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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Old phone means old unsupported vendor version of the linux kernel vulnerable to script kiddie exploits.
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.
I wouldn’t do it because of the fire hazard. Better to use hardware that is meant to run 24/7 plugged in.
Newer phones have mandated removable batteries, wonder if they run without them being installed
They don’t.
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.
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.
This has been discussed many times already, and I am not saying that to scold you but if you look for the right keywords you’ll find a lot in the search.
E.g. the most recent one I know of is this https://lemmy.world/post/52120798
But that was posted in an android community, so not visible here.
But that was posted in an android community, so not visible here.
Nah, it was also posted here. Yesterday.
Ah, I made a scrollthrough and still missed it! Thanks for correcting me.
Thanks! I’ll check it out
bad idea IMO. i did this once, the device has to be permanently plugged in, which strains the battery. after a few weeks the battery inflated. that stuff can explode and set your house on fire.
better buy a raspberry pi. last time i checked they were $20 each.
last time i checked they were $20 each.
$20? Hundreds of $$ now with ramflation
use this
Very few people want the old models. So used ones are often found for 20 zorkminds again.
I saw one post where a guy was using a phone as a torrent share server thing. They had an app that cycled the battery between 10% and 80%. Setting that sort of thing up would take care of the battery issue.
Not in perpetuity though
Of course not. I didn’t mean to say that would solve the issue completely. Theres plenty of other reasons why having a phone as a server is not the best idea, the battery is just the most flammable reason.
That’s a very important point to consider. Unless you remove the battery, you shouldn’t use it as a server. If you still do, store it in a metal bowl or so and put it somewhere where the heat of the bowl itself cannot start a fire. And make sure that your smoke detectors are still working and not expired. Then, be aware that if the battery explodes, your apartment fills with biting toxic smoke within minutes, and that can happen in the middle of the night. So keep some clothes ready at the door that you can wear when fleeing the apartment.
I looked at using my old Galaxy S10e to host some things and ran into this same issue. It depends on the device, but I found a video of a guy revmoving the battery and soldering in a special resistor or something to trick the phone into a) thinking the battery is installed and b) that the battery is not discharging and will stay powered on.
It’s been a minute since I’ve seen the video, but I think he gave an explanation of how it all works. Still on my to-do list for when I need a weekend project.
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.
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’m doing that. Works fine. There’s an article in PMOS wiki about limiting the max battery voltage.
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.
A friend is running Linux, Nginx, Hermes Agent, and a few other things on her old phone. Definitely doable! It’s a decent idea - very small form factor, phones have pretty powerful CPUs, and a lot of people have an old phone they’re not doing anything with.
Hardware Haven had a go at it and made an interesting video covering this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBOoDffWF0Y
