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I got a relatively old android smartphone on arm v7, I always wanted to turn the smartphone into a home server, I succeeded with termux and proot-distro, however I am limited in resources mainly because andoid keeps running in the background, even removing most of the system applications, I can not use all the smartphone resources. Also I don't have access to systemctl, init so I can't set my scripts to autorun, also the smartphone goes to sleep, which gives a significant delay when requesting the server. My smartphone is rooted and has TWRP recovery. Is there any way to install Ubuntu Server 20+ INSTEAD of android.

However, I can already see some problems that may arise. I will need a WIFI connection, I already set up a WIFI connection on my old laptop, but here I don't have a keyboard and I can't connect it because the USB port is damaged. So I will have to set up the system and ssh in advance on my pc. I have never done this and would appreciate it if I could at least know that it is possible.

I tried porting PostmarketOS, but I'm stuck on kernel selection

Smartphone: Ulefone S7 Pro (MT6580)

Nmath
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Danil
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  • What's the phone? If the USB port is damaged, how do you charge it? If you can get the USB port working, you could use USB-OTG to USB female A, and connect that to a powered USB hub to connect a keyboard. Without knowing the phone we can't really give you more specific advice. The directions may vary based on the device. Also, are you fine with having Ubuntu Server in a chroot in Android, or do you want to run it natively? – cocomac Apr 20 '22 at 17:45
  • I don't charge it, I connect it directly to a power source – Danil Apr 20 '22 at 18:06
  • Would you be fine with Debian instead of Ubuntu Server? They are pretty simaler? And would you be fine with a chroot from Android? – cocomac Apr 20 '22 at 18:18
  • I have never worked with Debian, if there are no other options or it is much easier, then Debian is fine, as long as it works properly – Danil Apr 20 '22 at 18:25
  • Ubuntu is based on Debian, so most stuff is the same (networking is a bit different). More people have tried Debian, so it's a bit easier to figure out – cocomac Apr 20 '22 at 18:26
  • It seems that what I need is PostmarketOS, but my device is not on the list of supported, and I can't port it, because I need to specify the repository of the kernel source code, alas I have not found it for my phone. – Danil Apr 21 '22 at 19:02
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    The big problem with Linux on phones is hardware compatibility. Laptops and Desktops and Servers use a fairly standardized set of components, and many of those component manufacturers contribute compatibility code to the Linux kernel. But phones can have strange/unusual architectures and proprietary hardware. Porting a Linux distro to phone hardware might be easy --or impossible-- depending upon those components. – user535733 Apr 21 '22 at 20:16
  • @Danil You're welcome to try that (it might work), but from what I can tell it isn't Debian... there are directions for porting to new devices, but IDK if it would work – cocomac Apr 22 '22 at 02:23
  • @cocomac I actually tried this before, but as I wrote before, I got stuck on the kernel selection – Danil Apr 22 '22 at 05:47
  • You can also ask in the PostMarketOS forum. – Archisman Panigrahi Apr 22 '22 at 05:54
  • Why are you all discussing this? Question is off topic as we do not provide assistance for hardware – Rinzwind Apr 22 '22 at 06:12
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    Does this answer your question? How do I go about porting Ubuntu Touch to different devices? – karel May 02 '22 at 11:47

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