This is a collection of ideas to extend the life of your outdated Android devices that are rotting in a drawer awaiting a new purpose or an ultimate jump into the void of your bin.
Browsing the web, you still might be able to find some old firmware updates you did not bother to install years ago. If you're lucky, you'll manage to upgrade your Android to a newer version. If you're unlunky, you'll manage to brick your device or to install a trojan.
Google apps consumme a lot of memory and CPU that make your old Android device slower and harder to give new purpose. You can get rid of all of them if you don't need them. Goto the Application list, some can be fully uninstalled, others will allow you to uninstall the updates only ... still, several megabytes removed is good for your old outdated device. And to prevent them from running in the background, disable them ! Your old outdated device will be happier.
F-Droid is a good alternative to Google Play as it contains lot of opensource free applications that you can try. Most of them are ugly, useless, broken, no more compatible, but you can find some usefull one that will give a purpose to your outdated device. If the most recent version of an app does not work, F-droid let you pick older version !
♻️ Android 2.3.3 👍 ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
If you removed most Google apps, your Google Chrome might be gone too, and on most outdated devices, the default webbrowser is generally so outdated that you won't be able to access any website because of outdated SSL certificates.
Firefox is a good alternative to keep browsing the internet, and to install web-apps. As of now, Mozilla does not officially provide a direct download link for the Firefox apk. They want you to install it from Google Play. Still, using the link above, you'll have access to their archive of all releases. Most recent version might not work on you outdated device, but using the famous dychotomia method, you'll be able to find the most recent old version compatible with your outdated device. For reference, on my Android 4.2.1 tabled, it's Firefox 68.8.
❓ Android 2.3.3 ❓ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
Giant Stopwatch is the best GIANT clock I found and use. Plug your device on the charger, build and glue a nice and beeeeaaaauuutiful DIY decorative framework around it, and you'll have the most insert an adjective describing your DIY skills and your aesthetics tastes electronic clock ever.
♻️ Android 2.3.3 👍 ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
VLC is the beeeeeeeeest media player I found and use. Plug amplified stereo speakers, and you'll have the best multimedia station of the outdated devices of this polluted planet.
♻️ Android 2.3.3 👍 ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
MuPDF viewer is a wonderfully simple PDF reader that will let you turn you old outdated tablet into a portable library if your device does not already have a PDF viewer preinstalled. (it says android 5.0 is minimum requirement, but i managed to find an older version i don't rememebr how and where). If you're into electronics or gardening, your old outdated tablet might become a perfect database of datasheets or plants files.
❓ Android 2.3.3 ❓ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
Episodes is an amaaazing apps that let you keep track of which movies and series' episodes you watched. It will display pictures and summaries.
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
Kiwix is a genious app that allow you to turn whatever computer and Android device into an offline encyclopedia. Use it to download various versions of Wikipedia and other encylopedic websites provided as ZIM archives. Regarding the Android app of Kiwix, older Android version are no more supported :-( ... still, you can use the PWA-Kiwix version bellow :-)
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ❌ Android 4.2.1 ❌
PWA-Kiwix is a Kiwix web app that can be installed on your older devices using a compatible browser (like Chrome or Firefox-Android). It is a great alternative to the Kiwix android app ! (Note : if you can't select a ZIM, just install a new file-browser like OI File Manager)
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
Manania is my favorite simplest and most practical TODO list manager for everyday use. Add tasks to your list. If you don't want to accomplish it today, just click on the right arrow to send it to tommorrow ! And when tomorrow becomes today, it's back into your today's list where you can send it back to tomorrow if you still don't want to accomplish it today.
❓ Android 2.3.3 ❓ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
PHONK is a fantastic app that let you create your own apps in javascript ! No need to install any SDK. Just connect your device to your WIFI, and use your computer's web browser to connect to your device. Really easy to use and well documented !
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ♻️ Android 4.2.1 👍
Termux is a great app that adds a linux-like terminal and command line applications to your Android OS. If you want to write command line scripts in Python, LUA or PHP, or if you want to compile C/C++ application directly on your outdated Android device, Termux is the way to go !
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ❌ Android 4.2.1 ❌ ♻️ Android 5.1 👍
OSmand+ is a very good alternative to Google Map. You can download entire maps to be 100% offline. Perfect compagnon if you go on excursion into the wild.
❌ Android 2.3.3 ❌ ❌ Android 4.2.1 ❌ ♻️ Android 5.1 👍
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