7 ways to repurpose your old Android tablet
Got an old Android tablet gathering dust in a drawer? Wondering if there's anything genuinely useful you can do with it besides recycling it? Here are seven practical ways to give your old Android tablet a new life and a new purpose.
Turn it into a stationary desk hub
A productivity screen
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek
One of the easiest ways to reuse an old Android tablet is to set it up on your desk as an always-on information display. You can turn it into a desk calendar or a digital photo frame that cycles through family photos or motivational quotes.
If you work with clients in different time zones, set up a world clock so you always know what time it is on their side. You can also use the tablet as a Pomodoro timer to track work sessions and stay productive. If your tablet supports split-screen mode, it becomes even more useful—keep a timer on one half and a notes app on the other, making it easy to view your to-do list while tracking your sessions.
Use it as a portable scratch pad
Jot down notes, or just doodle
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek
Most Android tablets support stylus input. If yours didn't come with one, you can pick up an inexpensive third-party stylus for around $10 and turn your tablet into a portable scratch pad. You can install a dedicated sketching app like Sketchbook or Concepts—both of which are very lightweight and shouldn't be rough on older hardware.
This setup works great for jotting down quick notes during meetings, making checklists, or just doodling. I've personally found doodling very therapeutic, especially when I'm stuck on a creative block. It's also an eco-friendly option since you're not burning through sticky notes and notepads.
Use it as a portable TV
Watch whatever you like
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek
Most old Android tablets are still powerful enough to run Netflix or YouTube. If the display quality of your old tablet is still good, you can use it as a dedicated media streaming device. The larger screen makes it a decent option for watching videos, especially if you're lounging around and don't want to drain your phone's battery.
That said, if you're having issues running streaming apps, you can use a USB OTG (On-The-Go) drive to load movies and TV shows onto your device and then play them using the default media player. This approach also keeps things simple and offline—no internet connection required, no accounts to worry about.
Read e-books and manga
Or even PDFs and documents
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek
Instead of watching movies, you can take advantage of your tablet's larger display for reading ebooks or manga. It can be your Kindle replacement—especially useful if you don't own a Kindle already! You can install Kindle , Libby , or Epic! on the device and turn it into a dedicated ereader for you or your kids! Likewise, if you want to read manga or comics, you can install Manga Plus by SHUEISHA and Manga UP! .
Alternatively, you can install offline readers like Lithium or Perfect Viewer to read locally stored ebooks and manga. Like before, you can use a USB OTG drive to load them onto your tablet. If you load the ebooks and manga onto your internal storage, you can read them anywhere without needing an internet connection—especially handy if your tablet is Wi-Fi only.
Emulate retro games
A hit of nostalgia
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek
Even entry-level Android tablets from around 2019–2020 should have enough power to emulate classic consoles like the NES, Sega Genesis, and Game Boy. If you own legally obtained copies of these game ROMs, this can be a fun way to revisit old favorites without any additional hardware investment.
You can install Retro Emulator —that supports 1000s of retro classics—or go with standalone emulators for specific systems. An old tablet might not handle demanding stuff like PS2 or GameCube emulation, but for 8-bit and 16-bit classics, it should work great! That said, I'd strongly urge you to pair your tablet with a dedicated gamepad—if you have one lying around—and not use the onscreen touch controls.
Set it up as a Teleprompter
No need to remember your lines
Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek / Sarah Chaney | How-To Geek
If you create video content—YouTube videos, online courses, or even work presentations—an old Android tablet makes for an excellent teleprompter. Free apps like Simple Teleprompter Relaunched let you load your script, customize the font style, and adjust the scroll speed to create a personalized teleprompter.
It can take some practice to find your ideal scroll speed, but once it's dialed in, it's a solid upgrade over memorizing scripts or reading from sticky notes. Also, if you're using a professional teleprompter rig with a beam-splitter mirror, the app has a mirror mode that flips the text to match your setup.
Use it as a security camera monitor
Keep an eye out
To be clear, I'm not talking about turning your tablet into a security camera, but rather using it as a dedicated screen for viewing feeds from security cameras you already have. Apps like AlfredCamera , IP Cam Viewer , or your manufacturer's app let you monitor live feeds on your old tablet without tying up your primary phone.
This works great if you've set up a baby monitor, pet camera, or doorbell camera and want a dedicated display for it. Just install the viewer app, log in, and keep the tablet propped somewhere convenient—maybe your kitchen counter or bedside table. Keep it plugged in so it's always ready, and you've got yourself a simple monitoring station.
Take out that old tablet and get to work!
There you have it—seven ways to breathe new life and new purpose into your old Android tablet. Just pick a role, download the necessary app (or sideload it if you have to), and give that tablet the focused purpose it deserves.
