Using a phone as a server
This guide explains how to make a phone into a minimal home server over Wi-Fi, similar to a SBC. Other devices with different form factors may also work.
Initial setup
Select console, buffyboard or fbkeyboard as the UI.
Connect to a Wi-Fi
This must be done on the device itself, either by SSH over USB or with an on-screen keyboard.
$ nmcli device wifi connect {YOUR_WIFI_SSID} --ask
Check the local IP address
After connecting to your Wi-Fi, check the local IP adress for remote SSH connection. Consider setting up a DMZ or a port forward in your router with the IP associated to your device if you want to host services exposed to the Internet. (e.g. HTTP, E-mail, game server, etc.)
$ ip address
Optional steps
Make the server headless
| WARNING: Do not do this unless SSH access is confirmed to be working. |
The screen can be blanked to create a headless effect. You will have to perform the following steps after each reboot.
$ TERM=linux sudo setterm --blank force < /dev/tty1
If you were using fbkeyboard or buffyboard, you can also disable the service with systemctl or rc-service.