Android Termux (Turn an Idle Phone into a Server)

Turn an idle Android phone into a 24/7 remote Linux server, remotely monitored (CPU / memory / battery / temperature) through the panel, with terminal access and file management.

Overview

• Entry point: the "📱 Android Termux" button in the top-right corner of the panel; all phone device info and operations live here.
• Auto-grouping: all Termux devices are automatically placed in the "Android Termux" group, linked with regular server cards.
• Phone-specific monitoring: in addition to regular CPU / memory / disk, it also shows battery level and device temperature.
• Distinguishes SIM vs no SIM: no SIM uses Tunneling (stable); with SIM, optional IPv6 direct connection (experimental).

Use Cases

• An old / spare phone sitting idle that you want to put to use again.
• Need a low-power, always-on resident mini server (run scripts, keep tasks running, use as a test machine).
• Phones have a battery (a natural UPS), so a power outage is not a problem.

How to Use

For the complete step-by-step tutorial (including per-brand power settings and screenshot-style instructions), click the "Tutorial" tab in the panel — there are 5 steps in total. The core flow and mirror downloads are summarized below.

Termux Install Package Mirror Downloads (China Users)

When users in China cannot access GitHub / F-Droid, they can download directly from the official website (HTTPS, faster and more stable):

1. Click the "📱 Android Termux" button in the top-right corner.

2. Under "Add Device", select the phone type:

• No SIM (WiFi / idle phone) → Tunneling (recommended, most stable).
• With SIM (mobile data) → Tunneling (recommended) + IPv6 direct connection (experimental).

3. Copy the "tunneling install command" generated by the panel and paste it into Termux on the phone to run it.

4. The install script automatically: installs openssh + python → configures sshd (port 8022) → deploys the Agent → registers auto-start on boot.

5. Set the SSH password (passwd) as prompted; once done, the device automatically appears in the "Android Termux" group.

Notes

• Installing Termux: download from the F-Droid website (do NOT use the old version from Google Play — it is discontinued and many features don't work).
• SSH port is 8022: regular Android users cannot listen on ports below 1024, so Termux's default SSH port is 8022, not 22.
• Staying resident in the background (prevent being killed — most critical): the script uses termux-services to make the Agent follow Termux startup, and automatically runs termux-wake-lock to prevent sleep. But you also need to allow it in each phone brand's system settings, otherwise Android will kill Termux after the screen locks, causing disconnection:
• Xiaomi/Redmi: App management → Termux → battery policy "No restrictions" + auto-start management "Allow" + lock the card in the recent tasks list by pulling down.
• Huawei/Honor: App launch management → Termux → manual management (tick auto-start / associated launch / background activity) + disable battery optimization in battery settings.
• OPPO/OnePlus: Battery → app power management → Termux "Allow background running" + auto-start management "Allow".
• vivo/iQOO: Battery → background power management → Termux "Allow high background power consumption" + permission management auto-start "Allow".
• Samsung: Battery → background usage limits → Termux "No restriction" + app battery "Unrestricted".
• General: Developer options → background process limit → "Standard limit" (do NOT set to "No background processes").
• Storage permission: to access the phone's storage (/sdcard), run termux-setup-storage in Termux.
• Mirror source switching in China: phones in China should first run termux-change-repo to switch to Tsinghua/Alibaba mirrors, otherwise pkg updates are slow. Note: the panel's "Mirror Source Switching" feature does not work for Termux (Termux uses pkg repos, not apt/dnf), so switch manually on the phone.
• App installation: the phone CPU is ARM architecture, so app installation uses pkg (not apt-get); App Store has been adapted automatically.
• Third-party app scanning: Termux does not yet support "Third-party apps" search. Reason: Termux has no system-level /opt and no systemd (systemctl does not exist), and all executables installed via pkg are concentrated in $PREFIX/bin, making it hard to reliably distinguish "third-party apps" — force-listing would show hundreds of pkg system commands and mislead users. On a Termux device, clicking "Third-party apps" in the panel shows a "not yet supported" message, while regular Linux still scans normally (/usr/local/bin, /opt, systemd services). To see installed applications, use the "System Packages" tab (dpkg -l).

IPv6 Direct Connection with SIM (Experimental)

Mobile data (4G/5G) usually assigns an IPv6 address, but inbound connections depend on the carrier:

Also, IPv6 addresses drift (works today, changes tomorrow). Therefore a direct connection is not guaranteed to be stable; unless you confirm the carrier allows inbound connections, always use Tunneling.

FAQ

• Device disconnected: check whether the phone is sleeping (add it to the battery whitelist), whether Termux was killed by the system, and whether the network switched (WiFi ↔ mobile data).
• SSH won't connect: confirm the port is 8022 and the SSH password has been set (passwd).
• Reinstalled Termux on the phone: just rerun the install script (it auto-recognizes the old token and keeps the device record).