How to turn an old Android phone into a radio for your parent

Why an old phone makes a good radio

An old phone already has everything a radio needs: a screen big enough for three buttons, a speaker, Wi-Fi and a charger. What it lacks is a screen simple enough to use. That’s the part Home Station radio adds.

• Nothing to buy, if the phone is already in a drawer.
• Stations from anywhere, not only the ones nearby.
• Changed, checked and fixed from your phone, which a regular radio can’t do.

What you need

• An Android phone or tablet with Android 7 or newer. Android 7 came out in 2016, so most phones bought since then have it.
• Its charger, and a spot near a socket.
• Wi-Fi at their home, or a SIM card with data.
• Your own phone or computer to look after it. An iPhone works.
• If the phone’s speaker is too quiet: a small speaker with a cable. Bluetooth speakers often switch themselves off.

Before your visit

1. Charge it and update it

   Charge the phone, connect it to your Wi-Fi and install any updates waiting, so nothing interrupts later.

2. Clear it out

   If it was someone’s phone, reset it to its factory settings, or at least remove the apps and accounts it doesn’t need. Fewer apps, fewer notifications.

3. Create your account

   On your own phone or computer, create a Home Station account. It’s free for 14 days with no credit card, and the 14 days only start when you connect the radio.

At their home

1. Connect it to their Wi-Fi

   Or put in a SIM card with data. If you’d rather it never uses mobile data, you can limit it to Wi-Fi.

2. Install Home Station

   From Google Play, on the old phone. Open it: it shows a code, and a square code to scan.

3. Scan the square code with your phone

   Point your phone’s camera at it. The radio is now connected to you.

4. Choose three stations

   Search by name or by country, and give each button a name they’ll recognise.

5. Put it in its place

   Plugged in, on a stand, next to their chair. Show them once: tap a colour to listen, STOP to stop.

Keep it running

• Leave it plugged in. A radio that never runs out of battery never seems broken.
• In the radio’s setup menu, turn on the option that brings it back after the phone restarts.
• If it’s a spare phone, turn off the other apps’ notifications, so nothing pops up over the radio.
• Turn on the alerts, so you know if it goes offline.

From then on, you change stations, check on it and fix it from your own phone.