Comment on Your old android phone is begging to be a cheap home server!
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
One problem
Batteries.
I’ve used old devices as many things: security cameras, a form of intercom, digital picture frames, etc. The real problem is that the batteries eventually go bad, and become dangerous.
For the few devices that have realistically replaceable batteries, that’s no big deal, but how many of those are left now?
No thanks to the potential fire, I’ll pass. The few devices I have left that I can swap batteries out are becoming harder to find new batteries for as well, so that’s an issue beyond their anemic hardware (I’m talking really old tablets at this point)
One can extend battery life with Home Assistant and any phone that can run the HA companion app.
I have a Samsung S9+ stuck on my fridge as a home assistant remote with a script controlling a 5V/1A charger + power switch. It will turn on when the S9+ battery is at 20% and off when at 80%. Charges slow but that is on purpose. HA monitors it's battery health as well and will notify me when the state changes.
Yo, you just reaffirmed my idea that I thought was too wild! I have to replace this old phone of mine soon cause the battery’s dying, but I guess this thing will have to stay up for a bit, or much, longer.
some devices will bypass the battery when permanently plugged in. I have an old phone i use as a syncthing node and i log the battery current on it. It never actually gets used by the phone, it only suffers from some very slight internal discharge.
would it still work if you remove the battery? that’d safer
dieTasse@feddit.org 4 months ago
I saw a tutorial on how to bypass the battery entirely. It was oneplus 6 phone and I definitely want to do it 😀… found it: blog.kedio.co/…/how-to-run-a-oneplus-6t-without-b…
Yaky@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
IMO you would need a large capacitor between power (after diode) and ground, to provide enough current when device’s power consumption spikes (otherwise, it will shut down)
Here is my version without touching BMS or original battery: yaky.dev/2022-09-06-smartphone-without-battery/
dieTasse@feddit.org 4 months ago
Cool, I will check it, the more resources on this the better, thanks!