[QUESTION] Can I change the niche?

I have an old website just laying around, it has been indexed for two years, but isn't earning anything (tech niche). Recently, I got my hands on some good keywords in the Survival niche. Would it be a safe move to change the niche of the website (which has a tech-related domain name) to avoid the Sandbox? Or should I just get a new domain and start a new site?

If the name is not strictly related to tech then I think you will not have problems. It's cheaper than spending money on the auction website. With the brand new domain, you will definitely face sandbox.

I say go for the Survival niche one. You've already spent the time finding the keywords for it, you could probably do good use with them if you rebrand the technical site. If you want to get through it the safest way, you should just get a new web host and go for it.

But, you can also revive the tech-related website as well. Get it redesigned and find good keywords for it for starters.

Balls in your court, but I'd say go for the rebranded Survival site first.

Changing your niche usually isn't advisable, since it can cost you your regular visitors. However, since your blog is "just laying around" as you say, you probably won't face that problem. If you found good keywords for the new niche, then you should go for it. Maybe you can find a way to tie in your tech-related domain name with your new niche (just a thought).