Make Use of Your Old iPhone: What Can You Do with an iPhone 5 in 2024? (Geek Guide)

In the fast-paced world of technology, advancements seem to occur overnight. We’ve seen the evolution from landline telephones to cell phones, from cell phones to smartphones, and from the iPhone 1 to the iPhone 14. Despite feeling like it was just yesterday, the iPhone 5 has been with us for 12 years. Often, these old iPhones end up forgotten in drawers, never getting another chance to shine. Instead of discarding or recycling them, what can we do to revitalize these once-revolutionary devices in 2024? In this guide, we’ll explore creative and practical ways to make the most of your old iPhone 5.

Existing Condition of My iPhone 5

• Model: iPhone 5 (A1442)
• Storage: 16 GB
• Color: Black
• iOS Version: iOS 10.3.4
• Battery Health: About 85%

When I started to play around with this iPhone 5, I found that it was barely usable. You are not able to download any apps from the App Store due to the outdated iOS version and most of the apps are only compatible with newer iOS versions. The Safari browser is also outdated and many websites are not displayed correctly. You are not even able to log in to any account (e.g. Google, Reddit, Facebook) on the Safari browser. There is not much value left if you can't install essential apps or browse the web properly. However, that is not the end of the story. You can still think your iPhone is a mini computer, and jailbreaking the iPhone can unlock its full potential.

Jailbreak the iPhone 5

Depending the iOS version of your iPhone, the jailbreak method may vary. Here is the link listing all the jailbreak tools and the compatible iOS versions: Jailbreak Tools

I guess most of the iPhone 5 are running the last version of iOS 10.3.4, just like mine. You can use Socket to jailbreak your iPhone 5. However, the jailbreak on iOS 10.3.4 is not “persistent” (meaning it does not remain installed after a reboot). You will need to re-run the exploit after every reboot. In addition, due to how custom applications are installed to the device, in most cases you will need to reinstall the Socket jailbreak application to your device every 7 days from your computer. These limitations are quite annoying, and I decided to go with a different method.

Instead of directly jailbreak the iOS 10.3.4, I found that it is possible to downgrade the iPhone 5 to iOS 8.4.1 and install untethered jailbreak. The untethered jailbreak means that the jailbreak will be persistent even after a reboot. The downgrade process is a bit complicated, but it is worth it. First, use downgrade tool: LeetDown to downgrade your iPhone 5 from 10.3.4 to 8.4.1. After the downgrade, you can use Sideloadly to install the EtasonJB to jailbreak your iPhone 5. Now, you have a fully persistent jailbroken iPhone 5 running iOS 8.4.1.

Once you have jailbroken your iPhone 5, a Cydia app will be installed. Cydia is a package manager mobile app for iOS that enables a user to find and install software packages on jailbroken iPhones. You can install many useful apps and tweaks from Cydia.

Recommended Cydia Repo and Tweaks

There will be an error if you directly add repo to Cydia through https link due to the old iPhone doesn't have modern certificate authorities trusted. To fix this, you would need to open this link and install the certificate: https://cydia.invoxiplaygames.uk/certificates/. After installing the certificate, you can add the repo to Cydia and install the tweaks.

• Karen's Repo (https://cydia.akemi.ai/)

  • Stashing for #etasonJB: This tweak is essential for the iPhone 5 running iOS 8.4.1. It will move the system files to the user partition, so you will have more space to install apps and tweaks. Without this tweak, you will run out of space quickly.
  • AppSync Unified: This tweak patches installd to allow for the installation of unsigned IPA packages on an iOS device. You can install apps that are not available on the App Store.

• BigBoss Repo (Default)

  • Filza File Manager: Filza is a file manager that gives you root access without jailbreaking. You can browse the entire file system and make changes to it.
  • MTerminal: MTerminal is a terminal emulator for iOS. You can execute commands as root.
  • Software Update Killer: This tweak will remove the annoying badge on the Settings app that prompts you to update the iOS version.

• IPG's Cydia Repo (https://cydia.invoxipalygames.uk/)

  • Checkmate, Store!: It is a tweak to let you download iOS apps from the App Store where the publisher has marked a newer version of the app as requiring a certain capability, even when older versions of the app work fine.
  • SIM Alert Suppression: This tweak will suppress the annoying popup that appears when no SIM card is inserted.

• Bingner/Elucubratus Repo (https://apt.bingner.com/)
  Binger repo has newer versions of APT, DPKG, and other essential tools. You can update these tools to the latest version.

  • OpenSSH: OpenSSH is a connectivity tool that enables secure communication between your device and a remote machine. You can SSH into your iPhone from your computer.
  • cURL: cURL is a command-line tool for getting or sending files using URL syntax. You can use it to download files from the internet.

Practical Uses of a Jailbroken iPhone 5

• Install Old Apps: Since we have installed the AppSync Unified tweak, you can install old versions of apps directly through IPA files downloaded from the internet. Or you can even directly install apps from the App Store without worrying about compatibility issues, since the tweak "Checkmate, Store!" will bypass the version limit. (Before downloading apps from App Store, make sure you have obtained the app before on your Apple ID on other devices. Otherwise, you will not be able to download the app.)

• Use as a Web/API Server: Surprisingly, you can even use your iPhone 5 as a web server or API server. There is a package called touch-lighttpd-php-mysql from Cydia. This package is a whole iPad/iPhone Web Server Compilation (including Lighttpd, PHP(GD) and MySQL).

• Use as a Linux Machine: With the OpenSSH, cURL, Bash, MTerminal and other tools installed, you can use your iPhone 5 as a Linux machine. You can SSH into your iPhone from your computer and execute commands. Or run scripts automatically with LaunchDaemons.

• Play with LLM/ChatGPT: There is no direct way to use LLM/ChatGPT on the iPhone 5 due to all these AI apps are published recently and require a newer iOS version. Web version is also not available because the Safari browser is outdated. However, you can use the API provided by OpenAI and write a bash script to create an interactive chatbot in the terminal. Following is an example script:

#!/bin/bash

# Check if OPENAI_API_KEY is set
if [ -z "$OPENAI_API_KEY" ]; then
  echo "Please set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable."
  exit 1
fi

# Function to ask a question to the OpenAI API
ask_openai() {
  local conversation_history="$1"
  local question="$2"
  
  # Append the new question to the conversation history
  conversation_history+="{\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"$question\"},"
  
  response=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENAI_API_KEY" \
    -d '{
      "model": "gpt-4",
      "messages": ['"$conversation_history"'{"role": "user", "content": "'"$question"'"}]
    }')
  
  # Extract the answer using sed and awk
  answer=$(echo "$response" | sed -n 's/.*"content": "\(.*\)".*/\1/p' | awk -F'\\n' '{print $1}')
  
  # Append the response to the conversation history
  conversation_history+="{\"role\": \"assistant\", \"content\": \"$answer\"},"
  
  # Return the answer and updated conversation history
  echo "$answer"
  echo "$conversation_history"
}

# Initialize conversation history
conversation_history=""

# Main loop
while true; do
  echo -n "You: "
  read question

  if [ "$question" == "exit" ]; then
    echo "Goodbye!"
    break
  elif [ "$question" == "new" ]; then
    echo "Starting a new conversation."
    conversation_history=""
    continue
  fi

  echo -n "OpenAI: "
  result=$(ask_openai "$conversation_history" "$question")
  answer=$(echo "$result" | head -n1)
  conversation_history=$(echo "$result" | tail -n1)
  
  echo "$answer"
done

• Run Python Scripts: You can install Python 2.5 through Cydia and run Python scripts on your iPhone 5. However, the pip package manager is not supported on Python 2.x. And there is no compiled version of Python 3.x available for the iPhone 5. You can still write Python scripts and run them using the Python 2.5 interpreter. To install Python libraries, you can manually download the compatible version of the library and install it using the python setup.py install command.

• Set Up as NAS: You can use your iPhone 5 as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. Filza File Manager allows you to enable WebDAV and FTP servers. You can connect to your iPhone from your computer and transfer files wirelessly. Samba is also available in Cydia, which allows you to share files over the network.

• Use as a Retro Gaming Console: You can install emulators and play retro games on your iPhone 5. There are emulators for NES, SNES, GBA, NDS, PS1, and more. You can also connect a Bluetooth controller to enhance the gaming experience.

Practical Uses Even Without Jailbreak

If you don't want to jailbreak your iPhone 5, there are still some practical uses for it:

• Use as a Surveillance Camera: You can use apps like Manything or Presence to turn your iPhone 5 into a surveillance camera. You can monitor your home remotely and receive alerts when motion is detected.

• Use as a Camera for PC: You can use apps like EpocCam to turn your iPhone 5 into a webcam for your PC. This is useful for video conferencing or live streaming.

• Use as an Offline Music Player: You can load your iPhone 5 with music and use it as an offline music player. The apps like VLC Media Player or Cesium Music Player can play various audio formats.

• Use as an eBook Reader: You can install apps like Apple Books or Kindle to read eBooks on your iPhone 5. The small screen size may not be ideal for reading, but it can be a good backup eBook reader.

• Use as a Secondary Display: You can use apps like Duet Display to turn your iPhone 5 into a secondary display for your computer. This can be useful for multitasking or extending your desktop.

• Use as a Desk Clock: You can use apps like Nightstand Central to turn your iPhone 5 into a desk clock. You can customize the clock face and display weather information.

• Use as a Photo Frame: You can use apps like LiveFrame to turn your iPhone 5 into a digital photo frame. You can display a slideshow of your favorite photos.

Conclusion

Your old iPhone 5 still has a lot of life left in it. By jailbreaking it, you can unlock its full potential and use it for various creative and practical purposes. Even without jailbreak, there are still many ways to repurpose your iPhone 5 and give it a new lease on life. So, don't let your old iPhone collect dust in a drawer. Put it to good use and explore the possibilities in the modern tech era.