I turned an old Android phone into a home server, and it’s more useful than my Raspberry Pi

An old Android phone can outperform a Raspberry Pi 5 as a home server in several key ways: better single-core CPU performance, faster UFS storage, sub-1W idle power draw, and a built-in battery that acts as a UPS. Practical use cases include running Home Assistant as a voice satellite, wall-mounted touch dashboard, presence detection via front camera, and light sensor automations. To keep the phone running long-term, the 20-80 battery rule can be automated with Tasker and a smart plug, and passive cooling (removing the case) helps manage thermals.