Oldest phone you still use... for anything...

[GrizzlyBear]

I just realised that I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that is now 10 years old, it is hideously slow, just doing a crazy thing like opening gmail seems to take an excessive amount of time (approx. 20secs!). I still use it for an old sim (now P&G). However, it is still being used as a phone admittedly it rarely leaves my desk.

I also have a Nokia 6210, that must be at least 20 years old. I no longer have a 2G sim, but this is now my alarm clock (I also have an alarm clock, but prefer the phone).

It is also indestructible and spent most of the first 15 years of its life in my rucksack. I can swap the battery easily, the battery lasts a week or two.

I wish they brought out a modernised 4G version of this... Please Nokia, you brought out the 2720 and the 8110,how about a 6210 or 6310?

Anyway, do you use your old phones for anything? or do they just sit in a drawer and wait until the robots take over the world and they can be free...

Edited by GrizzlyBear on Sunday 6th December 22:49

[Gman20]

My galaxy s2 found its way out of the draw of broken dreams a few months back and i've used its super bright led flash as a torch a few times.

[AJB88]

Currently using a LG Nexus with UBports (Ubuntu) installed as a work phone for calls/text.

[Hoofy]

My mum is using my 3210!

[babelfish]

I was just wondering yesterday if I could resurrect this:



It seems to power up and charge ok, just need a SIM to see it it still works.....

[AJB88]

babelfish said:

I was just wondering yesterday if I could resurrect this:



It seems to power up and charge ok, just need a SIM to see it it still works.....

I've got a box full of my old Nokias including that one. some power up and work fine, some are dead.

[devnull]

I have a bunch of old Nokias in the attic in my 'memory box' that I will show the kids in the future.

I predominantly iPhone / Apple, but I keep a Samsung Galaxy S7 as there have been some things which I could only do with an android. E.g. most recently signing up for google stadia - the iPhone app flat out didn't work, but the android came to the rescue.

[droopsnoot]

My mobile in a Nokia N95. I bought a new-ish LG phone that was recommended on here, and it was lovely, but it wouldn't get a decent signal in any of the common places I used it in. So I had to stick with the old phone, until I can persuade myself to move to a more expensive network to be able to have a modern phone. N95 is OK, small, but the browser won't open any web sites now, presumably because of security issues.

[Hoofy]

babelfish said:

I was just wondering yesterday if I could resurrect this:



It seems to power up and charge ok, just need a SIM to see it it still works.....

Tried mine a couple of years ago and it failed to charge. Any thoughts?

[Church of Noise]

Excellent timing, was about to post up something similar.

Just charged my iPhone 4S, and was wondering if I could still use it for something.
I'm afraid it's day as a phone are over as I can't update my main apps (such as WhatsApp) without updating to iOS 9.something, which apparently cripples its speed.

[Julietbravo]

Church of Noise said:

Excellent timing, was about to post up something similar.

Just charged my iPhone 4S, and was wondering if I could still use it for something.
I'm afraid it's day as a phone are over as I can't update my main apps (such as WhatsApp) without updating to iOS 9.something, which apparently cripples its speed.

I had the same thing, and downloaded a flip phone app. Sits at the side of the bed as an alarm clock.

Same methodology turned an old ipad into a weather station, download the app and leave the ipad permanently plugged in.

[cobra kid]

Xperia Z2 that I've given my 11yr old as a first phone. It's working absolutely perfectly. Fantastic for 6 years old.

[jimmyjimjim]

I amused myself last year by calling Orange (or whoever they are now from the US to unlock my orange spv c500 so I could dick around with it.

It's crap, as might be expected from a 15 year old phone.

The call center were amused to get the call, though it did take them 30 minutes to find something that worked.

[dundarach]

I use my iPhone3 for loading ZX Spectrum games, on my real ZX Spectrum

[Corso Marche]

I don't have anything too old currently. But I do have an Alcatel/TCL from 2014/15 running android 4.2 or maybe 4.4 which cost approx. 40 pounds new at the time.

It's setup with a disposable Google account, and I retask it as necessary for different purposes. In the last 12 months it's done a stint as a motion-sensitive security camera, and also as a trip computer for Strava on the bike. Prior to that it did stuff like a bluetooth/Wi-Fi remote for the tv box, Chromecast control etc

[Escapegoat]

Moto E2, just used as a Wifi hotspot for 4G and incoming calls at work.

[Road2Ruin]

Our work 'on call' phone is a Nokia 6303. Still works fine. A charge still lasts about a week too. Great phone. Quute small too.

[bimsb6]

Not a mobile but i went to a fault on a phone line last week and the old dear had a tele 706 ( an old dial phone ) made a month before i was born feb 1963 ! It still worked the fault was outside .

[jimmyjimjim]

Escapegoat said:

Moto E2, just used as a Wifi hotspot for 4G and incoming calls at work.

I had and still have one of those. One of only a very few phones I've seriously considered smashing with a hammer as being utterly unfit for purpose.

I'm amazed you found a use for it. I gave it to my 5 year old, who will play for ages on his mums phone, he put it down in disgust.

[AlexC1981]

I was using a Galaxy S2 connected to a bluetooth speaker for music, audiobooks and as an alarm clock as late as last year. It was more convenient to leave it permanently on a stand plugged in next to my bed and permanently connected to the speaker than it was to keep connecting my regular mobile. I only stopped using it since upgraded to Google Nest smart speakers.

I still keep it handy in the car with an offline satnav app for emergencies.