Tip of the Week: Don’t Let Your Old Android Device go to Waste

Unless you’re the trade-in or hand-me-down kind of person, it’s likely that you have a supply of old Android devices squirrelled away somewhere. You know, just in case the one who have now breaks. However, these old devices can be useful in other ways around the office. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over three alternate uses for your mobile device in the office.

Portable Trackpad
There are assorted applications available that allow you to link your old phone to your computer and use it as an alternative controller to your mouse. These apps often offer specialized features that give you better control over media playback and other useful workplace utilities.

Just be sure to install whatever app you select from the Google Play store, as it is the safest option out there for downloading apps. However, you should also make sure that your IT department signs off on you adding these apps to devices used for work.

Universal Remote
If you happen to use smart devices in your office, your old phone could become a central control hub for them. Download the necessary apps from the Google Play store, and in no time, you’ll be able to control any of the gadgets you have installed around your office with a dedicated remote, eliminating the need for the bulky included remotes that accompany many of these devices, as well as the need to take up space on your current mobile phone.

Security Camera
Similarly to using your old device as a universal remote, you can find apps on Google Play that can turn it into a security camera with a few different features. By doing so, you can boost your office’s security with the option to check in on goings-on via a web browser, record the footage, and even have the camera activate when motion is detected.

Bonus Purpose: Donate the Phone to BOINC
The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, or BOINC, allows you to donate the computing resources of your old phone to assist research teams in their efforts towards scientific breakthroughs. So far, resources dedicated to BOINC have powered research into the climate, molecular dynamics, genetic sequencing, measured the efficacy of malaria treatments and the power of earthquakes, as well as many other scientific causes.

To participate, all you have to do is download the BOINC app from the Google Play Store and select what research you want to commit your phone’s resources to. The app will only run if your device is both charged and plugged in, as so not to leave you with a drained phone, and can be set to only transmit data over Wi-Fi, saving your data.

What other uses have you come up with for your old Android devices? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to our blog!