6 Things to Do With Your Old or Broken Tech in 2022

With the rapid pace of technology development, adoption, and obsolescence, it's little wonder that people want to find the best thing to do with old or broken tech. Some might have a tech graveyard in the basement or garage, featuring old smartphones, laptops, and gaming systems. Others might lock old tech away in a junk drawer.

If you'd like some ideas on dealing with old and broken technology in 2022 and beyond, keep reading.

You don't have to live with digital ghosts taking up space in your home. You can do several things to dispose of old tech or find a new purpose for it. Here are six things you can do with your old or broken tech.

If you've updated your laptop, installing a Solid State Drive, you might wonder if there's any redeeming value to keeping your old hard drive. The great news is you can. Join Cake recommends harvesting your old hard drive from your updated or outdated computer to use it as an external hub where you can store and access old documents, photographs from your hard drive, and more. If nothing else, you can have everything wiped from your hard drive and sell it, so someone else can use it as an extra drive.

If you're not familiar with the world of tech refurbishment, as a buyer or seller, you're missing out. Consumer Reports warns that you need to ensure the refurbishing professional holds a certification verifying that they can and will do the job professionally and bring the product to as close to original condition as they possibly can. They must also advertise the resulting product truthfully. This means that, if there are scratches on the laptop body or smartphone, they must let you know in the product advertisement on eBay, Amazon Marketplace, or any other e-commerce marketplace.

After you've exhausted every possible attempt to revive your broken or ancient tech, it might be time to consider donating your technology. It's benefited your business or studies, so you might want to pass it along to your local school system, adult education center, underprivileged children, or any scenario that moves you to help your community.

For example, your local high school might need computers for science classes and can find value in older computers. Your local community college might offer information technology classes that benefit from dissecting older computers to work in computer repairs eventually. You might even have a young neighbor planning a future in tech, so let them tear your machine apart and see what's possible.

Most cities offer computer recycling services, so check your area for a center where you can take your computer or request pickup at your home. When you conduct your internet search, use search terms like "computer recycling" or visit the EPA website. You won't need to clean the item since, most likely, the center will dispose of it in an environmentally safe way. However, they will try to find and remove any parts that can be used in the future to restore other machines.

Even if you can't find any use for your old smartphone or laptop, someone else certainly can. Again, computer technicians will gladly repair your old machine to resell it later for a profit. Check with a combination of larger and smaller companies to find the right party and price to make it worth your while to ship off your machine and see if someone else can use it.

"Old" is a relative term when it comes to today's technology. If you don't invest in an extended warranty through Upsie, your tech will age much faster than it would otherwise. When you buy a quality extended warranty, you instantly extend your technology's life since you'll be more likely to seek updates and take advantage of frequent updates and repair it when something goes wrong. Unless your computer or smartphone's operating system becomes outdated, there's no real reason to give up on a product and buy something now. That is unless you've bought insurance and use it regularly, which will let you rest easy and discard the rest of the ideas on this list.

With Upsie's help, you don't have to put your old tech out to pasture for retirement from damage caused by day to day use. You can squeeze every ounce of productivity out of your technology with Upsie's help. Explore the Upsie website to become better acquainted with the process, which includes launching your search to find the product for which you need coverage, along with the brand, plan, and much more.

Reach out to the Upsie customer support team to learn how to get the longest life possible out of your technology.