If you’ve recently updated to a new Samsung Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, or S24 Ultra, it’s easy to forget about your previous phone. However, leaving it in a drawer is rarely the best solution.
After all, smartphones may be pricey, and even an older model may still have a long life ahead of it. So there are several things you may do with your old phone.
We’ve included the primary possibilities below, so it won’t go to waste whether you sell it or use money to buy a baby monitor.
Sell or recycle it
Selling or recycling your old phone is certainly the most obvious option, and it can be a terrific way to reduce the cost of your Samsung Galaxy S24.
Some carriers, including Samsung, allow you to trade in your previous phone during the buying process. However, if you missed your chance or purchased your Galaxy S24 from somewhere that did not provide this service, there are still lots of locations where you can sell your old phone right now.
We have a specific tutorial on how to sell your old phone, but in brief, there are several organizations who will give you an online estimate and then you can mail your old phone to.
This service is offered by sites such as SellCell and Decluttr in the United States, as well as SellMyMobile and Music Magpie in the United Kingdom. Some of these websites will buy your phone even if it is damaged or broken, as the parts still have worth when recycled, albeit you will receive less money this way. For other choices, see our guide to phone recycling.
There are other brick-and-mortar stores that will buy your old phone, such as CeX in the UK, though they will not usually accept seriously damaged handsets.
Alternatively, you may take a more hands-on approach and list it on sites like eBay or Facebook Market. This allows you to select the sale price, so you may earn more for It’s also more complicated, and there’s no assurance your phone will sell.
However, before selling or recycling it, ensure that it has been factory reset and that the SIM card and microSD card have been removed (if applicable). For more tips on things to do before selling your old smartphone, see our guide.
Convert it into something
A less obvious application for your old phone is to use it for something else. After all, smartphones are extremely adaptable gadgets, with a screen, cameras, speakers, and the capacity to run apps, allowing them to be used for a variety of purposes.
This includes utilizing a baby monitor app like Cloud Baby Monitor (available on iOS and Android) or a security camera software like Alfred Home Security Camera.
Other applications to consider include a dash cam and a smart home hub. But for additional ideas, see eight ways to repurpose your old Android or iPhone.
Give it away
If you’ve got a friend or family member who could do with a new phone, then you might want to consider giving them your old one – assuming it’s an upgrade on whatever they already have.
Or failing that, you could even consider giving it to charity. You won’t get any money for doing this, but you can feel good about knowing that you’ve brightened someone’s day or helped a good cause.
In any case, as with when selling a phone, make sure that you’ve reset it and removed the SIM card and – if applicable – the microSD card before giving it away.
Keep it as a backup phone
One last option is to keep your old phone as a backup device. Accidents happen, so having a backup phone in case your sparkling Samsung Galaxy S24 gets lost or broken could be useful.
You might also maintain your old one for use in situations when you don’t want to bring your main phone, such as a festival, where there is a higher risk of it being destroyed or stolen.
Consider how likely you are to utilize a backup phone; if it will most likely sit in a drawer for the next decade, you should go with one of the choices above.
