GoKawiilDhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
It’s fair to say that Google Photos has been the best thing that has ever happened to smartphone photography management. For years, it has served as the ultimate set-it-and-forget-it tool. And for the longest time, it was my go-to recommendation. It was practically free. It was unlimited. It was perfect for anyone who didn’t want to think about how to store their photographs in the long run. However, it’s been a while since the party ended and the storage limits kicked in. Suddenly, it’s no longer the obvious choice.
Like many others, I’ve also gone down the NAS route and set up my own Google Photos alternative. I’ve experimented with various self-hosted platforms like Immich and my own storage server to forgo the Google Photos tax. But lately, I’ve been thinking of alternative solutions. Looking at an old Pixel sitting in my desk drawer, I suddenly realized that I was sitting on a high-performance, battery-powered Linux server that was just waiting for a cool weekend project.
An old Pixel Fold sitting in my drawer turned out to be the perfect high-performance, battery-powered Linux micro server.
I wanted to build a self-hosted alternative that felt modern but didn’t require a rack server in my basement or take up space like my NAS does on my desk. I was curious to see how far I could push the limits of what was possible with a smartphone. Enter Lychee, a clean, professional-grade photo management system that runs beautifully on any old Android hardware, including the Pixel that was sitting on my desk. By using Termux, I was able to turn that old phone into a private cloud that is accessible from anywhere in the world. Here’s what I built over the weekend, and why you should consider repurposing your old smartphones too.
Would you trust an old phone as your photo backup server? 90 votes Yes, for sure. 24 % Only as a secondary backup. 41 % No, I'd rather use a NAS. 27 % No, I prefer cloud storage. 8 %
Why an old phone makes the perfect home server
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
The truth of the matter is that we often treat our old phones as e-waste once the screen gets a scratch, the software updates stop rolling in, or we’re just ready to upgrade to the next big thing. Discarding these devices is, in my opinion, a significant mistake. Even a three-year-old or older smartphone has a processor that can run circles around a Raspberry Pi — which is particularly notable since a Raspberry Pi is basically the default for self-hosting beginners. It has more power, a lot more storage, faster wireless connectivity, and even a built-in battery to maintain uptime during power outages or intermittent connectivity. It’s basically the perfect small computer for self-hosting.
We treat old phones like e-waste, but most of them are far more capable than the Raspberry Pi people buy for self-hosting.
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