I kept my old phone (an AT&T-locked Samsung Galaxy S7) going for 10 years, replacing the battery midway through and using it well into unsupported territory. I like to keep things working as long as I can within reason, and I also know that this phone is destined to become e-waste as soon as I get rid of it.
But with more apps losing support, and electronics prices on the rise, it felt like now was finally the time to upgrade (to a refurbished Pixel 8 Pro). So I got a new phone…
Still, I don’t want my old locked Galaxy S7 phone to go to waste just yet while it’s still roughly working!
So does anyone have any idea of things that I can do to reuse or repurpose my old phone?
I have some ideas in mind myself, but I’m curious what you all think and if anyone has experience with repurposing old phones in interesting or useful ways.
I put LineageOS on my old phone, put adblockers on it and added a few streaming sites to the home screen and gave it to my parents to use as stream caster to their smart TV. They freaking love it. “How is this free?! We’re cancelling Netflix!”
A lot of streaming sites are getting shut down left and right, sadly.