3 ms·

This is where we need "cloud phones as a service" / "selfhosting a cellphone at home with some kind of remote access system". Not even kidding here, it's time

by kotaKat 3mo ago

This is where we need "cloud phones as a service" / "selfhosting a cellphone at home with some kind of remote access system". Not even kidding here, it's time to bring out thin client computing to cellphones. Let the spicy stuff sit somewhere else. I could bootstrap a Tailscale or Netbird signin remotely, install the access client, and remote back into the 'normal phone'. Would be then funny to map that to lockscreen PINs - enter a PIN to unlock the device, be remoted into "phone A", enter another pin and be remoted into "phone B", enter another PIN and you're on the 'local device' session. (Or duress-PIN kill "phone A" if someone attempts to bruteforce PINs, etc, etc...)

mystifyingpoi 3mo ago
> "selfhosting a cellphone at home with some kind of remote access system You can use TeamViewer for that. Or maybe scrcpy could be coerced into working in a similar way.
- prmoustache 3mo ago
  Good luck making it work again remotely after a long power outage.
  - mystifyingpoi 3mo ago
    Not sure what do you mean? If that is a concern, there are solutions for this. Like UPSes and backup cellular connections.
    - prmoustache 3mo ago
      That may not even be a power outage, a simple bug or anything that may hang or reset the smartphone and the scrcpy session can't be started again. Unless you have a trustable person who has keys to your home and is available to power on and make sure a kvm setup is on you can't self host and just assume that what is running at home will be up all the time when you are abroad compared to a managed datacenter with redundancy, remote access and personel available.
drnick1 3mo ago
You can already do most of that with GrapheneOS or even an iPhone. My contacts, files, photos, etc. are on my home server, accessed through a VPN. My GrapheneOS phone only runs a handful of open source apps. If I were to lose the phone, I would simply revoke the Wireguard key and there wouldn't be anything valuable left on it.

by kotaKat 3mo ago

mystifyingpoi 3mo ago

> "selfhosting a cellphone at home with some kind of remote access system You can use TeamViewer for that. Or maybe scrcpy could be coerced into working in a similar way.

prmoustache 3mo ago
Good luck making it work again remotely after a long power outage.
- mystifyingpoi 3mo ago
  Not sure what do you mean? If that is a concern, there are solutions for this. Like UPSes and backup cellular connections.
  - prmoustache 3mo ago
    That may not even be a power outage, a simple bug or anything that may hang or reset the smartphone and the scrcpy session can't be started again. Unless you have a trustable person who has keys to your home and is available to power on and make sure a kvm setup is on you can't self host and just assume that what is running at home will be up all the time when you are abroad compared to a managed datacenter with redundancy, remote access and personel available.

drnick1 3mo ago

You can already do most of that with GrapheneOS or even an iPhone. My contacts, files, photos, etc. are on my home server, accessed through a VPN. My GrapheneOS phone only runs a handful of open source apps. If I were to lose the phone, I would simply revoke the Wireguard key and there wouldn't be anything valuable left on it.