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Asif Zubayer Palak
Asif Zubayer Palak

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🐧 How to SSH Into Your Android Phone Running Ubuntu Server (via Termux + Tailscale)

Have you ever wanted to SSH into your Android phone like it's a real Linux server? With Termux, Ubuntu, and Tailscale, you can do exactly that — without root!

This guide walks you through setting up a fully functional Ubuntu environment inside Termux, exposing it via Tailscale, and making it the default shell on your phone. By the end, you'll be able to SSH into your phone from any device in your tailnet.

🧰 Prerequisites

  • Android phone
  • Tailscale installed and connected on both your phone and your PC
  • Termux installed via F-Droid (not from Play Store — it’s deprecated!)

Some Linux experience

⚠️ If You See This Error…
CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE "-sh": Library "/data/data/com.termux/files/..."

You likely installed Termux from the Play Store, which is broken on modern Android.
Solution: Uninstall Termux and install it via F-Droid or GitHub Releases.

✅ Step 1: Install Ubuntu (or any other distro) in Termux Using proot-distro

pkg update && pkg upgrade
pkg install proot-distro
proot-distro list
proot-distro install ubuntu
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To enter Ubuntu:

proot-distro login ubuntu
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✅ Step 2: Make Ubuntu the Default Shell in Termux
You want Ubuntu to load automatically when you launch Termux. Here's how:

  1. Edit the startup script: 
nano ~/.bash_profile
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  1. Add this to the end of the file: 
if [ -z "$PROOT_DISTRO_NAME" ]; then
  proot-distro login ubuntu-22.04
fi
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This prevents recursive launches if you’re already inside Ubuntu.

  1. Reopen Termux Now you'll land directly inside Ubuntu every time you open Termux. 🎉

✅ Step 3: Set Up SSH Server Inside Ubuntu

Launch Ubuntu:

proot-distro login ubuntu
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Then run:

apt update && apt install openssh-server
passwd  # Set root password
service ssh start
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Now your SSH server is live on Ubuntu inside Termux.

✅ Step 4: SSH Into Your Phone via Tailscale
Make sure your phone is connected to Tailscale and visible on your PC. Find the IP (e.g., 101.125.41.99).

From your PC:

If you want to ssh into Ubuntu inside termux

ssh root@ip -p 8022
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or you can ssh into termux's shell by first:

Inside termux

whoami # it should be something like u0_a124
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Then from your pc or other host device:

ssh u0_a124@ip -p 8022
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You can change the port in the sshd_config, or use the default 8022 if inside Termux.

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