Breathing new life into old gadgets for a better home office

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Create a digital comfort zone using any old tablets, laptops, and modems you have on hand to work from home safely.

At the office, the company provides everything you need to do your job: powerful computers, Internet access, a headset, and a webcam for videoconferencing. Not everything goes so smoothly when you are working remotely. Of course, some companies provide a laptop or pay for your Internet connection. But many people have to equip their home offices using their own resources.

That requires a lot of effort. Some families find themselves sharing just one home computer with no webcam whatsoever, for example, and find the Wi-Fi doesn’t even reach every room in the house.

One option is to buy a ton of new equipment. But you might be able to save a considerable amount of money by repurposing old gadgets, instead. If you still have a couple of outdated smartphones, an ancient laptop, or any other digital devices that are obsolete but still work, then it’s time to put them back to work. Here’s how you can do that.

Computers and laptopsAlthough almost everyone needs a computer during business hours, not everyone has a personal desktop PC or laptop they can press into service. Old devices may still work well enough for some tasks, however, such as schoolwork or word processing.

Of course, you might have to upgrade any older devices you want to repurpose, and it’s possible you’ll have to remove some unnecessary programs and files, maybe even replace nonworking components. But still, buying a USB keyboard so you don’t have to rely on your fussy laptop keyboard will cost you a lot less than a new laptop.

If your old computer continues to run slowly and glitch after you clean it up, try reinstalling the operating system. On a Mac, you’ll use the System Restore feature. On a Windows computer, you can use the installation disc (or, if you do not have one, download the OS installation image from Microsoft). And if you are curious and ready to experiment, you can try out an alternative operating system such as Google Chromium OS.

If you are handy and somewhat technically inclined, you might also upgrade the hardware in your old machine. For example, expand the RAM to at least 4GB (many laptops come with an empty slot for RAM to facilitate such upgrades) or replace the hard drive with an SSD drive. After you make those upgrades, your computer should run faster and be able to launch more resource-intensive programs. Just check everything thoroughly beforehand; any new components need to be compatible with your old computer.

Don’t forget about security. Install a reliable, modern security solution such as Kaspersky Internet Security, which supports Windows 7 or later or macOS 10.12 Sierra or later.
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