# PhoneFarm ReadMe

# PhoneFarm ReadMe

## What is PhoneFarm?

PhoneFarm is a way to use phones with cheap SIM cards to send SMS programmatically. 

Normally, services like Telnyx cost 0.4 cents per text (outgoing), and 0.8 cents per text (incoming). For a high-volume operation, this can add up.

With PhoneFarm, you can get a phone with a prepaid SIM card, and send SMS for a flat monthly fee. This is much cheaper than using a service like Telnyx, and you can send as many SMS as you want.

## Carrier Options

| Carrier | Monthly Cost | SMS | Data | Notes |
|---------|-------------|-----|------|-------|
| Tello | $5/month | Unlimited | None | **Recommended** - Cheapest option, no data but not needed for SMS |
| T-Mobile Prepaid | ~$15-25/month | Unlimited | Limited | Original option used in testing |

## What does Studio Corsair get out of it?

Cheap and easy SMS sending. We can use this to send SMS to people, and also to receive SMS from people.

## What do I, the PhoneFarmer, get out of it?

You get paid $30 a month for providing the service, plus $10 a month per phone. So if you have 5 phones, you get $30 + $50 = $80 a month.

## What do I need to do?

**For a test farm (one phone):**
You need to have a Raspberry Pi and a phone. You need to plug in your phone to your Raspberry Pi. Then you need to install the software on your Raspberry Pi. (We will do that for you remotely).

**For a full farm (multiple phones):**
You need to have a Raspberry Pi. You need a USB Switch (See Hardware page). Preferably, you also have a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) in order to keep the Raspberry Pi running in case of a power outage. You will also need several phones. 5-10 is a good starting point. You will also need SIM cards for each phone. We recommend Tello at $5/month per line for unlimited SMS.

## How do I get paid?

We will pay you via Zelle or PayPal. We will pay you at the end of each month.

## FAQ

**Is this a scam?**
No, this is a legitimate service.

**Is this legal?**
Yes, this is legal. We are not doing anything illegal.

**Is this a pyramid scheme?**
No, this is not a pyramid scheme. You are not recruiting anyone.

**Is this a ponzi scheme?**
No, this is not a ponzi scheme. You are not investing anything.

**Have you done this before?**
Yes, but the previous version was much more complicated, had a dedicated Android App, and Studio Corsair couldn't update things remotely, we decided to scrap the v1 and rewrote the entire software stack to make things much simpler.

## How do I get started?

1. Get a Raspberry Pi (any model with USB ports)
2. Get phones (cheap Android phones work fine)
3. Get Tello SIM cards ($5/month unlimited SMS)
4. Enable USB debugging on phones
5. Connect phones to Pi via USB
6. Contact Studio Corsair for software setup via tmate

## Setup Process

We will use tmate to remotely access your Raspberry Pi and install the software. You will need to install tmate on your Raspberry Pi.

See: https://tmate.io/