Nowadays, when excess waste is causing irreversible consequences on our planet, it’s time to seriously think about how to reuse, repurpose and upcycle everything you use, whether these are clothes, furniture or gadgets. Did you know that even if you prefer to change your electronic devices often to always be caught up with new features and the best quality, you still can recycle your old ones and make them useful again? If you are looking at some eco-responsible and sustainable gifts, you could up-cycle your old tech gadgets into new gifts. Read on to discover how to repurpose your old gadgets and get the most out of them.

Turn Your Old Phone Into Security Camera

Have you ever thought of installing a security camera in your house to make sure there are no intruders or that your puppy is feeling alright when it’s home alone? Well, the good news is that you don’t need an expensive security system for this purpose, just an old smartphone with a working camera and the Alfred app installed. All you have to do is to install the application, sign up and configure your phones: old one in a camera mode and new one in a viewer mode. Read this article to get the step-by-step instructions.

Transform Your Old Laptop Into a Media Center

If your old laptop or computer is still working, you can repurpose it as a media center with programs like Kodi or Plex that organize all your media files so you can easily find a movie or a playlist and play it while using the new computer for other tasks. This option allows you to keep all the files on your old laptop, so the new PC’s hard drive space will be free for other files and documents. You can also set up a home network and access the files stored on the old PC easily from any other computer.

Tablet as E-Reader or Digital Photo Frame

A very simple and even obvious solution for upcycling your old tablet is to transform it into an e-reader. You can install the Amazon Kindle app and upload all the books, magazines and journals you always wanted to read. You can check out this article to find out how to use the Amazon Kindle app. However, the tablet light is harsher for your eyes than the e-book ink, so make sure to use Night Light (for Android) or Night Shift (for iOS) to reduce the eyestrain when reading.

The other solution is to use your old tablet as a digital frame for your photos. All you need to do is to upload your favorite photos and make a slideshow of it or stream your photo albums through special apps, such as Fotoo for Android tablet and Live Frame for iPad.

Your Old Camera Can Work as a Webcam

If you got a new camera and you still want to keep the old one around just in case, you can use it as an HD webcam for your Zoom conferences, Twitch streamings and YouTube shows. All you need to do is to download and install the corresponding driver and connect your camera to your computer with a cable to set up the webcam mode.

Here is the list of available drivers:

Canon

Nikon

Sony

Fujifilm

Panasonic

You can also repurpose your GoPro camera into a webcam.

Use Your Old Phone or Tablet as a Media Remote

If you are a happy owner of Chromecast or Apple TV, you will be surprised to hear that you can use your old cell phone or tablet as a media remote connected to your streaming device. This leaves your actual phone or tablet free of this task, and your family members can easily use the Chromecast or Apple TV without using your new device.

Photo – Canon; 123RFom; Unsplasom