Use your old Android phone as a home security camera, download Wikipedia to a USB: Tech hacks to bookmark

When it comes to consumer technology, there’s always more than what meets the eye. Devices that you use regularly can be put to additional use with little effort.

Here are some hacks that you never thought possible.

An Old Android Phone Can Work As a Car Dash Cam Or Home Security Camera

Instead of buying a new dash camera for your car, use an old Android phone and download a free app called DailyRoads Voyager. This is an ad-supported app but you can also pay to remove ads if you find it useful. You’ll need a secure mount for the phone so that it faces the windscreen and enough internal storage on the phone. The advantage of doing this (besides the cost savings) are that the phone already has built in GPS, a larger and higher resolution screen, better battery life, more performance and built in networking (3G/4G). Tip: most dash cams have a wide angle lens so if you find that the regular camera is not able to capture a wide enough view, you can buy an inexpensive add-on lens for the phone for less than Rs 300. In the same way, an old phone can also be a WiFI surveillance camera at home using a free app called Home Security Camera — Alfred.

You Can Download The Entire Wikipedia To A USB Flash Drive

Wikipedia is often one of the first few results when you’re searching for something. But to access this treasure trove of information, you need to be online right? Well, not really. Turns out, you can download the entire (current, at the time of download) text of Wikipedia to your computer and store it on a USB drive. Why would you want to do this? Maybe you’re preparing for the apocalypse and want access to information after computer systems go down worldwide. Or you could be headed to a remote location without internet connectivity. To download the entire thing to a computer, head to http://xowa.org. Xowa will help you download it for offline viewing. If you need to get a compressed dump file, you can head to Wikipedia’s own database download page at https://goo.gl/G1VCPj.

Deleted Data Remains Accessible

Because of the way data is stored, it doesn’t get removed from the storage when you delete. It merely gets marked for ‘safe overwriting’. This means that the system knows that other data can be overwritten on the item you deleted. Data thieves use this to recover information from old phones, laptops and hard drives — which makes it important to securely delete data when getting rid of an old device. But let’s talk about recovery: Recuva from Piriform is a free tool that we often recommend. It quickly recovers deleted files from memory cards, USB drives, the recycle bin or even an MP3 player. It may not always be able to recover all of the files, but it’s better than a total loss. Mac users can try Disk Drill by CleverFiles or UndeleteMyFiles Pro by SeriousBit.

Your Current Phone Can Be Your PC

Since everything is converged these days, why can’t your phone also be your PC? The amount of processing power, RAM and storage in that handheld device is good enough now. Not that specific devices don’t already exist (Microsoft had Continuum, Samsung has DEX) but this is something you can do with an existing, reasonably specced phone with video out functionality. You may need to get an MHL to HDMI adapter too. For input, you need to get yourself a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Next, get Leena Desktop UI — it’s a free download from the Play Store. Essentially, LeenaOS is a launcher that resizes everything for larger screens. Once you output to a monitor or TV, you’ve got yourself a mini, connected PC that can also take phone calls.

Any Headphones Can Be Made Wireless

One of the issues with disappearing headphone jacks on phones is that your old (but often expensive & high quality) headphones are out of luck. Or maybe you just need the convenience of wire-free music. Either way, you can get a high-quality Bluetooth audio adapter for a fraction of the cost of a pair of new Bluetooth headphones. Xiaomi’s Bluetooth audio receiver is exactly this, has a built in battery and is roughly the size and weight (10 grams) of a USB flash drive. It has a 3.5mm jack to plug your headphones into and you can pair it with your phone/tablet/pc just like any regular Bluetooth headset. While the little gadget is not officially available in India, you can snag one online for as less as Rs 1,250 (including shipping).


Xiaomi’s Bluetooth audio receiver has a built in battery and is roughly the size and weight (10 grams) of a USB flash drive. (Image: mi.com)

Use Two SIMs + Micro SD Even in Hybrid SIM Slots

Expandable storage is quite a useful feature to have in a smartphone. The problem is, that by adding external storage, you typically have to give up the dual SIM option because most dual SIM phones these days have hybrid SIM slots. If you’re comfortable with a little DIY, you’ll find YouTube tutorials that show you how to modify an existing SIM card to fit behind the micro SD card inside the slot. It involves using a cigarette lighter and a pair of tweezers. If you’d rather not run the risk of ruining a SIM card, you can buy a ‘hybrid dual SIM slot adapter’ online for about `100. This is nothing more than an extender for the second SIM slot. The first SIM and micro SD will be in the phone SIM slot while the second SIM will sit outside the phone, connected by a thin ribbon cable. This can be tucked away in a case or stuck to the back of the phone.