Requirements
Your phones
Section titled “Your phones”- A spare Android phone you can reset. Each hosted phone is reset and kept free of personal accounts, photos and messages.
- A supported Android version. The minimum version will be set during testing. Older and less common models can be exactly what a developer needs.
- A healthy battery. Don’t use a phone with a swollen or damaged battery: it stays plugged in for long periods. The hub pauses a phone that gets too hot.
- Free storage for renters’ apps, and a USB cable that carries data, not a charge-only cable.
- No SIM card. Hosted phones don’t use mobile service.
Your hub computer
Section titled “Your hub computer”The hub software is planned for:
- Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit), installed with one command;
- Linux: Debian 12 or 13, or Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04, on 64-bit Intel/AMD or ARM computers;
- Windows 10/11, running as a background service.
It should be a computer you can dedicate to hosting and leave on, not one you use every day. A powered USB hub may be needed for several phones.
Your home
Section titled “Your home”- A reliable internet connection. Plug the hub into your router with Ethernet if you can.
- A cool spot with airflow for the phones and hub, away from direct sun and soft surfaces.
- Nothing to change on your router: the hub only makes outgoing connections to PocketShare.
Your account
Section titled “Your account”Sign in at pocketshare.io with your email or Google account; every account can host. Then set up your hub.