8 simple ways to repurpose your old Amazon Fire tablet

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Make your old Fire do one thing, and it will do it right. A security camera feed monitor, an offline movie player, a night clock, a kitchen TV set…

So, your new Amazon Fire is on the way, and children don’t want to play with the old one.

Maybe, the problem is not about your old Fire is not cool enough for your kids, but because it’s too sluggish?

Amazon Fire tablets are incredibly affordable. They are the best budget tablets on the market. Full stop. But the low price has its cost. Any new Fire model is performing well at the time of its launch, but a few software updates can make it unbearably slow and unstable.

Usually, after a year, everything takes longer on the Fire: unlocking the device, opening a single app, activating Alexa. When you type a text, the letters may appear on the screen with a noticeable delay.

When you start looking for a new Fire model – the faster, better, and more advanced one – don’t forget about giving a second chance to the one you already have.

And here is a piece of advice: give your old Amazon Fire a single purpose, and it will serve you for a long time.

Below, you will find a few easy ways to turn your Amazon Fire into a single-purpose device. Once you pick the new assignment, remove from your Fire everything that’s unrelated: apps, photos, games, movies, personal documents.

Secondly, find a place for your Fire where you can connect it to the power source once and for good.

Next, think of putting it on a stand. It could be the stand case you already have, or you can use a universal tablet stand. The idea is to have the Fire’s display visible all the time, as most of the ideas take benefit of Alexa voice assistant.

Tip: Check out the latest, detailed overview: 11 ideas and tips how to reuse your old Amazon Fire tablet – A security camera feed monitor, an offline movie player, a night clock, a kitchen radio – these are just a few ways.

8 ways to reuse your Amazon Fire tablet

1. Use it as a digital photo frame

Some digital picture frames cost more than the largest Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet. Why buy a frame, if you can reuse your older-generation tablet for that?

As I mentioned in the introduction, the best thing to do with the old Fire is to find a single purpose for it. If you decide you will use it as a picture frame, remove all other apps and data they used.

Then, Go to the Camera app, tap Camera Roll icon, and tap the Menu icon (three dots) to select Slideshow from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can go directly to Amazon Photos app and select Slideshow from there.

Make sure the Fire is always connected to the power source. You can use the current Fire stand case to control the angle or use a universal tablet stand.

2. Turn it into an audiobook player

If you are a fan of audiobooks, make space for them on your old Amazon Fire. Remove all pictures, apps, movies, so that you can add as many Audible audiobooks as possible.

An Amazon Fire with 8 GB internal memory has some 4-5 GB left for the user. If we assume that on average an audiobook takes 150 MB, you can store some 25 audiobooks internally – and all that without the need to add a microSD card!

Next thing you can do is put the Fire where you listen to audiobooks most often, connect it to the power source, and make sure Alexa is enabled.

Then, any time you want to start an audiobook, say “Alexa, play my book,” and the Fire will resume your recently used audiobook from Audible.

Alternatively, you can make the Fire read via text-to-speech the book from your Kindle library. Just say “Alexa, read me a Kindle book.”

3. Turn it into a night clock

One of the most obvious ways to repurpose an old device is to turn it into an alarm clock. Amazon Fire can do more than that.

Some people, including me, want to know the time when they wake up in the middle of the night. There is no need to buy a fluorescent bedside alarm clock. You can use Amazon Fire. The tablet can display the dimmed time in a large font on a black background all night long.

Place the Fire on a bedside table and connect it to the power source. Then, make sure Alexa and Show Mode are enabled. The night clock will be displayed when Do Not Disturb is turned on.

You can enable the Do Not Disturb manually or set a daily schedule (Settings app » Personal » Sound & Notification » Do Not Disturb).

4. Use it as a kitchen TV set

Most people think about getting a TV set to a kitchen, mostly to watch the morning news while preparing or eating breakfast.

Put the Fire on a kitchen table, and you can achieve the same. And you don’t even need the remote controller for that!

With Alexa enabled, you can ask your Fire to start Flash Briefing – which includes video headlines from major news stations. It’s all you need to know before getting to work.

You can customize Flash Briefing to display videos from your favorite TV stations, as well as add weather and traffic report. You can even set up a sequence of actions – do it by setting up your own Alexa Routine.

5. Add it to your smart home system

Many Amazon customers are investing in Echo speakers or other Alexa-enabled devices to bring smart home possibilities to every room.

Instead of buying a new Echo Show, you can repurpose your Amazon Fire. If it’s a model from 2017 or later (no matter whether it’s Fire 7, HD 8 or HD 10), it supports hands-free Alexa. It means you will be able to use it the same way as Echo smart speaker.

One thing to know is that the voice recognition in the Fire is not as good as in the Echo. You may need to speak louder to wake up the Fire and make Alexa listen, especially if you do it from a distance.

Therefore, a bedroom, a home office, or generally a smaller space, is better for that purpose than a dining room.

One significant benefit of using Amazon Fire as an Alexa device is that it can provide not only audio but also video responses.

6. Make it a security camera feed monitor

Are you going to invest in indoor security camera system? Or do you already own the one that’s compatible with Alexa?

You can set up your old Amazon Fire as the 24/7 voice-activated security camera feed monitor. All you have to do is download Amazon Cloud App to your Fire.

Once you connect your Fire tablet with Amazon Cloud Cam or other Alexa-enabled security camera system, you can view live video streams from other rooms of your home. You can also get important notifications about activities in the areas covered by the cameras.

Now, the only question is where to place the Fire. A bedroom or maybe a kitchen? When you put it on a stand and enable hands-free Alexa, you can ask “Alexa, show me the front door” to see what’s happening there is real time.

7. Use it as an offline movie player

One of the biggest benefits of Amazon Fire tablets is that they come with a memory card slot. You can extend the internal memory (which, on the contrary, is not large enough) by getting a microSD card.

A memory card is an investment, but if you are not planning to leave Amazon ecosystem any time soon, you can use the card with a few generations of Fire tablets.

Equipped with a large-capacity memory card, your Amazon Fire can become a media player you can use even if you don’t have access to the web.

First of all, you can download to the card your old movies. Secondly, you can download the movies for offline use from your favorite movie provider, naming only Amazon Prime Video or Netflix.

Going for a long vacation to a distant cabin with no internet connection? You can use your old Amazon Fire to get your favorite movies and TV series there.

8. Make it a device for extreme use

Speaking of distant locations and extreme conditions, if you are going somewhere where there is a bigger risk to lose or damage a tablet, take your old Fire, not the new one.

Fishing on the lakes, trekking in rainy mountains, going on a bird safari. There is no need to invest in a heavy-duty military-grade case. Get the old one there and have the comfort that if anything happens to your Fire, you won’t regret it as much as the new shiny one.

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