How I turned a forgotten phone into a fully functional NAS


Key Takeaways

  • Turning previous telephones right into a NAS is a enjoyable venture to find out about units.
  • MiXplorer on Android presents versatile server choices for NAS-like setup.
  • Making a NAS with an iPhone is feasible however tough resulting from iOS safety restrictions.



In case you’re like me, you’ll have just a few old phones mendacity round. Whilst you can promote your previous telephone or commerce it in, you might additionally tackle a venture to be taught extra about how your telephone’s working system works by turning it right into a retro sport emulator, a webcam, or perhaps a community connected storage (NAS) machine. I made a decision to see if I may flip each an previous iPhone and an previous Android phone I had mendacity round right into a NAS, and whereas a telephone is not the strongest machine to be made right into a NAS, it was a enjoyable and infrequently irritating venture that taught me lots about my previous units.

A fast notice, nonetheless, on working system assist. This venture, whereas attainable with an previous iPhone, is extraordinarily tough because of the closed nature of iOS when in comparison with the openness of the Android working system. Relying on how far you wish to take this venture, in case you are utilizing an iPhone, it’s possible you’ll must jailbreak it.


Jailbreaking an iPhone is not unlawful, but it surely does void Apple’s guarantee, which should not be an excessive amount of of a difficulty if it is an older telephone, but it surely’s one thing you must know getting into.

For the aim of this venture, I needed to make use of an previous telephone to host a media server, which is straightforward to do on Android and never too tough with an iPhone, though you’ll have to leap by just a few further hoops. Whereas it’s attainable to take this venture additional by making a full NAS-like setting with an Android telephone, the storage capability limitations of most telephones will make it tough to host purposes and deploy them such as you would with a full-size NAS array, which is why I’ve determined to only begin by utilizing an previous telephone to host a media server.


MiXplorer is the perfect app that allows you to host a number of servers on Android

MiXplorer is developed by builders from our sister web site, XDA-Builders

MiXplorer is, in my view, the perfect file server software for Android. It was developed by builders from our sister web site, XDA-Developers. With MiXplorer, there’s a variety of servers you possibly can create to run on Android. You possibly can even use MiXplorer to create a Server Message Block (SMB) or a WebDav server, permitting you to host readable and writable code in your Android on your growth initiatives.

Internet hosting an SMB server out of your Android means that you can entry it natively from a Home windows or Mac pc, making it a handy backup answer for net growth initiatives. I desire making a WebDav server to an SMB server for internet hosting recordsdata, as there isn’t any setup required for making a WebDav server on MiXplorer. You simply press create, choose server, and select WebDav.


A render of the MiXplorer logo on a white background.

MiXplorer

MiXplorer is a file explorer for the Android working system that means that you can create and host a mess of servers. You possibly can discover the app totally free, however if you wish to unlock each characteristic out there in MiXplorer, you will must make a one-time cost of $5. 

I needed to troubleshoot creating an SMB server because of the community setting of the Android telephone I used to be testing on, and studying by the XDA boards for MiXplorer and this appears to be a recurrent subject that you will have to troubleshoot a bit to get proper.

Trying to create a NAS with an iPhone

Almost inconceivable resulting from OS safety measures

Apple's blue iPhone 15 Pro in front of flowers

It is easy to connect with a NAS with an iPhone, however making a NAS out of an iPhone is a special story. MiXplorer is unique to Android because of the safety restrictions Apple places in place with iOS, and whereas there apps comparable to WebDav Navigator that permit you to simply join your iPhone to a SMB or WebDav server, these apps simply allow you to connect with an already-existing WebDav server together with your iPhone. You possibly can connect with any net server with an iPhone by the Information app. All you must do is faucet Connect with Server within the Information app and enter the deal with of the server you wish to connect with.


I’ve used the $8 app FileBrowser to aim to create a NAS-like setting with an iPhone, by permitting me to host recordsdata on my iPhone and share them between my Home windows PC, iPad, and even the Android NAS I created earlier within the information. Whereas FileBrowser means that you can create a NAS-like setting, you will want to attach it to an precise server to run correctly, as iOS has safety restrictions that do not enable the iPhone to be the first host.

FileBrowser

FileBrowser

For $8, FileBrowser permits me to host recordsdata on my iPhone and share them between my Home windows PC, iPad, and even my DIY Android NAS.

Developer
Stratospherix Ltd

Subscription price
$7.99

In case you actually needed to make use of an iPhone to assemble a NAS, you would want an iPhone 10 or earlier. This fashion, you might jailbreak the iPhone and set up a Linux Shell on the jailbroken iPhone to be able to create a website hosting server. Will probably be considerably slower than any choice out there on Android, however it’s technically attainable with an iPhone. General, whereas I wish to create a NAS with an iPhone, it is not price it because of the slowness of the Linux Shell and the issue with discovering an applicable jailbreak.




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