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Using the Samsung Galaxy A03s Smartphone for VerusCoin (VRSC) Mining

28, Oct 2023

One of the most popular and affordable smartphones to get if you are interested in crypto mining VerusCoin (VRSC) is the Samsung Galaxy A03s that is also easier to find and also widely available as a locked phone with some no-contract operators at great prices (you can use it for mining without activating a SIM card and getting a phone plan). With a regular price in the $50 USD range for locked phones available on Amazon from Tracfone, Total by Verizon and Simple Mobile and often going for as low as $30 USD when in promotion like it was for the Amazon Prime Day for example it is great way to get it for even less. It is definitely a great device to get you started with mobile crypto mining or if you want to give it a try before deciding should you get into it anyway, offering decent performance with a low power usage and with a killer promo price if you manage to snag a good deal. So, let us see what can you expect from the Samsung Galaxy A03s if you are interested in mining VRSC…

The Samsung Galaxy A03s has been launched in 2021 as a lower-end device with Android 11 operating system (updates to Android 13 are currently available) and decent hardware inside, though nothing too fancy. The device uses Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 (12nm) chipset and has an 8-core ARM processor inside (4x 2.35 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 cores), uses USB Type-C 2.0 interface that supports up to 15W charging and has a 5000 mAh non-removable battery inside. The model we have from Tracfone is with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, though there are apparently other variations with different memory amount, so make sure to check which one you are getting. The device has a 64-bit processor and an operating system running in 64-bit, unlike some other smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G that are simply no good for use as crypto mining devices at all. Considering the price point for locked A03S devices and the specs you are getting they actually do make a lot of sense to be used for VRSC mining, especially when you take a look at the performance numbers and power usage as well.

What about the most important thing here, namely the performance you can expect from the Galaxy A03s? Well, it is really great for a smartphone you can get for $50 USD or even $30 USD at times… of course if you are getting a Samsung Galaxy A03s that is not locked to a specific mobile operator it will cost you more, but you don’t need unlocked smartphone to mine with it if it is the only thing you are going to be doing with it. The average hashrate when mining VerusCoin (VRSC) with the Galaxy A03s is around 3.6 MH/s with a power usage of around 2.6 Watts measured at the wall (using Userland and ccminer, a bit slower when using VerusMiner), so damn good performance and very power efficient device. Not the fastest out there, however the price you can get it at is really the best thing here and for that price the performance is surprisingly good… almost makes you start thinking along the way of actually building a smartphone mining farm, though going for large scale mining with smartphones does present some unique challenges that still need to be addressed. You might also want to check out the Alcatel TCL A3 and TCL A3X Smartphones as they can offer similar performance for a lower or similar price point as the Samsung Galaxy A03s, although these devices do come with their own specifics as well, so make sure to check our review.

Using Alcatel TCL A3 and TCL A3X Smartphones for VerusCoin (VRSC) Mining

25, Oct 2023

Time for another look at budget smartphones that could be used for crypto currency mining such as VerusCoin (VRSC). We are going to check if the Alcatel TCL A3 and Alcatel TCL A3X smartphones are any good for mining VerusCoin. Both the TCL A3 and TCL A3X are available at a really good price point, especially when looking at operator locked phone prices, making them an ideal option for use as crypto miners. The big question however is if the current price point of about $40 USD (for operator locked devices) is worth it for these devices when you take a look at the mining performance they offer in return and this is precisely what we are going to be checking out now. And as you might’ve noticed already from some of our earlier posts, some cheaper and some even not so budget smartphones are not suitable for mining usage at all due to specific software configuration of the OS (running in 32-bit mode) even if the hardware inside is 64-bit capable, so, another thing to check with these devices as well…

The Alcatel TCL A3 was released in 2011 and comes with Android 11 (even after like 20 system software updates you are still on Android 11), it is powered by Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 (12 nm) chipset that uses an octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 (8-core A53 CPU, 64-bit), has 3GB RAM and a removable back cover and removable 3000 mAh battery (rarely seen nowadays). It uses the older micro-USB connector for power and data transfer, but the package from Total by Verizon we got (Tracfone inside) had not only a data cable, but power adapter included as well. A really good deal price wise that you can get with Total by Verizon TCL A3, 32GB, Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) at $39.88 USD from Amazon currently (limited quantity and up to 2 devices per order).

The Alcatel TCL A3X is very similar, also released in 2011 with Android 11, powered by Snapdragon 460 (11 nm) chipset with an 8-core 1.8 GHz Kryo 240 CPU, 3GB RAM and non-removable back cover and a fixed 3500 mAh battery. The A3X seems to be just a slightly improved version of the A3 model that should also offer a bit of a performance improvement as well. It doesn’t feature a removable back cover or battery, not that it matters much as the phone won’t power on without a battery anyway (the A3 that is). The TCL A3X also comes with a micro-USB connector for power and data transfer and has not only data cable, but power adapter inside the package from Tracfone we got. The list price of that one is usually $79.99 USD, but it is currently available for half that or even less. A really good deal price wise that you can get with Tracfone Alcatel TCL A3X, 32GB, Prime Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) at $39.88 USD from Amazon currently (up to 2 devices per order) and there is even a 20% discount coupon bringing down the price to just $31.90 USD at the moment!

So, the price for the Alcatel TCL A3 is really good, even better with the deal on the Alcatel TCL A3X that comes cheaper at the moment and should be slightly better in terms of performance. The only bit of a drawback, no USB-C cables, but older micro-USB, though that is not a deal breaker here considering that both devices do come with the cable and even a charger in the package. They both have 8-core 64-bit CPUs – two different chipsets that should have similar performance, and fortunately they both do come with Android OS running in 64-bit mode, so, yes, you can run the VerusCoin (VRSC) mining software on these as well as other mobile miners. Even though they do not have OS updates past Android 11 they still run perfectly fine with it for mining purposes, so you are good to go. Here you can find more about the situation with 32-bit Android OS and why it is important to have not only 64-bit CPU, but also an operating system like fortunately it is on the TCL A3 and A3X.

What about mining performance then, now, that we know they are good to go for mining VRSC using the ccminer miner. Well, a very pleasant surprise here – the hashrate you can expect is very similar to the one of the popular mining option that is the Samsung Galaxy A03s. The Alcatel TCL A3 (left) does manage to provide a stable VRSC mining hashrate of around 3650 KH/s (3.65 MH/s) with a power usage of about 3.2 Watts measured at the wall. The Alcatel TCL A3X (right), as expected, performs slightly better with a VRSC mining hashrate of about 3865 KH/s (3.86 MH/s) with a power usage of about 2.7 Watts measured at the wall, meaning better efficiency as well. The bit higher performance of the TCL A3X might not be worth with the regular list price, but with the current promotional price making it cheaper than the TCL A3 makes it the clear winner here. If you miss the current deal and if you only find a locked model at the regular list price, then the TCL A3 is definitely more attractive choice for half the regular price of the A3X with just a bit lower performance and slightly higher power usage.

Do Not Buy Samsung Galaxy A13 5G Smartphone for Crypto Mining

16, Oct 2023

If you are getting into crypto mining using a smartphone for coins such as VerusCoin (VRSC) you should be extra careful what “mining hardware” or a smartphone you are picking up to use. One would normally assume that nowadays even the cheap smartphones would do just fine for crypto mining provided that they do come with recent Android OS versions (mining on Apple iOS devices is pretty much a no go) and decent 64-bit hardware in terms of ARM-based processors with 4 or even 8 cores available. Even sub $100 USD phones nowadays normally do manage to give you at least that, but it is not always the case as you should get to understand now…

As far as smartphones that will be used for mining you don’t really need expensive hardware and even a locked phone will do as you will not need to use it for phone calls and the Samsung Galaxy A03s locked phones can usually be relatively easily found in the $50-$60 USD range. Although often there are offers for these Tracfone Samsung Galaxy A03s, 32GB, Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) for $29.99 USD (Ad) and it doesn’t get cheaper than that for a mining smartphone. With such good deals for lower-end models one would assume that a slightly more expensive device such as the Total by Verizon Samsung Galaxy A13 5G, 64GB, Black – Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) for $80 USD (Ad) would still work just fine for mining and will be able to offer better performance thanks to the improved hardware it comes equipped with. Well, you would think so, but the harsh reality would be much different and in fact you should avoid buying the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G if you are planning to use the device for crypto mining and you will know exactly why in a moment.

The Samsung Galaxy A13 5G smartphone has been released at the end of 2011, while the Galaxy A03s was released earlier the same year. Both devices feature 8-core 64-bit ARM processors, though they are slightly different models. While the mor affordable A03s is equipped with a Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 (12nm) chipset utilizing 4x 2.35 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU cores, the more powerful A13 5G relies on a Mediatek MT6833 Dimensity 700 (7 nm) chipset using 2x 2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 and 6x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 CPU cores. The Galaxy A13 5G has the faster and more power efficient hardware inside, but that goes only as far as the hardware is concerned. The problem with this particular device is that it does not use the right kernel and operating system version and that is what essentially makes it unsuitable for crypto mining and in general making it unusable with some applications that you might normally use on other smartphones that require an operating system running in 64-bit mode.

The issue with the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is that when queried with lscpu it reports that the Architecture is armv8l and while the CPU hardware itself is a 64-bit ARMv8 and supports 64-bit operating system, what you are getting on this device is a kernel that is built to run on an ARMv8 chip in its 32-bit mode. That essentially means that while you do have 64-bit hardware, you are not able to use it with 64-bit applications (like crypto miners) as they will either not run at all (they are compiled to run on 64-bit hardware) or they may run with significantly reduced performance in 32-bit mode if they are built like that. In either case – the A13 5G is not good for crypto mining… and it is not because of the hardware of the device, but it is because of the decision from Samsung to use 32-bit software on the device for some reason, while the lower-end and less expensive Galaxy A03s for example is utilizing the proper 64-bit software.

Here is what will happen if you try to install the VerusMiner.apk on the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G smartphone, you will get an error message saying that “App not installed as app isn’t compatible with your phone”. The reason for that is that the VerusMiner application for Android does require you to have a 64-bit OS to install and run and on the A13 5G you do not meet this requirement and there is nothing you can do to update your Samsung phone from 32-bit Android to 64-bit Android even though the hardware inside does support 64-bit software.

Pretty much the same thing is expected going the longer way. Installing UserLand, Debian and trying to get the optimized ARM version of ccminer from Oink70 to run will result in the compiled miner not able to start at all as it also does require 64-bit software along with the 64-bit hardware you have and you do not have a 64-bit kernel/OS available on the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G.

Trying some other miners, you actually might get lucky if they are compatible with 32-bit Android, but even if you do manage to run the mining software in this mode on the Galaxy A13 5G the hashrate you will be getting on it is at least a few times lower than what the same hardware should be capable of providing in a 64-bit OS environment. This essentially makes the Galaxy A13 5G as a very inefficient miner power wise and again makes it pointless to try and use the device for crypto mining. So, again, do not buy Samsung Galaxy A13 5G smartphones for crypto mining purposes as they will only waste your time, go for an alternative like the A03s or another model that is verified to supports aarch64 or arm64 architecture for both hardware and software!


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