cycles are lengthening, but we all have old devices hanging around the house or office that could be better used.

So what should you do with all those devices that are cluttering up your home? Here are a few suggestions.

Transform your laptop

Laptops aren’t typically something we upgrade every couple of years. But eventually your notebook will have served its purpose. Perhaps it can no longer be upgraded to the latest software. Or maybe you need a more up-to-date chip or a more powerful system. If you are ready to move on, what can you do with the older device? You could turn it into a Chromebook. And you could do it for free, thanks to some software Google released last year.

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Chrome OS Flex is an operating system that is free to download which you can install on an old laptop to give it a new lease of life. It works with hundreds of older devices, giving you all the benefits – a secure system that boots up quickly, runs software updates automatically in the background and won’t slow down over time, according to Google.

It will work with most existing hardware – you can check on the Chrome OS Flex website to be sure – and you can try it out by loading the operating system from a USB drive first, before installing the system on your old PCs and Macs.

If you have no need for a revamped laptop, you could use the device as a media server for your home entertainment. Pre-streaming services, you might have had digital copies of movies or TV shows stored on a hard drive. You can still access all those shows, along with high-quality versions of newer ones you may own, on your smart TV without having to invest in new hardware. All you need is an old laptop (within reason, it will need a minimum of 2GB RAM and a LAN port to connect to your router) a decent-sized USB key and the technical know-how to install the required software.

Create a home hub

If you have old tablets or Android smartphones lying around, they could become a vital component in your smart home system. While having a smart speaker that you can issue commands to is helpful, they don’t always pick you up correctly. There are times when you don’t want to repeat yourself time and time again just to get the lights in your livingroom to turn off or to turn off your smart plugs at night. And you can have the Amazon, Google or Apple hub app on your smartphone, but what happens if you are using your device or are out of the home?

That’s when it is useful to have a smartphone or a tablet that can act as a permanent interface between you and your smartphone – or anyone else who happens to be in your home. Install the relevant apps and leave them in a sensible place so your smart home can be easily controlled – without you relinquishing control of your personal device.

Home security

Security cameras have become a common sight in many homes. But you don’t have to spend more money to buy new equipment if you have a spare smartphone or tablet lying around, doing nothing. The cameras on smartphones in particular are pretty good these days, so why not put yours to good use? There are a number of apps that will allow you to repurpose your old device and create a network of smart, connected video cameras. Try installing Alfred on your device, plug it in where you need some extra eyes and you are good to go.

You can also use a smartphone as a baby monitor – add a flexible stand, make sure everything is strongly password protected and you can use your old phone to keep an eye on the younger members of your family.

Digital photo frame

In the pre-digital camera era, the only way to see your photos was to get them printed and possibly framed for the wall. Now, with thousands of photos at our fingertips, we don’t have as many physical prints around and choosing which ones we really love is a bit of a chore.

If you have a tablet that is getting less use than it should these days, you can use it as a digital photo frame to display a few of your favourite shots, changing them as often as you like. There are plenty of photo gallery apps that will display slide shows of your images. The built-in photo apps for Android and iOS will display a rolling show of your memories; all you need to do is tell it what to display.

Clearing out

There may come a time when you just want to get rid of devices. Perhaps you have more tech than uses for it, or the devices are no longer usable – perhaps the screens or cases are badly damaged, or they no longer turn on. So what can you do?

Pass it on

Assuming it is still functional, you can find a new home for it. You may have no use for the tech but that doesn’t mean it is useless to everyone. There are services out there to help you rehome unwanted and unneeded devices.

Olio, which started out as an app to help stop food from going to waste, now has a non-food section that allows you to pass on non-food items. If you have an older smartphone or other tech devices that you no longer need, they may get a new lease of life with a new owner through the app. The condition is that it is offered for free – no swaps or payment can be requested.

It is a similar situation on Facebook freecycle groups, which can also be a good way to re-home unwanted devices. Make sure you put it in the appropriate group and give the relevant information so people can decide if the device you are offering meets their needs.

Be honest about the condition of the device and make sure that you have removed your data, unlinked your accounts from the device and factory reset the devices before you pass them on.

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Trade it in

Some companies will give you credit if you trade in your old device, presumably with the hope that you will spend more on a new one with them.

Regardless of the motivation, it is a good way to make sure your old tech is disposed of responsibly.

Apple, for example, or Vodafone Ireland offer credit if you hand over an old device when buying a new one. How much that is will depend on the age and condition of the device. Amazon, meanwhile has a trade-in programme that covers its devices, including Kindle, Echo and Ring products, along with smartphones and consoles. You get an Amazon gift voucher in exchange for the device, though how much that is depends on what you are trading in. A second-generation Echo Dot will get you a £5 voucher, for example, but it could be as little as £2. You’ll also get a discount off a newer Amazon device if you are upgrading.

Another option is CEX. The company will buy your old tech – smartphones, games consoles, tablets etc – and either give you vouchers that you can spend in its shops or cash. Typically you get more if you accept vouchers.

If you are a business with 10 or more devices to trade in, you can bring them to online marketplace Refurbed. The devices don’t have to be the same type; 10 different ones will do.

Recycle

When tech has long since passed its use-by date, don’t leave it sitting in a drawer. Recycling your tech properly, through an approved WEEE collection centre, will mean that all the recyclable parts and components will be extracted and re-used. It also means that anything left over should be disposed of responsibly, which is the bare minimum we should all be doing.

Before you send your devices for recycling, make sure you have logged out of and removed accounts, wiped your personal data as much as possible and factory reset the device.