Update is here: https://lemmy.zip/post/72142441

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.

I had the same thought. Got an older laptop laying around and might try to fiddle with it.

The issue that arises for me is electricity cost. A smartphone doesn’t have a fan and I trimmed for efficiency, unlike many other devices.

What do you want to use the cluster for?

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.

I get that, using phones as servers is a pain because of cooling, but I was thinking maybe wire a fan to a custom made 3d printed rack, and also create a script for batteries, so the phones are not charging not stop.

Creating a cluster could help me self host more websites I create as I want to move away from using hosting services, I do have 2 mini pcs as servers right now, but they are kinda shit.

It can work as long as the phone has an option to limit the battery charge to 80% or less. Keeping the battery fully charged for an extended amount of time will damage it and may even cause it to puff up.

Thanks! I’ll check it out

Yeah, I think creating a custom script for it won’t be an issue, for example when battery hits 80% it stops charging, and resumes charging when it hits 40%

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.

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'm not sure about the Note, but the Samsung Galaxy S series phones have an option to limit charging to 85%.

Cycling the battery is a good idea too though. I used to do that with a wall mounted tablet and a smart plug, until I swapped it for a Lenovo tablet that has this as a built-in feature

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.

But that was posted in an android community, so not visible here.

Nah, it was also posted here. Yesterday.

Hardware Haven had a go at it and made an interesting video covering this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBOoDffWF0Y

Creating a cluster could help me self host more websites I create as I want to move away from using hosting services

Just jeep an eye on electricity prices. This is probably not an issue with a phone server, but for me, hosting at home with a decent server PC costs more per month just in electricity compared to using a cheap VPS. Continuous draw of 50W 24/7 is ~37kWh per month which can cost $15 or more in California.

I do still host some things at home, but all my sites are on VPSes. The enterprise hardware and fast, data center grade internet connection is worth it for me. Some of my VPSes are only $40/year.

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

$20? Hundreds of $$ now with ramflation

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.

They don't.

last time i checked they were $20 each.

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'm doing that. Works fine. There's an article in PMOS wiki about limiting the max battery voltage.

Ah, I made a scrollthrough and still missed it! Thanks for correcting me.

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.

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)

Completely depends on where you are too, my NAS uses ~30W, which means ~22kWh in 30 days, which translated into local electricity costs are 53SEK or $5.39.
It has enough CPU (Intel Celeron J4125) to run my production loads, RAID1 16TB drives and 18GB RAM so it successfully hosts DNS, DHCP, Jellyfin, Vikunja and network shares. And I get the knowledge that it is all local and under my control.

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

[Thread #109 for this comm, first seen 21st Sep 2026, 07:00]
[FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

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.

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.

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 have an ESP32 based switch between the power and my tablets which turn on /off the power between 80% and 20% using an automation in Home Assistant:

https://devices.esphome.io/devices/sinilink-xy-wfusb-usb-switch-relay/

Been working well for a couple of years now, but still, the batteries in the tablets are gonna be the thing that determines how long this will work for.

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 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.

Makes sense! 30W is great for your system. My home server has an older 10Gbps NIC that uses an Aquantia AQC107 chip, which has poor support for ASPM and prevents the CPU from entering lower C states. I've been considering swapping it out for something newer (like an AQC113), I just need to work out whether it's actually worth it.

Mine used to cost $0 in electricity since I've got solar panels, but we've got two EVs now (my wife has a BMW iX and I've got an i4) so we're back to having to pay the electricity company again.

With those prices, why not buy solar panels and a battery?

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.

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.

You can also buy refurbished Lenovo Thinkstation TinyPCs. These are low-power, small and quiet.

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!

My always on server hosting 20+ services draws no more than 50w at peak during the night backup, but that lasts maybe an hour or so, normally runs nearer 5w-10w when the hdd's are spun down and unmounted 22 hours a day. I use an Intel n97 CPU in a mini pc. Navidrome, immich, adguard home, Lemmy, find my device, forgejo, file browser quantum, sterling pdf, valutwarden just to name some of the services it runs easily. Paying 22p per kWh in the UK.

if you do this, be sure to root and install ACCA to restrict battery charging and limit current for safety/longevity

use this

Very few people want the old models. So used ones are often found for 20 zorkminds again.

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.

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.

I think there is a way to fool it by soldering a jumper on the battery contacts. Probably varies from phone-to-phone.

it happens to every one of them eventually. Wonder what really causes it?

or just buy a minipc for $130 from Ebay.

It is frustrating though, I have several old phones that are in good shape. It would be nice to give them a job. There might be one or two that boot without a battery.

I've already got solar panels on my roof. Originally they fully covered our usage, but my wife and I have two EVs now (a BMW iX and an i4) and charge them at home, so we're back to having to pay the electricity company.

I've got 1:1 net metering (grandfathered into an old plan) so don't need batteries.