The 7 Best Uses for Your Old iPhone or iPad

There’s no reason to throw away/recycle your old iPhones. Instead, you can upcycle them. Even with no carrier, an iPhone or iPad can still function as a versatile wifi device—perfect for configuring as a single-use gadget, whether you want a free baby monitor, an otherworldly musical instrument, or an extra TV remote.

Turn it into a musical instrument 

You can turn your old iPhone into a synthesizer, drum machine, digital ocarina, or any other instrument instantly. Just download your musical app of choice—Synth One is a great starting point—and start jamming out. But don’t stop there. If you have an audio interface, you can plug your iPhone into an amp or other audio setup. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface to connect my old iPhone via a Lightning to USB adapter, and then plug that into my guitar amp for maximum noise. Older iPhones with headphone jacks can be connected to audio interfaces with a 1/8-inch (3.5mm) to 1/4-inch (6.35mm) cables too, or you can be dirty and just plug directly into your amp.

If you want to get really ambitious, download a bunch of different music-making apps onto a bunch of old iPhones (maybe combine Synth One with an 808 drum machine emulator and something esoteric like Seaquence), stick them on a pedal board, and plug them into a mixer like this Pyle Professional Audio Mixer Sound Board Console System. Then you can plug that into an amp and start rocking out with a customized, one-of-a-kind iPhone musical monstrosity like this one that my pal Matt Chapman made:

Credit: Matt Chapman

Turn it into a home security system (or baby/pet monitor)

You can save on a home security camera and/or a nanny cam by using an old iPhone instead. First, download an app designed to let you monitor one iPhone with another. Cloud Baby Monitor is a solid choice. For $6.99, you can monitor one device with another, get motion alerts on your iPhone or Apple Watch, and use it to talk to your baby. These are the same basic functions of home-security-focused apps like Alfred, but you can unlock all the features without the monthly subscription cost. (There are free tiers for both of these apps, too.)

Once you’ve set it up, plug in your wifi-enabled iPhone or iPad, point it at your baby or your chest full of jewels, and you can remotely monitor it to your heart’s content. The “sending” phone doesn’t have to be connected to a carrier—wi-fi is enough—so you can check your home from on the road, too. 

Use it as a webcam

I bought an iMac Mini for its low price, but it doesn’t come with a camera, so I use an older-generation iPhone. It stays powered because it plugs into the computer, and the quality is better than most webcams. All you need is a mount (I like the goofy, snake-looking ones) and you’re good to go. (This only works if your iPhone supports iOS 16 or more recent operating systems.)

Use it as a kitchen assistant

If your kitchen drawers are full of scraps of paper with favorite recipes printed on them like mine, be better than I am and use an iPhone or iPad as a kitchen assistant. Download an app like Recipe Keeper that lets you scan in printed recipes or download ‘em. You can also use it as a timer and measurement converter. Sure, your current phone can do all that, but cooking can be messy, and an old iPhone lets you get sloppy with no repercussions.

Use it as an TV remote

Keeping an old iPhone plugged in next to the couch gives you a spare remote. You can use it for your Apple TV just by being on the same wifi networks and pairing the devices, and there are apps for a number of TV services that allow you to control them from your phone, include Roku, and Amazon Fire. Many smart TVs also allow you to control them from an iPhone too, although whether it will actually work depends on the kind of TV and the age of the iPhone.

Use it as an MP3 player

I don’t know about about you, but I still keep a ton of mp3s on a hard drive, even though I’ve streamed music for a decade. Putting all those old files onto an iPhone and using it as a music player has two advantages: It’s a great device for places that are off the grid and rugged, because it doesn’t need to be connected to a phone network, and who cares if it breaks? Plus, when it finally stops working, I can be free of those old MP3 files I’ve been saving for no reason, but that I can’t bring myself to delete. 

Turn it into your alarm clock

If your old phone is working at all, the alarm probably still functions, making it a perfect alarm clock. Sure, your current phone can do the same thing, but you can set up your old phone in a nice stand on your bedside table—check out this site for inspiration—and use it to customize how you wake up in the morning. You can delete all extraneous apps from the old device so that you won’t be tempted to lie in bed watching TikTok videos anymore, and, if it can still connect to the app store, you can download any of the hundreds of dedicated clock applications to make it suit your style.