Smartphone, laptop, tablet – this is how you make old electronic devices fit again

by time news

Ein a storage room in Dresden Neustadt, not far from the Elbe: many shelves, little space. Boxes with old mobile phones, radios, printers and televisions are stacked up to the ceiling. Nico Zocher guides through the premises of his shop during a video call. It is called the Green Technology Project.

80 kilograms of old smartphones alone are waiting for a new life here. “You wouldn’t believe how many laptops are thrown away that are actually still pretty,” says IT specialist Zocher.

The problem is the spare parts. Because with old devices, they often cost more than the original purchase price. That’s why Zocher and his people store every component they can get their hands on.

Read more about e-waste here

Incineration of e-waste

Old laptops, mobile phones & Co.

A woman browses through the used textiles in a second-hand store in the Breuninger department store.  More and more

In addition to Lenovo, Asus is also showing, here the ZenBook 14X OLED, new notebooks with packaging that is either easily recyclable or made from recycled materials

According to the Federal Statistical Office, more than a million tons of old electronic devices are disposed of in Germany every year. However, less than half is recycled. Many of the recyclable materials used cannot be easily recovered, says Matthias Mayer from “IFixit”, a global community of hobbyists who share their knowledge about repairs online.

Anything is better than letting devices gather dust in a drawer. But: “The best alternative is to continue using it,” says Mayer. A discarded smartphone is still good as a music player, for example in the car. And an old mobile phone is a good entry-level device for the next generation.

The aging laptop can also serve well as a better typewriter for school children. And old digital cameras can still make small films. Even if the quality could be better. The fun factor is all the greater for it.

Make old tablets, laptops and cell phones fit again

The good news: Old tablets, laptops or audio devices can often be made fit again with little effort. If repairs in specialist shops are too expensive for you, you can try your luck in repair cafés or with similar repair initiatives.

“Everyone can come and bring what they can carry,” says Michel Mazylis, explaining the concept. Corresponding offers are available throughout the country. Mazylis, for example, regularly helps out in repair cafés in Sereetz and Bad Schwartau in Schleswig-Holstein.

There is an appointment every few weeks, sometimes up to 80 people come by with broken coffee machines, lawnmowers or radios. The device is inspected at reception, and then volunteers help with the repairs. The right tools and jobs are available locally, and the success rate is 50 to 60 percent, says Mazylis. Anyway.

Hardware is usually not the problem

Nico Zocher also gives hope. “The hardware is usually not a problem,” says the IT specialist. However, smartphones in particular are often discarded because the operating system becomes too old at some point and many apps are then no longer supported. But that can be fixed, says Zocher. About alternative operating systems that are freely available, at least for Android devices.

With a little creativity, even outdated technology can still be used: the old smartphone as a streaming player on the music system. Or old laptops or desktop PCs that still run smoothly with a Linux operating system. And with old audio devices, repairing them is almost always worthwhile anyway because of the excellent quality, says Zocher.

New life for old electronics

Help in the repair café: Almost everything can be repaired there, from hair dryers to mobile phones

Source: dpa-tmn/Florian Schuh

The notorious spider app on touch displays, i.e. cracked glass, can be stabilized with a film. And even water damage is not always the end for smartphones, tablets and the like: Even here, the chances of a successful repair are about 50 to 50, says Zocher.

If you want to do handicrafts yourself, you will not only find instructions and support on “Ifixit.com”. Tutorials and repair aids can also be found on video platforms such as YouTube and in countless forums.

Never throw old devices in the household waste

“However, our discarded devices definitely do not belong in the household waste, sufficient recycling cannot take place in this waste stream and, in the worst case, the lithium-ion batteries can ignite and endanger the waste operation,” warns Matthias Mayer.

Instead, you can donate PCs or old cameras to schools or social projects. Non-profit organizations or environmental protection associations often offer collection campaigns for old cell phones or tablets. Otherwise, recycling centers are the right place to go if a device really has no future.

And of course you can always sell old or unused cameras, mobile phones or printers. A few euros can even be made with broken devices via classified ad markets or purchase services. Because sometimes the display has a crack, but the camera or back are still intact and therefore quite interesting for hobbyists.

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