Mine Crypto With You're Old Phones

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Headless Phone Mining (Android + Termux + cpuminer-opt)

This tutorial documents exactly what you’ve already done (Termux + building cpuminer-opt) and turns it into a clean, repeatable workflow.

✅ No flashing / no bootloader unlock required

⚠️ Reality check: CPU mining on an old phone is usually not profitable. Treat this as learning + automation practice (and possibly as a low-power “node/controller” later). Keep heat low to avoid battery damage.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux&pcampaignid=web_share - install Termux

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux&pcampaignid=web_share - install Termux

Devices

  • DEVICE A — Phone (Android): runs Termux + miner
  • DEVICE B — Computer (optional): SSH into the phone to manage it headlessly

Safety rules (read once)

  • Run 1 thread only (-t 1) on a phone to limit heat.
  • Don’t mine while the phone is wrapped/covered. Keep airflow.
  • If the phone gets hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold, stop mining.
  • Expect throttling on old devices.

DEVICE A — Phone Setup (Termux)

A1) Install Termux

  • Install Termux from F-Droid (recommended).
  • Open it once.

A2) Update Termux packages

pkg update && pkg upgrade

A3) Install build tools + dependencies

pkg install git clang make automake autoconf libtool pkg-config

A3.1) Install the missing tool that caused your build error

Your log showed:

  • ar: No such file or directory

Fix by installing binutils:

pkg install binutils

Verify:

which ar
ar --version

A4) Download cpuminer-opt

git clone https://github.com/JayDDee/cpuminer-opt.git
cd cpuminer-opt

A5) Clean any previous partial build

(You already did this successfully.)

make clean || true

A6) Build safely for older phones

Older phones can crash with aggressive CPU flags like -march=native. Build with safer flags:

CFLAGS="-O2" ./build.sh

A6.1) Confirm the build

ls -l cpuminer
./cpuminer --help

If help text prints, you’re done.

DEVICE A — Mining (Run + Keep It Headless)

A7) Pick your coin/pool and algorithm

You need:

  • Algorithm (example: yespower)
  • Pool URL + Port (example: stratum+tcp://pool.example.com:3333)
  • Wallet address

If you don’t know your algorithm/pool yet, don’t guess—you can still verify your miner works using --help.

A8) Start mining (configured for your pool)

Below is the exact mining command filled in with your pool, wallet, coin, and algorithm.

Your pool configuration (zpool / yescrypt → RVN payout)

  • Algorithm: yescrypt
  • Pool: yescrypt.na.mine.zpool.ca
  • Port: 6233
  • Wallet: RXDu2nWPSmy5sJodZNu5NxATsn5yiCWD94
  • Payout coin: RVN

✅ SAFER (recommended for phones)

cd ~/cpuminer-opt
./cpuminer \
  -a yescrypt \
  -o stratum+tcp://yescrypt.na.mine.zpool.ca:6233 \
  -u RXDu2nWPSmy5sJodZNu5NxATsn5yiCWD94 \
  -p c=RVN \
  -t 1

⚠️ HIGHER LOAD (your original setting)

cd ~/cpuminer-opt
./cpuminer \
  -a yescrypt \
  -o stratum+tcp://yescrypt.na.mine.zpool.ca:6233 \
  -u RXDu2nWPSmy5sJodZNu5NxATsn5yiCWD94 \
  -p c=RVN \
  -t 2

If the phone gets hot, throttle kicks in, or it exits — immediately stop and revert to -t 1.

A9) Keep it running when you disconnect (tmux)

Install tmux:

pkg install tmux

Start a session:

tmux new -s miner

Run your miner inside tmux:

cd ~/cpuminer-opt
./cpuminer -a ALGO -o stratum+tcp://POOL:PORT -u WALLET_ADDRESS -p x -t 1

Detach (leave it running):

  • Press: Ctrl + B, then D

Re-attach later:

tmux attach -t miner

Stop mining:

  • Go back into the tmux session and press Ctrl + C

DEVICE A — (Optional) Remote Management via SSH

A10) Install SSH server in Termux

pkg install openssh

Set a password:

passwd

Start SSH:

sshd

Termux SSH usually runs on port 8022.

A11) Find the phone’s IP address (workarounds)

On your phone you saw:

  • ip → cannot bind netlink socket

That’s normal on locked/older Android. Use one of these instead:

Option 1: ifconfig

pkg install net-tools
ifconfig

Look for inet 192.168.x.x.

Option 2: Android property

getprop dhcp.wlan0.ipaddress

Option 3: hostname

hostname -I

DEVICE B — Computer (SSH into the phone)

B1) Connect from your computer

Replace USER and PHONE_IP:

ssh -p 8022 USER@PHONE_IP

Example format:

ssh -p 8022 [email protected]

Once connected you can:

  • Start/stop miner
  • Update miner
  • Monitor output via tmux

Common Problems (and fixes)

Problem: ar: No such file or directory

✅ Fix:

pkg install binutils

Problem: ip says cannot bind netlink socket

✅ This is a permission limitation on older Android.

Use:

getprop dhcp.wlan0.ipaddress

or:

pkg install net-tools
ifconfig

Problem: miner crashes / “illegal instruction”

✅ Rebuild with safer CFLAGS:

cd ~/cpuminer-opt
make clean || true
CFLAGS="-O2" ./build.sh

Problem: phone gets too hot

✅ Reduce heat:

  • Keep -t 1
  • Lower screen brightness / screen off
  • Pause mining periodically
  • Don’t mine while charging (especially on cheap chargers)

Suggested “phone-friendly” use (best ROI)

If the goal is earning, phones are usually better as:

  • Controller node (SSH + scripts) that manages other miners
  • Bot runner (Python automation)
  • Monitoring node (pool stats, alerts)

But as a learning project, this build is perfect.

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