The idea of an abandoned Android smartphone in a dark drawer is becoming increasingly common. If it's too old or not worth repairing, it will likely stay there, waiting for a second chance that may never come. However, many hardware enthusiasts are exploring alternative uses for those smartphones, and one of them is as a Debian server.
The best hardware projects can begin with an accident. A broken screen, dead buttons, firmware errors, the list goes on. Manufacturers give up support at an alarming rate, but if the hacking spirits help us, there may be some additional information on the web. Take the example of Android smartphones. The operating system is supposed to be open, but OEMs modify the images to such a point that they become exclusive to each model. As if that weren't enough, details about components tend to be scarce. Even with these difficulties, there are enthusiasts out there very interested in reusing smartphones and Android tablets, which brings us to Pete Scargill's blog and his efforts to create a Debian server.
It all started with an Oukitel K10000 phone that he received from a friend with a broken screen. The first step was to enable root access on the device via kingroot.net, and then he downloaded an app from the Play Store called Linux Deploy, whose documentation is in Russian. Scargill recommends a smartphone with 16 GB of internal storage, although technically it is possible to experiment with 8 GB units (you will have less than 2 GB available). Inside the app there is a repository with a copy of Debian 8 for ARM, and after some tweaks (not to mention a long wait during its installation), everything should be ready to access the smartphone via WinSCP or similar.
One of the things Scargill installed was Node-Red, using a script originally prepared with the Raspberry Pi in mind. In fact, his project maintains some relation to the mini computer (the Debian user is "pi"), but at the end of the day it is a very different beast. The K10000 has 2 GB of RAM, and a 10,000 mAh battery that essentially acts as a UPS. Other devices that were part of the test are the Xiaomi Redmi 3, the OnePlus One, and the 2012 edition of the Nexus 7 tablet.
