So you use your phone a lot. It does everything you could ever want and you’ve got an app for just about every situation. But what if there were even more uses for your phone that you didn’t know about? Here are 5 clever life-hacks that will change how you use your phone forever. No apps required!

Cassette phone stand

Let’s face it, trying to prop your phone up to get the perfect viewing angle can be aggravating. It probably slides, slips, and falls a good 20 times before you finally rig up something that stays in place. That’s where a cassette tape case comes in. You know, a cassette tape? The things with the brown, shiny film that always came loose? Well, if you still have one lying around, you most likely have its clear plastic cover too. Get one of the covers and open it all the way. The pocket that held the cassette should be placed facing upwards, with the rest of the case tucked neatly beneath it. And there it is; a shiny, new seat for your cell phone. You could even paint or decorate it to give it some style.

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Instant amplifier in a cup

If you’re that person who says that they could sleep through an earthquake, then this hack’s for you. Some phone alarms just aren’t loud enough. Combine that with a heavy sleeper and you’ve got a potentially disastrous situation on your hands. For a quick and affordable solution to this, all you need is a cup. That’s right, the thing you drink your orange juice out of every morning. Simply grab a cup taller than your cell phone, and toss it in. The shape of the cup will amplify all sounds coming out of the phone so that you’re never late for work again.

Phone ruler

Everyone who keeps a ruler in their back pocket can disregard this next hack. For the other 99% of you, pay attention. Instead of inaccurately using your fingers or other miscellaneous objects to make measurements, just use your phone. Not only is it convenient, but it’s accurate too. There are many pictures floating around the internet that are scale optimized according to actual lengths. Simply download one of them onto your phone, and pull up the picture whenever you need to measure something. But what if you need to measure something larger than your phone? No problem. Since you already know (or can look it up with ease) the dimensions of your phone, just count by phone lengths and add them together.

Faster charging

This next thing is more of an unknown feature, rather than actual hack, but it’s good enough regardless. If you’ve ever had a less than ideal battery level and you don’t have much time to charge it, switch your phone to airplane mode and it will charge twice as fast. This basically shuts off all apps and functions so that you’re phone is using as little battery as possible, making for a quick and easy charge. Just don’t expect any free peanuts.

Save your charging cord with a spring

Anyone who’s ever used a charging cord knows of the dreaded “fray.” It’s when the end of the cord that connects to the hard plastic charger part starts splitting apart, leading to its inevitable death. As luck may have it, there’s a solution to that! Just take a spring out of an old pen that you don’t use anymore and stretch it out a little bit. Then wrap that around the aforementioned area of the charging cord and voilà. The cord should now be a lot less prone to cracking, bending and breaking.

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