5 Things You Can Do with an Old iPhone

5 Things You Can Do with an Old iPhone

Apple upgrades the iPhone every year. Additionally, AT&T and Verizon both offer incentives to customers to upgrade their phones every couple of years, so it’s inevitable that people end up buying newer model iPhones. But, what do you do with the old iPhone that you spent hundreds of dollars on?

Give Your Old iPhone Away

This is perhaps the simplest thing of all to do. Maybe you have a friend who is dying for an iPhone, but can’t afford the upfront cost. Or, maybe one of your friends would like to give their teenager an iPhone, but they don’t have the money to buy it. What may be “old junk” to you may be a great gift to someone else. Some people live for other peoples’ hand me downs and will truly appreciate the chance to own something they couldn’t otherwise afford.

Keep it as A Spare

Accidents happen. If something happens to your iPhone, even if it’s covered under warranty, it could take days to get it fixed. Do you really want to be without a cell phone while you’re waiting for your phone to get fixed? If your current phone is in the shop, your carrier should have no problem temporarily reactivating your old iPhone for you.

It’s Still an iPod Touch

Even without 3G or 4G connectivity, if your iPhone has built-in Wi-Fi it’s just as good as iPod touch. You can still listen to music, run apps, and surf the web. You may want to leave your brand new iPhone in the car, but take your old iPhone to the gym so you can use it on the treadmill. Or, you may want to give it to your children, or someone’s children, so they can use it like an iPod touch. Either way, there’s still a lot you can do with a deactivated iPhone.

Sell Your Old iPhone

If you just flat-out have no more use for your old iPhone, you can easily list it on Craigslist or eBay and get a little of your money back. Just be sure to wipe all your personal data from the iPhone before you give it to the customer; that includes mobile web browsing history as well. Many people will be happy to buy your old phone.

Donate The Old iPhone to Charity

If none of the other options above appeal to you, then you can always donate it to a charitable organization like Phones 4 Charity or Cell Phones for Soldiers. There are plenty of organizations that will gladly pay for you to ship your old iPhone so that all you have to do is box it up and mail it out. Some organizations offer a tax credit for your donation as well.

The worst thing you can do is just throw your old iPhone away. There are too many used electronics cluttering landfills today. If you truly want to do the right thing, either keep your old iPhone or give/sell it to someone else who truly needs one. After all, your old iPhone was a loyal friend and it deserves a good home.

About the Author: Dona Collins is a huge fan of technology and hates to see even old pieces of equipment go to waste. When she’s not studying new trends in the cell phone world, she can be found working with unemployed and underemployed individuals, helping them to find temp staffing services and new job opportunities.

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