Can i use old phone as personal music player?

KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I can't believe I have not thought of this before, but is there any reason I cannot use an old phone (like my old Samsung Galaxy S1) as a dedicated personal music player?
I'm pretty sure I can drop a 64GB micro SD in it so that is decent capacity.
I guess what I am really asking is whether without the sim card the old phone will essentially be like a wi-fi tablet such that I could stream Pandora and check Gmail in range of wi-fi and set it up as a music player (like an iPod) away from wi-fi.
Does removing the sim card lock out any of the other capabilities?
If so, battery life is the only concern I can think of.
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
I've had older phones that I used without a simcard just fine, but in the end the battery did not hold a proper charge and it was not user replaceable. If the version of Android on the phone is too old there might be some issues to have updated applications.

It's possible that a phone bought from a company like Verison etc could have their own firmware with their own restrictions with respect of operating without a simcard. I guess you'll know when you try :)
 
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KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Thanks!
Pretty sure my S1 battery is user replaceable (but not sure they are still available)!

Just checked - looks like $25 get me a new battery, but I'll have to see what shape the old one is in!

I just feel dumb that i have been letting it sit in a drawer and could have been using it for music all of this time!
It is not like that should take some some grand insight, LOL.
 
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John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
Thanks!
Pretty sure my S1 battery is user replaceable (but not sure they are still available)!

Just checked - looks like $25 get me a new battery, but I'll have to see what shape the old one is in!

I just feel dumb that i have been letting it sit in a drawer and could have been using it for music all of this time!
It is not like that should take some some grand insight, LOL.
That is really a good idea! Before I got my Pioneer DAP, I used a Nokia Lumia 1520 with no sim card after I replaced it as my primary with an iPhone. I do not know what the DAC is like in your Samsung, but if it supports OTG, you could plug in a nice, say, Audioquest Dragonfly and have an excellent sounding DAP!

As an aside, I really loved that Nokia phone series and would probably still have it as my primary phone if it were not for Microsoft not supporting their own OS (some of my more important apps like banking and insurance were dropped). The thing was essentially bullet proof, the GUI (Windows) was excellent and it took phenomenal photos. I'm getting all misty thinking about it - maybe I should charge the thing up and us it as, well, something...
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
Li-Ion batteries will degrade of time, even if properly stored with some charge and not to hot. It will also self-discharge and if it is too discharged the internal chemistry of the battery will break down and can be dangerous during charging.

You should also check if the old phone can support microsd cards of larger size than 32GB. The specs says SDHC support but no mention of SDXC that is needed for more than 32GB.

Not sure if this is the phone you have as googling gives several hits: https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s-3115.php or https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i909_galaxy_s-3487.php

Also, with little memory and older non-upgradeable Android you might also have problems with newer versions of apps like browser with proper security patches.

But it can't hurt to try if the battery is working enough for some testing :)
 
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B

bigkrazy155

Audioholic
I'm not sure how much you like to tinker @KEW but when I decommission old phones and relegate them to other duties, I always find a lightweight third party firmware. This will allow you to maximize battery power and control/uninstall more apps. It could be tough with a phone that old, but you could check old CyanogenMod (now lineage OS) builds. As a disclaimer, this is a pretty involved process...not for everyone!
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
I used a 64GB iphone4 bought off ebay, in my car as an ipod for a year or two. It was cheaper at the time than buying an ipod with comparable storage.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I'm not sure how much you like to tinker @KEW but when I decommission old phones and relegate them to other duties, I always find a lightweight third party firmware. This will allow you to maximize battery power and control/uninstall more apps. It could be tough with a phone that old, but you could check old CyanogenMod (now lineage OS) builds. As a disclaimer, this is a pretty involved process...not for everyone!
Thanks for offering up the altenative possibility!
It is intriguing and there are times in my past when I would have been all about this, but lately life has been rather relentlessly demanding of my time (not especially in a bad way, but in a way that makes me slow to say "yeah, let me start another project")!
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks for offering up the altenative possibility!
It is intriguing and there are times in my past when I would have been all about this, but lately life has been rather relentlessly demanding of my time (not especially in a bad way, but in a way that makes me slow to say "yeah, let me start another project")!
Admitting you're lazy is the first step to recovery. :D
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
like a wi-fi tablet such that I could stream Pandora and check Gmail in range of wi-fi and set it up as a music player (like an iPod) away from wi-fi.
Does removing the sim card lock out any of the other capabilities?
In my experience SIM is needed for going on-line. I use one of my old mobiles for music only, but at start up it asks whether I'm going to use it as a phone or for music only.

With no SIM, it doesn't connect to the Internet. I can still use it, just not for streaming. I fill it it up with new music every now and then through my PC.
 
Kai

Kai

Full Audioholic
I use an old iphone 4 for a music/audible book storage device...wifi works fine...perhaps add a nice DAC like the DragonFly?
 
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