If you’re like most people, you probably stash your old phones away in a box in the closet or toss them into the trash when they break beyond repair. You might even do this when they’re repairable, but you just don’t have the time to get them fixed. This seems to make sense when you’re buying a new phone anyway. Why fix an old phone you won’t use? You could resell it, but is it worth the time and effort?
The truth is, there are plenty of reasons you should hang on to your old smartphones instead of chucking them into the trash.
1. You might accidentally toss your favorite phone case
If you’re not thinking when you toss out your old phone, you might end up throwing away your favorite phone case. You can always buy a new case, but nothing beats your favorite. For example, if you get a Unicorn Beetle PRO case for your Samsung Galaxy S24, you’ll want to hang onto that even if you switch phones in the future. If you’re buying a new phone and the model can be used with the same case, you’ll be glad you hung onto that old phone, even if all you got out of it was the case.
2. Smartphones can be recycled
Each time you toss a phone in the trash, you’re adding a lithium battery to the landfills. About 130 million cell phones get tossed into the trash every year. That’s a huge waste of energy at the dump just to compact and bury phones. It’s also a waste of minerals, including copper, gold, and palladium. In fact, 77 pounds of gold can be extracted for every million cell phones recycled.
There are plenty of smartphone recycling programs around, and just for the sake of the environment, it’s worth looking into. If everyone recycled their old smartphones, it would be great for the planet. On the other end of the environmental issue, when you recycle your phone, it might be refurbished if it’s salvageable. Refurbished phones are no different from brand-new phones, except they have had certain original parts replaced.
3. You might decide you want an old photo
If you toss that old phone into the trash, there’s a chance that you might decide you want a photo that you either didn’t transfer to your new phone, or one that got left behind. It would be a horrible feeling to go through your new phone months after throwing away your old phone, only to realize not all of your files were successfully moved over.
The least you can do is hang onto your old phone by keeping it in a box out of the way until you know for sure all your important files are on your new phone.
4. You can let your kid play with an old phone
Perhaps one of the best reasons to hang onto old smartphones is that they make excellent entertainment for younger kids. Kids always want to play with things adults have, but you really shouldn’t let them have your real phone. Many parents who give their phone to their kids regret it quickly after getting billed for expensive purchases, seeing their kid toss the phone in a storm drain, or ending up with a cracked screen.
When your kid gets to play with an old phone, there’s no risk. They could toss it out of a high-rise building or straight into the ocean and it wouldn’t impact you negatively.
5. There is a market for old smartphones
Believe it or not, some people are looking for older smartphones to buy. Certain people have specific preferences and often like to continue using the same models they’ve always relied on. As long as a phone isn’t too old, it can still be used on the networks or with Wi-Fi.
There’s also a market for old phones purchased by collectors. If you have one of the most sought-after old phones, you could end up getting thousands of dollars. For example, both the original iPhone and the HTC Touch Diamond2 sell for over $600, while the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X has sold for more than $2,000.
Keep your old smartphones – they might come in handy
Phones don’t take up much space in your house, so why not save your old phones for a rainy day? You might decide you need a picture or video from one of them, but it’s also possible you could end up with a collector’s item worth big bucks.
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