I found a few old phones from my family. II cleaned them, installed LineageOS and rooted most of them. On one I installed postmarketOS, one is still stock Android and one is lets say bricked (after installing lineagesos it stay on boot logo for ever, before that I installed lineageos and nethunter on it). One one disk encryption doesnt work for some reason.
Phones (all samsung galaxy):
- S4
- A5
- A5 (bricked)
- A5 (postmarketOS)
- J3
- J4+ (no encryption)
- A31 (stock)
What can I do with them? Something like Monero node or Tor relay, but I’m already running that on old pc. For something that needs speed I have rpis (like a website). Camera security system? Tracking device?
Is it possible to run (and autorun) cli apps and/or services that can access interent, bluetooth, gps, sensors, camera, files, etc. just like on linux? I’m a programmer and I don’t like making normal android apps for a simple project.
Slap DroidcamX on them and use them as webcams or as surveillance cameras. Droidcam is pretty flexible, lets you connect from phone to server or from server to phone or via USB.
Another idea is to use them as MiFi access points on trips abroad. You buy a local SIM card and share the wifi connection as a hotspot or via USB. You can also install Tailscale and use your home server as an exit point for extra security or to access Netflix in your home country etc.
Buy a little controller and install older games to make them into mini gaming consoles. Bonus if you can find a controller that lets the phone sit in the center (I think they make adjustable ones so it should fit any phone).