Written 3 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

Open the house share from a phone

The house folder is on the old PC. Open it from an iPhone or Android on house Wi-Fi. You don't need a NAS app for this.

Haven't made the house folder yet? Start with a file share. Need the computer's address first? Find it on the house network. This note is the phone walk: Files on iPhone, My Files on Samsung, and what to do on a Pixel.

Skip until the folder exists

If you never made the share, stop. That is a file share. This note assumes Samba is already serving a folder, often named photos, on the computer. The phone has to be on the same house Wi-Fi. Cellular will not reach it. Don't forward SMB on the router.

What this is

SMB is the language Windows, Mac, and phones already use for shared folders. The phone talks to the computer the same way a laptop does. You type the computer's address, the share name, and the share password. That password is the one Samba keeps, not always the SSH login. If you forgot it, set it again in set or change the house-share password.

What you need

The computer's address, the same number you SSH to. Swap the example for yours:

smb://192.168.1.50/photos

If you don't know the number, find it on the house network. If ping fails from a laptop, start with is the computer still on? before you blame the phone.

iPhone or iPad

Open the Files app. Tap Browse at the bottom. Tap the three dots at the top, then Connect to Server. Type the address, like smb://192.168.1.50 or the full share smb://192.168.1.50/photos. Tap Connect.

Pick Registered User. Type the Samba username (usually the Linux login on the computer) and the share password. Tap Next. The share shows under Shared in Browse. Open it like any other folder. Copy a photo in. Copy one out. That is the whole check.

The next time, that server sits in Recent Servers. Stay on house Wi-Fi. Skip Guest. The share uses a username and password.

Samsung Android

Open My Files. Scroll to Network storage. The first time, the phone may ask to install a Network Storage add-on from the Galaxy Store. Install it.

Tap Add network storage, then Network drive (SMB). If it finds the computer, tap it. If not, add it by hand with the same address, username, and share password. Open the folder. Copy one file. Don't hunt for a Synology app.

Pixel, or Files by Google

The Files app that ships on Pixel phones does not open a house share. There is no hidden SMB menu. Don't pay for a NAS because of that.

Install Material Files, a free file app that speaks SMB. Add a storage, pick SMB, and type the same address, username, and share password. A laptop still works if you would rather skip another app.

If the phone cannot see it

Stay on house Wi-Fi. Forget the house network and join again if the phone was on cellular a minute ago. Recheck the address and the share name. If a laptop cannot see the folder either, Samba probably stopped, or the firewall hid it: when the house share disappeared, check the computer. If the phone asks for a password and the login fails, that is the share password, not a vanished folder.

If you can see the folder but cannot drop a file in, the Linux folder owner is the usual culprit. Samba is using that same user, so that user has to own the folder:

sudo chown youruser:youruser /srv/share

Swap youruser and the path if you used a different folder. Try the phone again.

What this is not

This is not a reason to buy a NAS, a Synology phone app, or a VPN. It is not a reason to open SMB to the internet. The share stays on the house network. A laptop can open the same folder if the phone is being stubborn.

What next

Leave it. Use the folder for a while. If you forgot the share password, set or change the house-share password. If the folder vanishes later, when the house share disappeared, check the computer. After phones can open it, see if the computer still has room. When you want a second copy, that is a backup of the house folder.

Skip

• Skip a NAS app for a first folder.
• Skip exposing SMB to the internet.
• Skip a VPN or remote-access kit so the phone can reach it from cellular.
• Skip ES File Explorer and other ad-stuffed file apps.
• Skip RAID.
• Skip this if you only use a laptop and that already opens the folder.