What can I do with my old-but-functional android smartphone? (fedia.io)

submitted 12 hours ago by mrmaplebar@fedia.io to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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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.

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[-] calamityjanitor@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago

I used an old phone with a broken screen as a webcam since covid untill it totally broke recently.

However it needed some stars to align; I had a 3D printer to make a custom holder so it could sit on my monitor unobtrusively. I also luckily had a phone with a built in method to limit the battery charging so it could be plugged in 24/7. I was able to disable all power saving and permission features, so the app could run 24/7 without being killed by android.

I used droidcam, which works with an OBS plugin nowadays. I got it to the point that I just needed to launch OBS and my webcam was on, no touching or fiddling with the phone at all.

this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026

65 points (98.5% liked)

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