I have an iPhone SE that is just sitting on my nightstand with a dead battery since my daughter upgraded to an iPhone 8 over the holidays. It works fine but the battery kinda sucks. It’s not worth much for trade in ($20 at Best Buy or Apple) so there’s no point to that when I may get something useful out of it. So, I need ideas for what I can use it for. I’d hate for it to just sit around as an emergency phone. Can it sit on a charger all the time?
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iPhone SE (2016) Repurposing old iPhone
- Thread starter SHirsch999
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There are good articles online with creative and handy suggestions for using old iPhones. Just search your topic title. Here are two:
20 Ways to Use Old iPhones
CNET Suggestions
One of the better uses might be a donation to something like a battered women’s shelter for 911 use. That’s what we’ve done with all our previous iPhones and iPads.
20 Ways to Use Old iPhones
CNET Suggestions
One of the better uses might be a donation to something like a battered women’s shelter for 911 use. That’s what we’ve done with all our previous iPhones and iPads.
find a disadvantaged individual who would like owning one and put in a new battery for them and give it away
a shelter might not find the same ownership joy for just this single and "spent" device. it might end up being shoved away somewhere if they have better alternatives
a shelter might not find the same ownership joy for just this single and "spent" device. it might end up being shoved away somewhere if they have better alternatives
Do you have an aged family member who could benefit from a Siri hub? The phone could be mounted in a case on a wall and used for Siri or emergencies (calling 911, etc).
If you wanna keep it for personal use then a casual music player is probably the best use for it after a battery replacement.
I use my old iPhones for various things, but the main use is as a media device. An old iPhone can still use WiFi and Bluetooth, thus streaming media is still a thing.
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I agree with you on the music player, but I don't believe a new battery is strictly necessary. I have a powered USB hub at my desk at work. Anytime I'm using my old iPhone 4 to stream music it's plugged directly into that hub.
Not sure why you feel this way. The ones I’ve spoken to do not have “better alternatives.” They are always looking for cellphones as donations to give their residents and out-residents the ability to dial the emergency 9-1-1 number if needed. This is a huge desire at the shelters I’ve dealt with and they are very, very thankful. The smartphone features are rarely used and only the 9-1-1 is enabled with providers at low- to no cost. These users are not getting a smartphone for their “ownership joy” but a phone for survival.
I was going with more of a wireless solution so that the phone can be moved around and potentially with a smart home setup the OP could play whatever he likes whenever he likes from wherever he is. But if there’s not much area to move around then yeah your solution works as well.
I can only hope they mistakenly thought the suggestion was for the shelter itself to use it (instead of a landline or something?)
in my experience, giving away old phones doesn’t fair well for the phone. people don’t respect things they don’t buy with their own money, the phone will be destroyed sooner then you’d imagine.
$20? I wouldn’t even trade it in and waste my time, you could sell it out right, which in my area, they’re still selling for ~$85-$90 used.
It may technically be an “old” iPhone but for the majority of tasks SE is as fast as a current flagship. Not sure what you gained from upgrading to the 8...
As for uses cases, obviously it’s much better for outdoors activities and travel than the bulkier expensive phones. Lightweight, unobtrusive, great ergonomics and cheap to repair.
You can take it abroad, for the hike, for jogging, for second sim card - all depends on your use cases, but it can be a useful as a secondary phone for years to come while still providing great performance.
As for uses cases, obviously it’s much better for outdoors activities and travel than the bulkier expensive phones. Lightweight, unobtrusive, great ergonomics and cheap to repair.
You can take it abroad, for the hike, for jogging, for second sim card - all depends on your use cases, but it can be a useful as a secondary phone for years to come while still providing great performance.
OP already said battery on the SE was bad.
Apart from battery, the 8 also means longer software updates. I've seen deals on the 8 for add-a-line, etc making it essentially free.
AirMessage for iMessage on Android when you occasionally switch to a Pixel phone like me. 
Then again I know I'm in the minority that switch back and forth multiple times per year between iOS and Android.
Then again I know I'm in the minority that switch back and forth multiple times per year between iOS and Android.