What is about:blank Page in a Browser

Know what is about:blank page in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. This page displays an empty document.

Most of you would be familiar with the about:blank webpage in context of a web browser like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome etc. But have you ever wondered what exactly is this about:blank page? Is it really just a blank web page or does it have any other importance? Today we will ponder over the existence of about:blank webpage and its usefulness.

Right at the onset, let me tell you that about:blank is indeed just an empty webpage. A number of popular web browsers implement this webpage for those web users who do not want to load a particular website when they first open their browser (or a tab). I also keep my browser set to load about:blank by default because of two reasons:

1.     Browser loads quickly and get ready for surfing to begin
2.     When I open new tabs (and I open a lot of them!… as much as 50 of them sometimes) I want to be able to go to the desired site asap. A default blank page is great for this.

In those parts of the world where bandwidth is still an expensive commodity, it is better to set blank page as default as it will save your precious data pack. Some people use heavy portal sites like MSN and Yahoo! as there default page. I don’t think it is a very good idea. You don’t want to load the same page as you go on opening new tabs. It will not only eat into you data pack, but also it may distract your from what you were going to do in the browser.

What is about:blank page?

Well, lets now go a bit deeper. This page is part of the about URI scheme which is implemented by many browsers. Here URI basically means a naming convention. About is a sort of naming convention for the pages that are there for the internal use of the browser. So, blank is not the only such page, there are others too:

1.     about:cache
2.     about:addons
3.     about:config
4.     about:credits
5.     about:about

And there are many more. Not all these pages are available in all the browsers. Developers implement these pages in different ways. But about:blank is implemented by almost all popular browsers to show an empty document.

This document does not contain any HTML and thus nothing is shown.

How to Change or Set about:blank page?

If you just need to visit the page once, you can type about:blank in your browser’s address bar and hit enter. However, if you want to automatically load this page whenever you open the browser, you will need to set it as your default home page. For this, follow steps as below:

1.     Firefox: Settings menu > Options > When Firefox starts
2.     Chrome: Settings menu > Settings > On startup
3.     Internet Explorer: Settings menu > Internet Options > General > Home page

I hope that this article clarified your doubts regarding about:blank page. Should you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section. way2trick team will try to assist you. 

Read more »

OpenDNS Test: Check if OpenDNS is Working

Learn how to configure and test OpenDNS server. You should use specialized third-party DNS serivces like OpenDNS or Google DNS for faster and better Internet.

OpenDNS is a service that extends the Domain Name System (DNS). In addition to acting as a regular DNS server, it provides extra features like phishing protection and content filtering. In this article we will discuss testing of OpenDNS configuration. OpenDNS test helps you in determining if you have correctly configured OpenDNS settings in your computer.

But what is DNS anyway? Well, in simple words, a DNS server is a machine that translates domain names to the IP addresses. On the Internet all the computers are identified by IP addresses —so there is no computer named as way2trick on the Internet. Instead, way2trick has an IP address. But for humans IP addresses are difficult to remember. So, a domain name system has been devised in which websites are known by domain names; and DNS servers are the machines that do the conversion of domain name to a corresponding IP address.

Most people use DNS servers of their Internet Service Providers (ISP). But nowadays third-party DNS services like OpenDNS and Google DNS are also available. You can choose to use these third party services for getting faster and better Internet experience.

How to Configure and Test OpenDNS?

If you want to use OpenDNS service, you would need to make certain settings in your computer. On a typical Windows machine, these steps would need to be followed:

1.     Go to Start button and open Control Panel
2.     Open Network and Sharing Center
3.     Double click on your primary connection or Local Area Connection under Active Networks
4.     Go to Properties
5.     Select Internet Protocol Version 4 and click Properties
6.     Select the radio button Use the following DNS server addresses: and type

•         208.67.222.222 in Preferred DNS server

•         208.67.220.220 in Alternate DNS server

1.     Click OK > Close > Close
2.     Close Network and Sharing Center

After these steps, it is recommended that you flush your DNS cache in order to quickly bring the above OpenDNS settings in effect. It is also recommended to restart your computer after that.

Steps to configure OpenDNS on various other devices are listed here.

How to Test OpenDNS

Once you have configured your Internet connection to use OpenDNS servers, you may want to test if OpenDNS settings are working all well. For testing OpenDNS, go to http://welcome.opendns.com

When you will reach this URL, you will find one of the following view:

1.     If OpenDNS is properly configured, you will see a welcome message.
   
2. If there is some problem in your computer’s or router’s configuration, you will see an error message.
   

Test OpenDNS for Security Settings

OpenDNS protects you from Internet menaces like phishing. Phishing websites are those that appears to be good but are actually bad! OpenDNS blocks access to such websites. In order to test if the OpenDNS security settings are working OK, you can visit internetbadguys.com test website. It is a safe website that is used only for test purpose. If security is working, OpenDNS will block access to this test website.

Test OpenDNS for Content Settings

If you’re using OpenDNS, you can filter out certain content. The websites carrying unwanted content will be blocked by OpenDNS. After configuring OpenDNS, you should go to exampleadultsite.com test website. If content filtering is working, access to this website will be blocked.

We hope that this tutorial on how to test OpenDNS configuration was helpful for you. Should you have any question about this topic, please feel free to ask in the comments section. We will try our best to assist you. 

Read more »

Cant Install App: Insufficient Storage Available

Learn how to fix the “cant install app: insufficient storage available” error message in an Android device. This error message may pop up even if there is plenty of free space in your mobile phone.

A way2trick reader has asked us how to solve the Cant install app: Insufficient storage available problem in Android phones and tablets. No matter how much storage we have in mobile phone but every now and then we all face insufficient storage issues. If you will check storage status in your phone, you will see that you have plenty of storage space available… way too much for a small app… but still Android will keep on popping the message Can’t install app: Insufficient storage available.

Can this annoying problem be fixed?  Well, yes! There are a few things that you need to know and then you can try a few methods to fix this problem. Let’s find out how to solve “Cant install app: Insufficient storage available”.

Reason Behind Android Insufficient Storage Issue-

Android, the most popular mobile operating system, uses storage in the following ways:

•     Storage required by the system itself (i.e. Android)

•     Storage required for apps

•     Storage required for app data files

•     Storage required for app cache

We all know what Android apps are. These apps store data important for their functioning in files that are called data files.

App cache is created for faster functioning of your apps and to minimize dependence on mobile Internet connection.

The total space occupied by app cache could be really big but the problem with Android is that it does not count app cache size while reporting the storage statistics. Android counts cache storage as free space — but in reality app cache space is not free. Your phone may tell you that you have 10GB free space but still you may not be able to to install a small app as probably 9.99GB of that “free” space would be occupied by app cache! And, as a result, you will get the most irritating Cant install app: Insufficient storage available error message.

How to Fix Cant install app: Insufficient storage available Error?

Method 1

First of all you should clear the app cache of your phone. You can begin with clearing cache of the biggest apps installed on your phone.

•     Go to Settings > Apps > Applications
•     Go to the list of downloaded apps
•     Tap on menu button and select “Sort by size”. This will sort the app list according to the space they are occupying.
•     Now tap on the first (i.e. biggest) app. You will see the following buttons:

1.         Force stop
2.         Uninstall
3.         Clear data
4.         Clear cache

•     Tap on Clear cache button. Android may ask you for confirmation. Confirm and clear the cache.

• Repeat this process for a few big apps.

Method 2

The second thing you can try is to move certain apps from phone’s internal storage to the external storage (like SD card). Please note that not all apps can be moved to external storage. From the sorted app list (as discussed above), open apps one-by-one from top… and see where you get the Move to SD card button enabled. This button will be enabled for the apps that can be moved to SD card.

Usually SD cards have bigger storage than phone’s internal memory. So, it is a good idea to move all the apps that can be moved to SD card. This will save you space in the internal memory.

Method 3

Some people love downloading all sorts of apps from Play Store. We download many apps just to try them but we don’t care to remove them if we don’t find them useful.

We are sure that you have already tried to remove unnecessary apps. In case you haven’t, it is recommended that you take a look at the list of installed apps and see which of those you can live without. Removing unnecessary apps is an obvious way of freeing storage space.

In the same vein, you may also consider removing unwanted videos, audio files and photos.

Avoiding “Cant install app: Insufficient storage available” Android Error

If you often get insufficient space available error, it would be wise to install a cache cleaner app while you can. You can install any of the following apps:

1.     App Cache Cleaner – 1Tap Clean
2.     Clean Master

These apps can quickly wipe off cache files from your phone. So the next time you will run into insufficient storage problem, you will just need to open the already installed cache cleaner and delete all the cache to free up the space.

We hope that this tutorial about “how to solve insufficient storage available on this device” was useful for you. Should you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment. 

Read more »

How to Solve This Webpage has a Redirect Loop Problem

While browsing Internet, sometimes we encounter a strange problem of “This Webpage has a redirect loop”. Technically this error reads “Error 310 (net::ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS): there were too many redirects”. Learn solution of this problem in browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox etc...

Today I will tell you how to solve the redirect loop problem. Solution for this problem is not at all difficult. Let’s begin with understanding the concept of webpage redirection and why do redirect loops occur.

What is Webpage Redirection?

Let’s assume you are running a website or a blog on a particular domain name. Now because of some unavoidable circumstances, you have to buy a new domain name and shift your website onto the new address. Obviously, this will cause change in the URLs of your webpages.

Google does not like a change in the URL and also your visitors will not be able to easily reach the new address. To get around this problem, a 301 redirect code is used which makes old URL automatically redirect to a new URL. Such a redirection can be done using an .htaccess file.

What is a Webpage Redirect Loop?

When you redirect one URL to another —this should be a linear flow. But at times we unknowingly complicate the matter by doing too many redirects and thereby inadvertently causing a loop.

“This Webpage has a Redirect Loop” error in Google Chrome.

Redirect loop is like a situation wherein “A points to B and B points back to A”. Such a redirection will keep browser in an infinite loop and the webpage will never be displayed. In old times, such redirect or infinite loops used to result in a hung browser.

Thankfully, modern browsers are able to detect such redirect loops and they break the cycle by displaying an error message: “This Webpage has a Redirect Loop”.

It’s not that this error comes only when there is a cyclic loop. If a webpage has too many redirects (for example, A points to B; B points to C; C points to D… and so on); in such a situation as well browsers will show the redirect loop error.

How to Solve This Webpage has a Redirect Loop Problem

Browsers, like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, show this error as:

“Error 310 (net::ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS): there were too many redirects”.

This problem may be caused either at the client end or the server end. If there is no redirection loop on the server side, the problem is likely to be solved just by deleting cookies.

Solve Problem by Deleting Cookies

Open the browser that is showing this error. Here we will take Google Chrome as example.

Click on the menu button given in the top-right corner.

From the resulting drop-down menu, select Settings

Chrome will open your personal browser settings in a new tab


Type “cookies” in the search box. Chrome will look for all the setting options where the word “cookies” appear.

Click on Clear browsing data… button. A new box will come up. Now select Cookies and other site and plug-in data.

Click the Clear browsing data button.

Close your browser and start it again.

Now go to the URL that was showing the redirect loop error. The error should be gone now and you should be able to view the desired webpage.

Check Your htaccess File

After deleting cookies, if the error is still there, it is most likely a problem with the webpage and as a visitor you can’t do anything about it.

If you’re a visitor, you can try to visit the same URL in another browser. If more than one browsers are showing the “This Webpage has a Redirect Loop” error, it is most likely to be a server side issue.

If you’re a developer who is facing redirect loop problem, I would recommend that first of all you check your .htaccess file. Look for any cyclic or too many redirection codes. Try to keep your htaccess file in a clean state because if this file will become confusing, it can really break your website.

BONUS TIP: If you’re having login problem on a website, enabling cookies on your browser might be useful.

I hope this information would help you in solving the problem. If you have any queries, please feel free to let me know through the comments section on this article. I will try to assist you. Thank you for using TechWelkin.

Read more »

MTS Mobile Phone Insert Room Card Problem and Solution

In MTS Mobile Cell Phones, sometimes it asks to “Insert Room Card“. This is most common problem in many MTS Mobile Phone Handsets. In order to solve this problem, you need to RESET The Mobile Phone.

Here is how to Reset your MTS Mobile Phone and solve “Insert Room Card” problem and many other problems that needs to RESET the mobile phone:

1.     Type: *#0203#
2.     This will display a message on the screen with several options.
3.     Select RESET

Now your MTS Mobile is Reset and the problem is solved.

Enjoy . !!

Read more »

Slow Jio 4G speed: Here's a method to increase Jio speed but why bother

When Reliance Jio first appeared with its Preview Offer, it promised to be the fastest among all internet providers. As it offered free internet, free voice calls, free messages, it was not surprising that customers stood in queues to get hold of one Jio SIM. Reliance Jio was the solution India was looking for, a country where 4Mbps speed is a big deal.

But that didn't last. Nowadays the speed is down. It didn't take long for Jio's fabled speed to drop from 50Mbps to a crawl of 6-10Mbps. Even at 8Mbps, the speed is not constant. Before September 5, the day when Reliance introduced Welcome Offer and the SIM was available to almost all users, would see speed as high as 30Mbps to 50Mbps. After September 5 it has only gone down. The average Jio 4G speed is now abysmal.

There can be several reasons for this. Reliance might still be testing its network before the commercial release on Jan 1, 2017 and the Welcome Offer is probably the final beta of the Jio service. Or maybe there is something wrong with the network.

But whatever it is, a lot of Jio users are looking to again gain the kind of speed that they would see earlier. At the same time, the new ones, who have just joined the network, are looking for the speed that was promised to them. Now, when there is a demand there is also supply. So, the internet is full of tricks and tips that will help a Jio user get better speed. But does it work? We tried some with results that can be called disappointing. But before we tell you about these tricks and tips, some backgrounder on LTE bands. 

What is a 4G band?

In simple words, a band is a network frequency at which a service provider offers connection. Airtel offers 4G on Band 40 (2300MHz), Vodafone offers 4G on Band 5 (850Mhz). Reliance Jio offers 4G on Band 3, Band 5, and Band 40.

Before we move ahead, it is important to know the difference in these three bands and how they work.

It's all about numbers:

Best coverage: Band 5 > Band 3 > Band 40.

Best speed: Band 40 > Band 3 > Band 5

Theoretically, this means you will get best connection in the Band 5 but the speed will not be as good. And if you are on Band 40, you will get great speed but coverage will be poor.

A phone automatically switches between bands according to the strength of the signal at a certain location, which explains why Reliance Jio shifts from good speed at certain areas to poor at others.

So to get better Jio speed, you need to control the LTE band. Now, here is what you can do (at your own risk).

Method 1: Lock the 4G network to band 40

To get best coverage you don't need to do anything, your phone will automatically switch to the band that offers better coverage.

To increase speed follow these steps:

-- Dial *#*#4636#*#*

-- Select phone information

-- Select "Set preferred network type"

-- Select LTE Only

For Qualcomm processor

-- Install Shortcut Master (Lite) app from Play Store.

-- Menu > Search

-- Type "Service Menu" or "Engineering Mode" and search


-- Open if found and access to change LTE bands

For MediaTek processor

-- Install MTK Engineering Mode

-- Run app

-- Select 'MTK Settings'

-- Select 'BandMode'

-- Select SIM slot where you have put your Jio SIM

-- Select 'LTE mode'

-- Select band 40 for best speed or band 5 for best coverage

-- Save settings & reboot mobile to activate changes.

Note: These methods may or may not work even if you have smartphones with these processors. We suggest you to try these on your own risk.

But there is a catch and that is why you should not try locking your band.

While it is understandable to desire 4G speed as high as 50Mbps, the above methods may or may not work. The chances are it won't. More importantly, we suggest you don't attempt to lock your LTE band.

As we said earlier, every phone, smartphone or otherwise, is built with capabilities to find the right connection for you, a band so to say.

Reliance Jio is the only 4G network that supports three LTE bands for best coverage and best speed.

So if you lock the LTE network at band 40 your phone will not be able to switch to a network band with better coverage. The band 40 will probably give you better speed, but it will also be more inconsistent and your network may drop when you change location.

Similarly if you lock the network to band 3 or band 5, you may get good coverage but speed may not be that good. Even if band 40 is available in your current location your phone will stay at band 3 or band 5, as locked.

Yes, you have the option of going through the whole process again and change the band, but then if your phone is capable of doing that automatically why should you take the pain.

That said, there are some more tricks you can use. 

Method 2: Change APN settings

You can also increase speed of your Jio internet by changing the APN settings. But before changing it we suggest you to note down the current settings.

Change the APN Settings as shown below.

-- Name - RJio

-- APN - jionet

-- APN Type - Default

-- Proxy - No changes

-- Port - No changes

-- Username - No changes

-- Password - No changes

-- Server - www.google.com

-- MMSC - No changes

-- MMS proxy - No changes

-- MMS port - No changes

-- MCC - 405

-- MNC - 857 or 863 or 874

-- Authentication type - No changes

-- APN Protocol - Ipv4/Ipv6

Download Snap VPN from Play Store

After changing the APN settings, download Snap VPN app from the Google Play Store. Once you have installed the app connect to Singapore or France server. This should improve your downloading speed but not browsing speed.

Note: We suggest you to try these methods to increase your 4G speed at your own risk. India Today will not responsible if these methods cause temporary or permanent issue with your phone after the changes. Although, if there is indeed some problem with your phone after trying these methods, we recommend you factory reset the device. 

Read more »

Jio 4G Free SIM: Expect to face these 6 issues

Since September 5, a free Jio 4G SIM is available to anyone who has a 4G-compatible phone and a valid ID card. Ideally, you are just supposed to visit a Reliance Digital store or a Reliance Xpress Mini store near your place and get a SIM. And many are doing so.

But in case you are still on the fence and trying to figure how it all is going to play out, what kind of service you will get and what is that you can expect from the Jio SIM, we do have something to share. If you decide to get the Jio SIM, you will possibly get some awesome internet speed. But at the same time, you will also face the following issues:

1. Long wait: 

There is a long wait for the Jio SIM and depending on your luck getting the SIM and then getting it activated may take anything from a few days to a couple of weeks. Although, if you go to a Jio store where the Aadhar-based registration and activation is working, you may end up with a working SIM, according to Reliance, within a few hours. The problem, for now is that this activation process requires -- yes, you guessed it right -- an Aadhar card. Also, this mechanism is only available in select stores in Mumbai and Delhi though Reliance is working to fix it. In normal circumstances, there is a huge wait. Most likely you will have to leave your number at the store and once your turn comes -- probably after a few days -- you will have to go there again to get the SIM. The activation will then take another few days.

    

2. On and off connection: 

The Jio connection is rather unstable nowadays, more so after the September 5, possibly due to the rush. If you are stationary, it works well enough and the signal strength is good. But as soon as you move, it becomes unstable. It sort of has a mind of its own. At one moment, it will be chugging along at 20mbps but the next moment, as soon as you hit that send button in the email app, it will vanish, with an exclamation mark popping up on the network signal icon in the phone. To be fair to Jio, all networks suffer these kind of issues and for now, the Jio seems particularly flaky.

3. Hotspot is a problem: 

So you thought that you will get the Jio SIM and use it to create a hotspot. Well, you can do it. But the speed is not going to be great and once again, the reliability of the connection is a bit suspicious. Even though the network will notch up speed of above 20mbps in speed test apps, if you use it for browsing and downloading etc, the speed will be barely higher than 2mbps. At times it could be as low as 300kbps to 400kbps. If you use to download something through torrent, it's slightly better. But on YouTube, not so much. The hotspot mileage will vary from user to user but one thing is certain, you would rarely get even half of the speed that the network notches up in speed test. Although, speed during wee hours (3am-4am type) is much better.

4. Voice call issues: 

This is already well-reported and I am not even sure if it is a problem with Jio. The company is at -- a sort of -- war with the existing telecom operators like Airtel and Vodafone and it seems the way these Jio calls are connected to numbers that use networks of other operators has some issues. Not sure whose fault it is but as a consumers, you should be ready to expect some issues with voice calls on Jio SIM.

5. SIM card not working: 

While theoretically, the Jio SIM is supposed to work in all 4G phones, that is not the case. In many cases, particularly if your phone is older than 1 year, it is possible that the Jio SIM may not work. This could be due to several reasons. Maybe the phone is missing right software support for India's LTE network or maybe it is missing some critical hardware. The good thing is that because Jio SIM is free, even if it doesn't work in your phone, you won't lose anything.

    

6. App and speed differences: 

A mobile network has many nuts and bolts that need to be tuned and we suspect that Jio is still tuning them, particularly now when millions of people are using it. This is the reason why the Jio can be fantastic in some apps but frustratingly slow in some others. It's all sort of random. For example, in an app like Facebook it will play a video in an awesome way. But in YouTube it will struggle. At some other point of time, it will all be reverse. So do expect the network to swing widely. 

Read more »

8 Creative Ideas To Recycle Your Mobile Phone Without Throwing It Out

Recycle mobile phones. I wish that should be the catchphrase for all of us to live by. While researching this article, I came across quite a few official mobile industry websites of consumer rich countries dedicated to recycling old mobile phones. So, the message is being sent out. But on the ground, is it finding its place anywhere other than the dumpster? I hope so.

Recycling mobile phones has never been easier. But if you think that there’s some life still left in that old ringer, you could still squeeze a little something out of it before you hand it over to a recycling program. You go creative and recycle your mobile phone and give it a second life. Wrack your brains. Prick the creativity inside you, and take inspiration from these eight creative ideas.

An Old Mobile Phone & An Objet D’Art-

You and I know that it would take something to be as creative as the following examples listed to turn an old mobile phone into an art object. But as long as it can be done, maybe the more arty among us can think up something. First, let’s say wow to Rob Petit who took discarded old phones and recycled them into flowers, paintings, murals and more. His inspiration was to use cell phone art to highlight the proliferation and waste of cell phones. The good thing is that he is not the only one.

Look at Joe McKay who combines disused or damaged cellphones and turns them into tech objects or interesting sculptures. If you do a Google Search, you will get many more.

Take An Old Cellphone To An Adventure-

Let’s look at a few ideas we common folk can do. Going on an adventure trip with a new well-specced smartphone (the latest iPhone perhaps) could result in severe grief if you dunk it into the water or make it meet a mishap. Why not swap your SIM card and take along your old phone instead. A SIM is easily replaceable; a new object of desire is not.

Repurpose An Old Phone Into An Emergency-Only Device-

Apart from recycling a mobile phone into a paperweight, this is the most common practical advice I came across. You can keep your old mobile phone in the dashboard and use it for an emergency call. As long as the battery holds, you can call an emergency number like 911 from a phone that does not have a SIM card. This eHow article also says that it’s a Federal law that allows it to be so.

Use An Old Phone As A Teaching Aid For Your Kids-

Kids of today are born into a digital world. I personally think kids should be encouraged to see cellphones as more than a texting device. A simple use for kids could be use an old cameraphone to collect pictures of flowers and leaves, rocks, or even insects and study them later (look at Project Noah and this WSJ article). Kids can use Google Goggles to identify artwork and landmarks among other things. Mobile podcasting could be an alternative to homework and far more interesting. If the old mobile phone is a smartphone, then apps are available in plenty that can help to recycle the mobile phone into a carry-along study tool.

Use An Old Phone As A Webcam Or Remote Camera-

An old phone with a camera can easily be converted into a webcam with the right kind of app for that make and model. We have readers asking us the very same question in our Answers section. Here are two we managed to answer:

Read more »

Five things to do with your old cell phone !!

If you’ve got an old cell phone collecting dust in a drawer, you are certainly not alone. With hardware upgrade cycles being what they are, we’ve probably all got a few kicking around.

Rather than trashing them or leaving them to collect yet more dust, here are five things you can do with an old device:

Repurpose it -

If it’s an older smartphone, there are all kinds of cool projects you can get into. You can turn it into a dedicated media player for in the car. You could make it a dedicated alarm clock. You could turn it into a dedicated VoIP device. These are all simple projects that don’t require any hacking. To really unlock the power of your old smartphone, just Google: “hack (your phone model)” and see what comes up.

Activate it anew -

If the phone is still working, you can activate it for yourself or for someone in your family. If you have an eligible device and you’re a Ting customer, you can keep a device active on your account for $6/mo. Just go to the Bring your Device to Ting page and follow the steps there to activate your device.

It’s also not a bad idea to keep a spare, unactivated phone on hand as a backup, just in case something happens to your main device.

Give it away -

If your phone still has some life in it but you won’t use it, consider donating it to a charity. Programs like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Cell Phones for Soliders will find your old (working) phone a new and appreciative home. You can also check with your local shelters to see if they’d like to take the device off your hands.

How Stuff Works has a list of charities that accept cell phones and some interesting insights to share on the subject.

Sell it -

If it’s an older phone you’re no longer using but not one that’s obsolete, sell it on. You can sell a device using Glyde or with one of the other used device middleman services.

If you choose to take on the work yourself and sell with eBay, Kijiji or Craigslist you’ll get to keep all of the proceeds of the sale instead of a cut. Whether the hassle is worth the extra money is your call.

Recycle it -

If none of the above solutions work for you – perhaps your phone is broken beyond repair or completely obsolete – you’ll have to dispose of it. However, the trash barrel isn’t the right place; it’ll need to be recycled.

There are some less than reputable electronics “recyclers” out there that prey on your good intentions. The best bet is to consult the EPA’s Electronics Donation and Recycling page to find what recycling options are available to you.

Do you have other tips for things to do with a disused mobile device? How many mobile devices do you have collecting dust? Let us know !!

Read more »