Hey guys, since I got into hosting my own servers, any electronic device I see I wonder - can it become a server?
This is probably not a crazy and new idea with android phones, but I had to share it with you. If you don’t know, there’s this thing called postmarket OS, full linux experience on an android phone.
Of course, not all phones are supported, but a phone like Galaxy Note 9 is a great candidate - it supports LAN over usb, postmarket OS fully supports it (the Exinos version) and setting up a phone as a selfhosted server has it’s real perks. Pis got really expensive, not to mention they don’t have a built-in UPS (phones have batteries), they use slow SD cards, while phones have faster UFS memory, phones draw way less power.
What do you guys think? I will for sure get a used Galaxy Note 9 and explore this idea, and if all goes well, I might even buy more of them and create a cluster.
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it would probably be a great way for people to get their feet wet if they dont have a server, but maybe not a great long term solution due to possible battery issues (unless its a phone that supports bypass charging)
most people have an old phone lying around that could be set up fairly quickly with something like syncthing for some basic file synciing, or run some services using termux along with tailscale or netbird so they can be accessed when away from home. all that would still be a bit of work but it would be a lot less daunting than all the research you have to do when youre getting into self-hosting. server/nas hardware, disks, how you are going to set them up, what OS to install etc etc
I guess I’ll be the devil’s advocate today. 😈
I’ve seen some pretty serious phone “servers”.
I personally think that turning a phone into a device that can stay on 24/7 should be easy enough.
Finding software that works on your phone’s hardware… that’s a whole different beast. 😬
The only thing that keeps me worried is the battery. I would never leave it plugged in 24/7. It’s a fire hazard…
Old phone means old unsupported vendor version of the linux kernel vulnerable to script kiddie exploits.
The idea would be to put something like postmarketos or armbian on it so it actually is a supported platform.
if you do this, be sure to root and install ACCA to restrict battery charging and limit current for safety/longevity
Thank you everyone for commenting on this, I didn’t expect this much feedback!
I will go ahead and start this project with an old phone, not sure yet which phone, and I’ll document everything and give you an update soon!
Lots of people chimed in regarding battery, which is a legitimate issue.
Another thing though is ARM. Phones usually have a different processor architecture and this architecture used to be incompatible with lots of server software. I remember being pissed at because I couldn’t even host a TeamSpeak Server on it because it wasn’t compatible. Now this was a while back and I’ve heard compatibility has gotten better but still, do some research beforehand.
Sounds like a good idea! I read somewhere, that you can also launch Docker via Termux on Android. Just in case Postmarket OS won’t work.
I would root it and use Droidspaces. With all postmarketOS pros, not properly battle tested custom Linux ROM is not something I would use for any kind of hosted service.
Droidspaces is nice, give it a try.
I think it’s a very good idea for reusing old, unused phones and make them useful again. No need to buy a phone for that.
This is the point where having a 24/7 up server is not the smartest thing to do and a device that is sometimes turned off is fine
I would be worried about the battery, as many others pointed out too. I had a somewhat similar project with old MacBooks. I thought taking the battery off would make its fan to spin at 100%, yet turned out it does not. Right now one of my servers is MacBook Pro from 2011, and it kicks. It has no battery installed, and it looks like a pretty good server to me. It starts automatically when there’s a power loss, which is ideal for a server. Can totally recommend.
I’ve seen too many spicy pillow samsungs to do this. But I have also seen that you can use a capacitor in place of the battery, so maybe worth checking that out.
it happens to every one of them eventually. Wonder what really causes it?
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, automates assignment of IPs when connecting to a network DNS Domain Name Service/System NAS Network-Attached Storage VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)
4 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 13 acronyms.
[Thread #109 for this comm, first seen 21st Sep 2026, 07:00] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
I would instead look into old Chromeboxes. They have about the same compute but don’t have a battery and can typically run mainline Linux (assuming they are supported by mrchromebox)
You can also buy refurbished Lenovo Thinkstation TinyPCs. These are low-power, small and quiet.
True but if you look online Chrome OS devices are dirt cheap. The major trade off is that storage is limited
300 EUR for refurbished devices with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD is very reasonable.
300 EUR is a lot of money depending on who you are
I’m doing that. Works fine. There’s an article in PMOS wiki about limiting the max battery voltage.
I wouldn’t do it because of the fire hazard. Better to use hardware that is meant to run 24/7 plugged in.
Yep. I was going to use an old one as a security camera but thought better of putting a lithium battery permanently plugged in on a windowsill.
Newer phones have mandated removable batteries, wonder if they run without them being installed
“bypass charging” is becoming a bit more popular now. you see it on some android gaming tablets where it bypasses the battery once a cable is plugged in, which makes sense considering how quickly the battery would run down on those. i think i saw the recent google pixel devices having this feature as well so many it will just be a thing on all phones eventually
Yeah been using it on my phone, keeping it plugged in wherever possible has definitely extended the battery life
I think there is a way to fool it by soldering a jumper on the battery contacts. Probably varies from phone-to-phone.
Most mobile devices have their power management modules configured to prevent booting unless they receive an all good signal from a connected battery. It is possible to take that signal, but not trivial.
They don’t.
