I have a couple Android phones with little resell value and I’m wondering what I could do with them on my spare time.

Not sure if this is the right sub to ask but figured it could be a good start to see if anyone here has done anything with phones.

  • DoTheThingNow@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    11 months ago

    If its not crazy old you could get a super cheap nvmo service and toss it in your car/emergency bag with a spare battery pack and cable

  • art_of_onanism@alien.topBEnglish
    2·
    11 months ago

    I don’t know if it’s still viable but few years back I used to use my old Android phone/phablet as extra monitor for my pc to monitor stats with Spacedesk. It runs on wifi and gives you the ability to add multi devices as monitors so potentially you can make all your old phones into many monitors for your pc as long as they are all on the same network.

    https://www.spacedesk.net/

    • 2cats2hats@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      If you do this, keep a cable and charger handy. An old unused phone battery will drain.

  • Laughing___Gas@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Currently using 4 android phones I got from friends/families “junk drawer” to use as a home security system.

    • notdoreen@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      That sounds really interesting. Can you share how you set this up and what software you used?

      • Laughing___Gas@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        It’s just an app from the play store. I’ve looked into self-hosted open source things but didn’t find much. The app I use is called “Alfred”. It has the basic features. Motion sensor People sensor Saves the motion clips to the cloud Continuous playback Two-way talk Auto-low light Etc…

    • NutJaugger@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      Won’t that be easily exploited when exposed to the Internet, considering the OS has not been updated for years?

      • schklom@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        No need to expose to the Internet. You can e.g. expose them to Home-Assistant/openHAB only, or VPN to your LAN then connect to them.

  • Spanky_Pantry@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Something I was looking at the other day: you can use them as Streamdecks. (StReam, not Steam.) Basically they become external keyboards, each key being assigned to a function such as start a program, select a tool or whatever, with a graphic to suit.

    Elgato (who make the Streamdeck) make an Android app to use a phone as a deck, and there are several other such apps.

  • DoTheThingNow@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    A wifi web cam is something i’ve been using an old Nexus phone I still have. The picture is pretty good and I like that I can out it anywhere there is wifi.

  • neojorge@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I have one in the door peephole. Using Android ip webcam I can turn it on to see through the screen who’s behind. Also i added it to home assistant so I can see through it anytime. If someone rings turn the screen on, so you know who is it without getting too close. Send a photo to your smartphone when somebody rings…

      • stupv@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        Home security is to deter would-be criminals, not prevent determined criminals. Ultimately if someone wants to get into your house, and has the skills and tools to do so, you aren’t going to stop them

        • mythex_plays@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          The LockpickingLawyer consistently proves just how much security theatre we surround ourselves with.

  • JordyPordy_94@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    I used mine to monitor stats on my gaming PC with an app called Remote Systems Monitor. I think you have to pay a one time fee to unlock everything, but it was well worth it imo. The application on your PC sends the data to the app over your network locally.

    I paired it with Automate app, so when my PC turned off the power to USB got cut, the phone would lock and dim the brightness down to 0 - just so I’m not frying the battery. Then it would do the opposite when I turned my PC back on, was a pretty fun little project to do.