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iPhone What would you do with it?

E

el-John-o

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 29, 2010
1,596
786
Missouri
Hey all,

So I finally upgraded to the iPhone 5, and I've got my old 32GB iPhone 4. The kicker is, just before I upgraded, the speakers both got super quiet (well, it was more of a gradual over time thing, but it got to the point of no longer being usable). I've cleaned it out with alcohol and everything else, I don't want to mess with it anymore, not worth it to fix. Also don't want to sell a broken iPhone, even if advertised as such I've had too much bad luck selling stuff 'for parts' that some idiot was under the impression it would still work just fine even if it was sold as a defective item...


AAAaaanyway, I'm going to jailbreak it (Wanted iOS6, didn't want tethered, but now tethered doesn't matter!) Just trying to think of some uses for it. Wouldn't want it to just go to waste!

So if you had an extra 32GB iPhone 4 laying around (Wi-Fi only), what would you do with it? I was thinking about leaving it as a permanent media streaming device in my living room, or even leaving it in my car connected via a USB port in my glove box (running to an aftermarket stereo) but to be honest I really prefer the convenience of using my CURRENT iPhone, and just plugging it in each time, because it's always up-to-date with my music library. I used to cart an mp3 player back and forth, I don't want to have to do that anymore!

So... thoughts? Just trying to get some ideas. Like I said, don't really want it to go to waste, surely there's SOME use for what is now effectively a high end PDA!
 
If I had it and couldn't sell it I would just keep it for some movies and TV shows that would otherwise eat up the storage space on my new iphone. You could also maybe use it as a wireless hard drive.
 
My old ipod touch turned into my guinee pig for JB tweaks and mods to see if they didnt screw anything up before installing them on my phone.
 
ybz90 said:
Honestly, I'd still just sell it.
Click to expand...


Like I said in the original post, not an option as it IS defective. VERY quiet audio output through the earpiece AND speaker. Not worth fixing, not worth much if sold, and I hate selling stuff that's defective.
 
el-John-o said:
Like I said in the original post, not an option as it IS defective. VERY quiet audio output through the earpiece AND speaker. Not worth fixing, not worth much if sold, and I hate selling stuff that's defective.
Click to expand...

Right, I am aware of the relatively minor defect, and if you don't want to sell it because of personal distaste for doing so, then that's your prerogative, but since you asked for opinions, I would sell it as it would still fetch a lot on the market. I used to buy, sell, and repair a lot of iPhones, and you might be surprised at its value even now.
 
ybz90 said:
Right, I am aware of the relatively minor defect, and if you don't want to sell it because of personal distaste for doing so, then that's your prerogative, but since you asked for opinions, I would sell it as it would still fetch a lot on the market. I used to buy, sell, and repair a lot of iPhones, and you might be surprised at its value even now.
Click to expand...

Well it's not exactly relatively minor, it's basically unusable. The audio output is too quiet to make a phone call unless you are in a very quiet room listening intently!
 
Speakerphone not work? This happened to two of my iP4s. Basically the wire that connects to the earpiece comes disconnected. The guys at the Apple store took it in back, cracked it open and had it fixed in less than 5 minutes
 
el-John-o said:
Hey all,

So I finally upgraded to the iPhone 5, and I've got my old 32GB iPhone 4. The kicker is, just before I upgraded, the speakers both got super quiet (well, it was more of a gradual over time thing, but it got to the point of no longer being usable). I've cleaned it out with alcohol and everything else, I don't want to mess with it anymore, not worth it to fix. Also don't want to sell a broken iPhone, even if advertised as such I've had too much bad luck selling stuff 'for parts' that some idiot was under the impression it would still work just fine even if it was sold as a defective item...


AAAaaanyway, I'm going to jailbreak it (Wanted iOS6, didn't want tethered, but now tethered doesn't matter!) Just trying to think of some uses for it. Wouldn't want it to just go to waste!

So if you had an extra 32GB iPhone 4 laying around (Wi-Fi only), what would you do with it? I was thinking about leaving it as a permanent media streaming device in my living room, or even leaving it in my car connected via a USB port in my glove box (running to an aftermarket stereo) but to be honest I really prefer the convenience of using my CURRENT iPhone, and just plugging it in each time, because it's always up-to-date with my music library. I used to cart an mp3 player back and forth, I don't want to have to do that anymore!

So... thoughts? Just trying to get some ideas. Like I said, don't really want it to go to waste, surely there's SOME use for what is now effectively a high end PDA!
Click to expand...

I would pm aPple nErd and tell him that you have an iPhone 4 for free if he wants it.
 
aPple nErd said:
I would pm aPple nErd and tell him that you have an iPhone 4 for free if he wants it.
Click to expand...

Sure, just pay shipping. Also I'm gonna charge you a $200 handling fee, you know, for packing materials and gas to get to the post office... expenses. Sound fair?

Okay, okay, so it seems like the extent of creativity of MacRumors is no better than mine. Oh well, I'll just leave it as a 'living room jukebox'.
dhlizard said:
Only one is a speaker, the other is a mic used to filter out background noise.
Click to expand...

There are two speakers on the iPhone. One on the bottom, and one just above the display where you press your ear to! :)

Both have gotten progressively quieter over time. It's difficult to hear when on the phone unless you're in a quiet room (for example, nearly impossible to hear in an office or in the car). Speaker is so quiet you can't hold the phone in front of you and listen to the audio of a youtube video unless you're in a quiet room. Both the earspeaker and the loud speaker sound like they are stuck at 25% volume. It's been a gradual fade over the last couple of months. I've cleaned them our with alcohol, done a full restore and setup as a new iPhone, everything I can think of. I've seen a few cases of this and I use mine ALOT for phone calls, music, etc. I guess they just wore out! iFixIt sells the parts not too terribly expensive, but, not worth fixing to me...
Carlanga said:
What about trading it in for store credit:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/reuse_and_recycle

http://www.amazon.com/Electronics-T..._rd_p=1298713922&pf_rd_i=electronics trade in

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electro...050011.c?id=pcmcat133600050011&DCMP=rdr101887

http://www.gamestop.com/browse/storesearch.aspx#expand
Click to expand...

Yeah I've thought about that. Some offer a bit more than others. Don't know what I'd do with a Gamestop gift card but I can always waste money on Amazon or Best Buy...
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
There are plenty of ways to use your old iPhone.

With a simple app you may convert your iPhone into webcam (Mobiola Webcamera app), use your iPhone as additional display of your desktop computer (iDisplay app) or even control your computer remotely (RDM+ app).

And of course, you may just sell it.
 
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