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New SmartThings feature can turn your old Samsung phone into a smart home hub
July 22, 2025
Some of us have a growing collection of old smartphones lying dormant in a drawer somewhere. But if those areSamsungdevices, you may be able to upcycle them into IoT devices through Samsung’sUpcycling at Homeprogram.
Initially announced in January, the program is Samsung’s bid to lengthen product lifecycles and cut down on unnecessary waste. It’s now rolling out to South Korea, the UK, and the US in the form of aSmartThings appupdate. you may enable the feature in the SmartThings Labs section. It gives users the option of utilizing an older smartphone as a sound detector or smart home hub.
Using old Samsung phones as baby monitors
The feature can actively monitor for sounds like baby cries or dogs barking using the phone’s microphone. It can also switch on smart devices in response to lighting conditions too. This feature’s powered by the device’s ambient light sensor. As the feature works through the SmartThings platform, the phone can also control Samsung products within the household, too.
According to arecent poll, mostAndroid Authorityreaders keep older phones as a backup, while a small portion “repurpose” the device. This initiative should give users another nifty use case for older phones.
You can install the update if you own a Galaxy S, Note, or Z device running Android 9 and newer or released from 2018. That’s right — you can turn theGalaxy Z Fold 2orGalaxy Note 20 Ultrainto the world’s most expensive baby monitors if you really want. If you don’t own any old Samsung phones, you can give Google’sLive Transcribeapp a go, which offers monitor-like functionality too.
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