Other Have a 5C. Could it be useful in some way?

[mebehere]

Hey guys. I have an old 5C in a drawer. The battery life is obviously bad, but I’m wondering if anyone has ideas on what I could use it for.

 

[eyoungren]

Hey guys. I have an old 5C in a drawer. The battery life is obviously bad, but I’m wondering if anyone has ideas on what I could use it for.

iPod, desktop clock, iMessage, email (over WiFi), streaming and media device, notes, reminders, calendar (over WiFi), weather…

Still useful. If it's on a low enough version of iOS you could also jailbreak it and get access to tweaks that might give you stuff that current iPhones have, like dark mode for instance.

 

[mebehere]

iPod, desktop clock, iMessage, email (over WiFi), streaming and media device, notes, reminders, calendar (over WiFi), weather…

Still useful. If it's on a low enough version of iOS you could also jailbreak it and get access to tweaks that might give you stuff that current iPhones have, like dark mode for instance.

Some good stuff here. Thanks. I should have added that because the software is old, I don’t want to put any sensitive info in it like my Apple ID or connect it to Wi-Fi.

 

[eyoungren]

Some good stuff here. Thanks. I should have added that because the software is old, I don’t want to put any sensitive info in it like my Apple ID or connect it to Wi-Fi.

Well, you can always create a new Apple ID just for that phone if you like. Or not. I have an iPhone 5 on iOS 10. Primarily it rides my home WiFi and doesn't go outside the house. Still trying to figure out a use for it, but my Apple ID is still connected.

 

[mebehere]

Well, you can always create a new Apple ID just for that phone if you like. Or not. I have an iPhone 5 on iOS 10. Primarily it rides my home WiFi and doesn't go outside the house. Still trying to figure out a use for it, but my Apple ID is still connected.

I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks again.

 

[ovbacon]

Hey guys. I have an old 5C in a drawer. The battery life is obviously bad, but I’m wondering if anyone has ideas on what I could use it for.

paperweight

 

[mebehere]

paperweight

I don’t really use paper anymore 😢

 

[eyoungren]

I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks again.

No problem.

If you do use a new Apple ID, you can still send iMessages. You just use the email of the Apple ID and not a phone number. It's worked that way since iOS 5 I believe.

 

[ovbacon]

I don’t really use paper anymore 😢

I bet you find more paper products in your household than you realize that need something to hold them down.

 

[ovbacon]

I have many old iPhones and a few iPods that that serve as "hold this down"...

 

[mebehere]

No problem.

If you do use a new Apple ID, you can still send iMessages. You just use the email of the Apple ID and not a phone number. It's worked that way since iOS 5 I believe.

More great info. Thank you.

 

[eyoungren]

I bet you find more paper products in your household than you realize that need something to hold them down.

The iPhone 5 is metal, but doesn't weigh a lot. The 5c, which has the guts of the iPhone 5, but in a plastic casing is a bit lighter.

 

[eyoungren]

More great info. Thank you.

Which…reminds me. Since iMessage will work, Facetime will as well. So you can also use it for that if you want. Other uses, security camera or just a camera. Also a flashlight. Some bedside clock apps allow an easy method to trigger the flashlight too.

Sorry, just spinning out ideas.

 

[ovbacon]

The iPhone 5 is metal, but doesn't weigh a lot. The 5c, which has the guts of the iPhone 5, but in a plastic casing is a bit lighter.

True my wife had a 5C.... I don't have it anymore so I don't actually know how useful it is as a weight... I have a iPhone 3G, 6s, 7+, 8 and iPod 3rd and 4th gen and they are all great paper weights. I still have a lot of paper

 

[eyoungren]

I still have a lot of paper

I have about a 60% full box of paper that my parents bought me for a dot matrix printer they got me in 1985 when I was 15. Paper is the one thing that ends up sticking around with me.

I'm 53 now so that box of paper has been around a while.

 

[ovbacon]

But with the funny stuff aside I highly doubt there is any real use for it.... except maybe like I am using my original iPad as a white noise machine/clock in combination with an old bose speaker in my bedroom.

 

[ovbacon]

I have about a 60% full box of paper that my parents bought me for a dot matrix printer they got me in 1985 when I was 15. Paper is the one thing that ends up sticking around with me.

I'm 53 now so that box of paper has been around a while.

We are of the exact same age and so yes... tons of paper. And having our own business means we keep even more paper stuff around... I do not get rid of any receipt

 

[eyoungren]

But with the funny stuff aside I highly doubt there is any real use for it.... except maybe like I am using my original iPad as a white noise/clock machine in combination with an old bose speaker in my bedroom.

I've got an iPhone 3GS, a 4 and a 4S that still stream/play music quite well. There's a 30-pin dock I picked up from Goodwill at some point for about $10 that keeps them charged while playing. With BT they stream right to a loudspeaker I have in the garage.

 

[eyoungren]

We are of the exact same age and so yes... tons of paper. And having our own business means we keep even more paper stuff around... I do not get rid of any receipt

LOL, I hear you. I've got manuals for tech stuff I long ago threw out!

 

[zorinlynx]

We are of the exact same age and so yes... tons of paper. And having our own business means we keep even more paper stuff around... I do not get rid of any receipt

I used to print tons of stuff on my dot matrix printer when I was a kid, and used that fanfold paper with the sprocket holes on the sides.

Went through several boxes of the stuff, and I still have the last box, maybe 30% full, which was what was left when I got a better printer and computer in the 90s.

 

[mebehere]

Which…reminds me. Since iMessage will work, Facetime will as well. So you can also use it for that if you want. Other uses, security camera or just a camera. Also a flashlight. Some bedside clock apps allow an easy method to trigger the flashlight too.

Sorry, just spinning out ideas.

No apology necessary. This is great stuff!

 

[ovbacon]

LOL, I hear you. I've got manuals for tech stuff I long ago threw out!

When you have stuff like this still laying around

 

[eyoungren]

I've also been using my 6 Plus and Dropbox (if you use that) to scan receipts in as PDFs. I still have Dropbox on my iPhone 5, but as I mentioned earlier, my 5 is on iOS 10.

IF, the App store still allows you to download Dropbox for iOS 10, the feature to scan documents is present in the version that runs on iOS 10.

 

[eyoungren]

Some of the apps still on my iPhone 5, just to give you ideas.

 

[rocketbuc]

I also still have a 5c that serves as an emergency phone for our kids. We put a prepaid SIM card in it, works great for calling and also FaceTime.