Do you have an old phone lying around and don’t know what to do with it? While you could sell it for a bit of money to buy a new phone or donate it to an e-waste center, you could also take on a fun project that teaches you more about your devices. Instead of throwing away the old phone, you could take the time to build a media server out of it. I’ll go over the top four reasons why it’s worth converting an old phone into a NAS, so if you’ve been wondering what to do with that old phone lying around, read on.

Related

Do you have an old Android phone lying around? Here are 8 useful things you can still do with it

Just because you have a new phone doesn’t mean your old Android phone can’t be useful as a webcam, MP3 player, etc.

1 What is a NAS?

Your own storage network

A Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a device connected to your wireless router that is used to store files and transfer data between devices on the same network. NAS are a great and more secure alternative to cloud storage because with a NAS you have full control over everything that is hosted. Think of a NAS as your own personal cloud drive that gives you nearly instant access to everything stored on your network.

You don’t need to buy a thousand-dollar enclosure for a NAS server, as you can build your own using just a wireless router and a USB storage drive. You can also build a NAS out of an old laptop or even an old smartphone, although you’ll get the best results if you build a NAS using a high-capacity device.

Related

4 must-have Android Auto music apps to put you in the mood

The perfect driving soundtrack is just an app download away.

2 Learn more about your devices

Create a project to learn more about Android or iOS

Instead of throwing away an old phone, you can learn more about how Android or iOS works by turning your old phone into a media server. This process differs depending on whether you’re using an Android or iPhone device, but you can use both to create a rudimentary NAS and learn more about everything these operating systems can be used for. With an Android phone, you can take a NAS project a little further, but you can still create a rudimentary media server with an iPhone and connect your iOS files to an external server.

3 Create a photo storage server

Store your photos outside the cloud in one convenient location

There are a variety of servers you can run on an old smartphone, and one of my favorite project ideas is to use an old phone to create a file server to host a photo collection. A file server is one of the simpler servers to run on an old smartphone, as it’s a simple directory that you can upload and download files to.

However, depending on what kind of files you want to store on the server, you will need a fair amount of storage space. Fortunately, many Android phones’ storage can be expanded via MicroSD cards, but iPhone users will have a harder time hosting a file server due to the lack of internal storage expansion.

Related

You can finally use your Apple Pencil 2nd generation as a camera remote control

The Pencilera app brings a long-requested feature to the iPad, allowing users to take a photo with their Apple Pencil.

The most complex server you can build with an old phone

Using an old phone to create a media server is one of the coolest ways to use an old phone to create a NAS in my opinion. You can use your old phone to stream content in your home to your other devices like a PS5 or Xbox. There are a few different apps you can download to turn your old Android phone into a media server. The open source home theater app Kodi is the easiest and most popular solution for this.

iOS users can use Plex to turn their phone into a media server, allowing them to stream their favorite TV shows, movies, or music to another iOS device, such as an iPad. However, Plex Mobile is not free to use, so you will have to pay a $5 subscription fee. If you’re willing to jailbreak your iPhone, you can install a Linux shell on it that gives you more options to turn your iPhone into a media server, but doing so will void your iPhone’s warranty or Apple Care terms.

Related

Kobo Libra Colour vs. Kindle Scribe: Which e-reader with pen is the best?

Having to choose between an iPad or a laptop this school year? It may seem surprising, but an e-reader might be a better option.

5 Creating a web server

Whether you learn web development

You can also use an old phone to run a website. If you have an old Android phone, you can use it to create a low-cost web server. This is a great project to save on web hosting costs, but you can only do this with a site that doesn’t have much traffic, or your device will be constantly locked. That’s why this is a great project for those who are learning web development, because you will learn more about creating a web hosting server and also have a space where you can host your project files for free.

Related

What is the difference between GPS tracking and ultra wideband?

Both can handle location tracking, but otherwise have little in common.