Developer replaces a Hetzner VPS with a CMF Phone 1 to host personal apps and a remote browser

The author moved personal infrastructure off a Hetzner VPS and onto an unused CMF Phone 1, using its ARM cores, 8 GB of RAM, storage, Wi-Fi, 5G, and battery as a compact server. The phone now runs Surf, a managed Chrome instance, finance tracking, screen sharing, and smaller web apps, with Git-based deploys and network mobility.

The story highlights a growing DIY interest in repurposing powerful consumer devices as low-cost personal infrastructure, especially as cloud, dedicated CPU, and hardware costs rise. Phones are increasingly viable as edge servers, though software support and Linux compatibility remain major friction points.