Technologies

You Can Turn Your Old Phone Into an MP3 Player. Here’s How

If you miss having an iPod, here’s the next best thing.

Back in the days before smartphones, it seemed like everyone had an MP3 player. The best-known device was the iPod, which debuted in 2001. It wasn’t the first portable media player, but it definitely helped popularize the idea of putting 1,000 songs in your pocket.

MP3 players continued to exist alongside smartphones for some time, and even added support for additional music file formats like WAV, AAC, WMA and FLAC. But as music streaming replaced the traditional practice of buying digital albums and tracks, it wasn’t long before having a separate music player felt redundant. iPod sales peaked in 2008 (the same year Apple launched the App Store for iPhones), and the last iPod was discontinued in 2022.

Still, just because you can keep all your music on your phone, that doesn’t mean it’s always the best idea. Let’s say you’re headed to the gym or going out for a run, and you don’t want to be tempted to check your messages. A separate portable music player gives you all your tunes without the distracting notifications.

Or say you’re somewhere with a poor signal: You’re riding the subway or driving through the woods, and you want to listen to a podcast. You can still access any episode that you’ve downloaded to your phone. But all those files take up precious storage space, which is probably already being used by your apps, photos and videos.

One solution is a 2000s throwback: keep all your music and podcasts on a separate device.

Before you rush out to buy a secondhand iPod or Zune, you might want to dig through that box in the back of your closet. Chances are, you already own a device that can be used as a dedicated MP3 player.

Your old smartphone is perfect for this task; it doesn’t have the classic iPod click wheel, but it can still run Spotify or hold the music files you own.

What are the requirements for turning an old phone into an MP3 player?

Your old phone probably no longer has a data plan. No problem: as long as it can still hold a charge and power up, you can play any track that you’ve saved in your digital music library.

If you can connect your device to Wi-Fi, you can use it to stream songs or podcasts. And if you download your files while your device is connected to your home internet, then you can take them with you wherever you go.

To save your songs and podcasts, you’ll need to use the latest version of your preferred music streaming app. Even if your old phone can’t upgrade to the latest system software, there’s a decent chance that it can still run Spotify, YouTube Music or similar apps.

Spotify can still be accessed on phones that were released eight years ago. You can download the app on any iPhone running iOS 16.1 (supported by devices as old as an iPhone 8 or iPhone X) or above. You have even more options if you use an Android phone: Spotify is supported on Android OS 7.0 (Nougat), which was released in 2016.

YouTube Music has similar requirements: you can download the app on iPhones running iOS 16 or above, and on Android phones running Android OS 8.0 or above.

SoundCloud can be downloaded on iPhones running iOS 16.4 or above, and on Android phones running Android OS 8.0 or above.

Apple Music has the fewest restrictions. The app can be downloaded on iPhones running iOS 10.0 or above, and Android phones running Android OS 5.0 or above.

How to put your music on your old smartphone

If you’re using a streaming app like Spotify or SoundCloud, you can download tracks, playlists and albums to listen to them offline. However, you’ll need to have a premium subscription to the service. (Spotify lets free users download podcasts.)

As for how much music, audiobooks and podcasts you can download, your main limit will be the amount of storage on your device.

Spotify lets you download up to 10,000 songs on up to five separate devices. You can keep your downloads indefinitely, as long as you maintain your Spotify Premium subscription and you access the app at least once every 30 days.

You can’t download individual songs separately on Spotify, but you can download albums or custom playlists. Tap the arrow icon to save the album or playlist to your library. Once they’re downloaded, they’ll be marked with a green arrow icon.

YouTube Music will let Premium users download an unlimited number of songs across up to 10 devices. To save a track for offline listening, tap the three-dots icon and tap Download. You’ll see a checkmark icon appear next to each saved track.

SoundCloud Go and Go Plus users can also download an unlimited number of tracks for offline listening. Tap the arrow icon next to any of your Liked songs and albums.

Apple Music subscribers can download up to 100,000 songs. Go to your library, tap the three-dots icon next to the tracks you want to save offline, and tap Download.

If you’ve purchased any songs or albums digitally, you can access those files from your phone’s music player app. And if you own CDs or other physical media, you might consider saving those tracks to your device with the help of an external disc drive.

Once your old phone is set up with your favorite tunes, all you need to do is find a pair of wired headphones and party like it’s 2005.

Don’t have an old phone? Here are some great portable MP3 players

If you don’t have an old smartphone lying around or don’t feel like setting it up, you can still buy a brand-new MP3 player. These modern devices are compact and easy to use. They’re relatively affordable, with some options under $100. And they include a headphone jack — arguably one of the most important components of a dedicated music player.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 21.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the long Saturday version, and some of the clues are stumpers. I was really thrown by 10-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «Jersey Shore» channel
Answer: MTV

4A clue: «___ Knows» (rhyming ad slogan)
Answer: LOWES

6A clue: Second-best-selling female musician of all time, behind Taylor Swift
Answer: MADONNA

8A clue: Whiskey grain
Answer: RYE

9A clue: Dreaded workday: Abbr.
Answer: MON

10A clue: Backfiring blunder, in modern lingo
Answer: SELFOWN

12A clue: Lengthy sheet for a complicated board game, perhaps
Answer: RULES

13A clue: Subtle «Yes»
Answer: NOD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In which high schoolers might role-play as ambassadors
Answer: MODELUN

2D clue: This clue number
Answer: TWO

3D clue: Paid via app, perhaps
Answer: VENMOED

4D clue: Coat of paint
Answer: LAYER

5D clue: Falls in winter, say
Answer: SNOWS

6D clue: Married title
Answer: MRS

7D clue: ___ Arbor, Mich.
Answer: ANN

11D clue: Woman in Progressive ads
Answer: FLO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 21, #516

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 516.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. I actually thought the purple category, usually the most difficult, was the easiest of the four. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Old Line State.

Green group hint: Hoops legend.

Blue group hint: Robert Redford movie.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Maryland teams.

Green group: Shaquille O’Neal nicknames.

Blue group: Associated with «The Natural.»

Purple group: Sports that have a driver.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Maryland teams. The four answers are Midshipmen, Orioles, Ravens and Terrapins.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Shaquille O’Neal nicknames. The four answers are Big Aristotle, Diesel, Shaq and Superman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «The Natural.» The four answers are baseball, Hobbs, Knights and Wonderboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports that have a driver. The four answers are bobsled, F1, golf and water polo.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.