What to Do With Your Old Phone and iPad After You Upgrade

I upgraded my phone last month and spent about ten minutes feeling pleased with myself. Then I opened the drawer next to my desk and found three older handsets, a tablet with a cracked corner and a tangle of chargers that don't belong to anything I own.

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Buying the new device is the easy bit. Dealing with the one you're replacing is the part most of us put off, and it's worth sorting out properly, because an old phone sitting in a drawer doesn't get any more useful with time.

Why old devices pile up

There's no single reason. Some of us keep the previous handset as a backup in case the new one breaks. Others mean to hand it down to a family member and never get round to it. And plenty of people simply worry about what's still stored on the thing, so they leave it exactly where it is.

The trouble is that tech loses value quickly. A two-year-old phone can still be in great shape, but every new release nudges it further down the list of what people want. It's the point where I always catch myself thinking, should I sell my phone now or hold on to it? It's a sensible question, and the earlier you ask it, the better the answer tends to be.

What I check before letting go of a phone

I've done this enough times now to have a routine, and it takes less than half an hour.

First, back everything up. Photos, messages and app data should be safely in the cloud or on your new device before you touch anything else. I like to open the new phone and scroll through it for a day or two, just to make sure nothing important got left behind.

Second, sign out of everything. That means your Apple ID or Google account, any banking apps and, if you use one, a smartwatch pairing. Skipping this step is the most common reason a handset gets stuck on an activation lock, which makes it close to useless to the next owner.

Third, do a full factory reset. Don't just delete a few apps and call it done. A proper reset clears your personal data and returns the phone to how it came out of the box. If you've got a SIM or memory card inside, take it out before you hand anything over.

Does battery health really matter?

It matters more than most people realise. On an iPhone you can check it under Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health. On Android it varies by brand, but most Samsung and Google phones have a diagnostics option in their support apps.

A battery sitting at around 80 per cent or higher is generally considered healthy. Below that, you'll probably notice the phone dying faster, and so will anyone else who ends up using it. That's worth knowing before you decide whether to keep a device as a spare or let it go.

Tablets are a different story

Tablets pile up in exactly the same way. Mine spent most of the last two years on a shelf, mostly forgotten.

Older iPads in particular tend to stop receiving the latest software updates after a few years, and that affects what you can do with them. Streaming apps are usually fine for a while, but newer apps start to refuse to install. When you reach that point, it's worth deciding whether to trade in ipad models like this before they lose any more of their appeal. Even a tablet with a few scuffs can be of interest to someone, provided it powers on, holds some charge and has been properly reset.

Keep it, give it away, or move it on?

There isn't a right answer here, only a few honest questions to ask yourself.

Would you actually use it again? If the answer is a firm yes, because it's your travel phone or the one the kids borrow for games, keep it and give it a proper home. If you've said yes for a year and never picked it up, that's a no.

Would someone in your family benefit from it? A decent older phone can be a great first handset for a child or a simple replacement for a relative who's still using something much older. If that's the plan, factory reset it, add a screen protector and make it clear who's responsible for it.

Or is it just taking up space? Then it's time to let it go, either by passing it to someone who'll use it or by moving it on in whichever way suits you best.

Don't forget the little things

The phone is only part of the pile. Chargers, cables, cases and old earphones add up too. Anything that works can usually be reused or recycled. A lot of local electronics recycling points take small items, and many retailers will accept old cables and batteries even if you didn't buy them there.

One thing I'd say strongly: never bin a lithium battery with your household rubbish. They can cause fires in bin lorries and waste sites, and the risk is real. Take old batteries and anything that's swollen or damaged to a proper collection point.

The best time to deal with an old device is the week you switch to the new one, while it still works well and you remember your passwords. Leave it for a few years and you'll be hunting for a charger, guessing a passcode and wondering whether it'll even switch on.

My drawer is much emptier now. One phone went to my sister, one got a full reset and found a new home, and the cracked tablet is going to be recycled. It took one afternoon and a cup of tea, and I don't miss any of it.