Old Android Phone Uses

Do you have an older model Android lying around that's just not good enough anymore, but still works?

Here's one idea, turn it into a surveillance camera.

If the battery is gone, you can still use it for this, plugged into a charger. The apps mentioned below use wireless to share their feeds with another cellphone, some apps will connect to a PC.

Two apps to make this happen came to my attention while searching.

AlfredCamera and Haven.

AlfredCamera is the slick corporate version where you can also pay a fee and store the feed online for a fee.


1
Prepare
Find an old smartphone or tablet to use as a camera and make sure it's charged.


2
Download
Visit the App Store or Google Play Store to install the app on your current phone and on the old device.


3
Pair
Open the app on your current phone and tap 'Add a Camera' to pair it to the old device.


4
View
The old device is now a security camera! Check out the live feed on your current phone.


Haven was developed by Edward Snowden. Wikipedia has a concise review of the Haven app.

Haven is a free and open-source security application for Android designed to monitor activity occurring in the vicinity of a device using its built-in sensors, and to alert the device owner of such activity. Haven was co-developed by Edward Snowden, and The Guardian Project, under the auspices of Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Functionality
The Haven app can detect motion, send app alerts to users, record set periods of time, hear/record sound (record sound is only when users record periods of time, when the app hears motion it alerts the users phone or sms alerts the user) and detect physical phone movement (like intruder banging on the walls).

Limitations
The Haven app does need a SIM card to send SMS alerts as well as there is no live feed and only records events if set to record a period of time. Video and sound quality depends on the device's video and microphone quality.

Watch a short video about Haven, here:

 

Yes, but if it is not a brick, what else can one do with it?

 

Some of that stuff could be worth some real money! I'd look it over before trashing it.