Pavel Jelic In the case of iPhones from the apple company, it is calculated that they should last you about five years before you are somehow "forced" to replace the device. Some users keep their old iPhones as a backup in case something happens to the new ones, for example, and some sell them, for example. If you belong to this first group that keeps the old iPhone "in the drawer", then this article might be useful for you. Together we will look at X tips on how you can use an old iPhone that you don't use. It's a shame that the iPhone just sits idle in a drawer all the time, when it often continues to have perfect computing power. Let's get straight to the point.
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Safety camera
You can easily use your old iPhone as a security camera. Of course, in this case we are talking about the internal camera and not the external one. If you want to have your house under surveillance inside, then this option could definitely interest you. It is best if you point the iPhone as an indoor camera at a French window, door or any potential "entrance" for thieves. All you have to do is hold the charger to your iPhone so it never runs out of power and get an app that turns your iPhone into a security camera. The best application that is made for this purpose is Alfred. You simply install the app on your old iPhone, set it to be a camera, and you're done. You then install Alfred on a new iPhone or iPad, but in this case you set it to be a device designed to monitor cameras. The entire setup takes just a few minutes.
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CarPlay in the car
Some newer vehicles can display CarPlay on their entertainment system screens. In most cases, CarPlay can be activated after connecting the vehicle to the iPhone, using a classic USB - Lightning cable. Some of the latest vehicles also support wireless CarPlay – but a cable is still recommended. For you, this means that you have to connect your iPhone with a cable every time you get into the car, which is quite impractical. If you have an old iPhone that you don't use, you can store it in the storage space and connect it with a cable. That way, you'll have CarPlay available on your vehicle screen all the time, and you won't have to constantly connect your primary device. Some of you might argue that this will not connect the old iPhone to the network and at the same time it will not be possible to use it to make calls. That's true, but it's nothing iOS can't handle. Just set the old iPhone to automatically connect to your primary iPhone's hotspot, then just set routing to the old iPhone on the primary iPhone for calls. Simple as a slap in the face.
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bluetooth "radio"
You can also use an old iPhone as a controller for Bluetooth speakers that you have, for example, at home or at work. If you have your primary iPhone connected to a Bluetooth device, it will automatically disconnect when you move away. After returning, you must always reconnect through the Bluetooth settings, which takes some time. With an old iPhone, you can connect to a Bluetooth device (speakers) "forever", that is, if you leave it within range of that device. The iPhone can then be used as a music player, which will play it directly into the speakers whenever you want. In addition, you can also use Siri with an old iPhone - for example, to play music, find out the weather, etc. If you use all these functions, then the iPhone can behave like a "simple HomePod".
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Baby monitor
You can also use your old iPhone as a baby monitor. As with the security camera and the Alfred app, there are various apps available in the App Store that can turn an old iPhone into a smart baby monitor. We can mention, for example, applications Babysitter from Anička, or Babysitter 3G. The first mentioned application is free, but you have to subscribe to its functions, the second mentioned application is available for a one-time fee of 129 crowns. There are other ways to turn your old iPhone into a baby monitor - but you need to own an MFi hearing aid. The iPhone can then be set up to act as a "microphone" that will transmit sound to your MFi hearing aid (such as AirPods). It can achieve this with the Live Listen feature - if you want to know more, just go to this article.
- You can download the application Babysitter from Anička for free using this link
- You can download the Nanny 3G application for free using this link
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Driver for Apple TV
If you have an Apple TV at home, it is quite possible that you are not satisfied with the original controller. It is simply too small for many users, and instead of the main buttons, it has a touchpad - this means that you move between certain items by moving your fingers on the touchpad, along with gestures. However, the biggest problem occurs when typing, when of course you don't have a hardware keyboard available and you have to hover over each letter with the cursor and confirm it. Of course, Apple is aware of this, and that's why it was able to integrate this controller directly into the iPhone, where a possible keyboard can also be displayed. If you want to find out how to activate the Apple TV controller on the iPhone, click on the article I have attached below.
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Escape to MacBook
This last tip is rather laughable and I don't expect anyone to actively use it. Anyway, if you own a MacBook with a Touch Bar (except for the latest models), then you know that there is no physical Esc key on these devices - it is located directly on the left side of the Touch Bar. Of course, this does not suit many users, in any case, unfortunately, there is nothing they can do about it. Although Apple has wised up and Escape is already physical in the new MacBooks, I doubt that users of practically new models from 2019 would want to buy a new device. There is an app that can turn your iPhone into a large Escape key. You just need to put the iPhone anywhere on the table and whenever you need to press the Escape key, you just need to tap the display. A program that can do this is called ESCapey and it's completely free.
