ToyBox Guides

PhoneBoxes

Disclaimer:

Before placing any orders from websites that sell PhoneBoxes, make sure that you do your own research and confirm that the devices being sold are actually compatible with your setup. It’s important that you already have a general idea of what you need before making any purchases. In case you plan to use these devices for automation, especially Instagram automation, always make sure to confirm that the PhoneBox you are purchasing is compatible with the software and setup you plan to operate it with.

In our case, we use Onimator as the software that helps control and facilitate actions automatically. That being said, it is still our responsibility to check with the Onimator staff and confirm that the devices we purchase are fully compatible with their software. Doing this type of background research ahead of time will help ensure that you purchase the correct equipment for your setup and avoid unnecessary delays or issues that could have easily been prevented from the beginning.

CrownDevices.com / CrownScreens.com

CrownDevices

CrownScreens

The PhoneBox Suppliers that our team and many other agencies is from a company called CrownDevices.

They are also the same company that offers the screen-sharing software CrownScreens, which is a desktop application that allows you to view all of your Android devices from your computer while simultaneously being able to control them in bulk at the same time.

Benefits of Using a PhoneBox

The actual benefits of using a PhoneBox mainly come down to the devices being cleanly housed inside a dedicated box setup, while also keeping all of the cables organized and managed properly. There are still many agencies that use USB hubs and physically connect individual Android devices directly to their PCs, which absolutely does work. However, the main issue with that setup is that you end up dealing with a very large amount of cables, chargers, and physical devices all sitting around at once. Unless you already have a very streamlined method for organizing everything properly, it can quickly become messy and difficult to manage.

Here is an example:

Another key benefit of using a PhoneBox is that the batteries are completely removed from the devices, and the charging cables are instead connected directly to the motherboard. This is extremely important because it helps prevent the device batteries from bloating over time, damaging the phones, or potentially even becoming a fire hazard, especially when the devices are running 24/7 for long periods of time.

That being said, using regular physical devices is perfectly fine, and there really isn’t much additional risk associated with using them. However, in case you plan on running a larger number of devices long term, it usually makes much more sense to eventually transition over to PhoneBoxes since the way they are designed helps keep everything much more organized, streamlined, and safer overall.

Different Kinds of PhoneBoxes

In the next section below, I’m going to go over the 2 different types of PhoneBoxes that CrownDevices.com sells. After that, I’ll explain what our agency personally uses and what I recommend depending on what you actually plan on doing with the devices. That being said, if you just want the straightforward answer, I personally suggest that most users, especially beginners to mid-sized agencies, go with the Acrylic/Transparent PhoneBoxes using either Samsung S9 or Samsung S10 devices. Both are solid options and work very well with Onimator.

In short, the reason for that is because those setups still allow the devices to connect to Wi-Fi since the antennas remain attached to the phones. The reason why this is so important is because when you eventually begin performing automation, you can then connect a 4G proxy (or really any proxy setup) to the devices using a dedicated proxy application such as SuperProxy, or even have the proxy integrated directly into the cloning process through Nomix Cloner.

This ensures that all of the devices remain connected to the internet while simultaneously allowing you to use proxies to help prevent the accounts from becoming linked together.

The PhoneBoxes in the Silver Casing:

These ones are slightly more advanced, and you’ll understand why once I go into more detail about them below. However, these PhoneBoxes are generally designed more for agencies that have stronger technical knowledge and are planning to build larger-scale device farms in the 10,000+ device range. Because of that, I would personally refrain from using these at the start, especially since they require a much better understanding of how the systems actually work and how to properly configure them.

I know that the team at CrownConnecting is currently preparing dedicated documentation and tutorials to help users better understand these types of PhoneBoxes. However, for now, I still highly recommend that most users stick with the Acrylic PhoneBoxes since they already serve the purpose extremely well and are by far the most commonly used option among agencies running automation.

In case you want more details regarding both types of PhoneBoxes, continue reading the sections below so you can get a better understanding of how each setup works and which option makes the most sense for your situation.

In the event that you are specifically using the PhoneBoxes for Onimator, you can also refer to their “Dedicated Device” compatibility list right here:

This is just a brief list of devices that Onimator already knows are compatible and working properly with their software. That being said, one method our team personally used to our advantage was purchasing 1–3 different phone models from Amazon and then testing each one with Onimator ourselves as a trial run.

Once we confirmed over the course of about a week that the devices were working properly and running stable with the software, we would then reach out to CrownDevices.com and ask if they had those specific phone models in stock so they could prepare a custom PhoneBox setup using that exact line of devices. It is always a good idea to test things first while simultaneously reaching out to the support teams of whatever service or hardware provider you are using to see if your request is possible. More often than not, custom requests and configurations are actually doable as long as you communicate with them beforehand.

Standard Motherboard Phone Box (Battery and Screen Removed | Device Casing Present)

Another important thing to check is the type of PhoneBox you are getting. There are several different kinds available, so it’s very important to understand which setups work best for what you are specifically trying to do. For example, some PhoneBoxes are made using physical devices where the battery and screen are completely removed, meaning that only the motherboard itself remains inside the setup.

Here is an image example below:

These types of PhoneBoxes are very common and widely used within the automation space. The suppliers remove the battery to help prevent bloating over time, and the screens are removed to reduce unnecessary power consumption since the devices are typically being controlled remotely anyway. The housing itself (the PhoneBox) also includes built-in cooling fans that help prevent heat buildup by allowing the heat to dissipate more efficiently across the setup. Overall, these types of PhoneBoxes are among the most straightforward and beginner-friendly setups to use.

The process is very simple:

Connect the PhoneBox to your PC using a USB cable
All of the devices will connect and appear normally
From there, you can use screen-sharing software to monitor and control all the connected devices from a single dashboard

The software our team personally uses for this is CrownScreens

An important thing to note about the Standard Motherboard PhoneBox setups (Battery and Screen Removed | Device Casing Still Present) is that they generally offer a much more stable Wi-Fi connection compared to some of the other PhoneBox options mentioned below.

The reason for this is because the motherboard and original device structure remain mostly intact, meaning the built-in Wi-Fi antennas are still part of the setup. This allows the devices to maintain a much more normal wireless range and stronger Wi-Fi stability if you plan on using Wi-Fi for your internet connection. This is actually a very important advantage to keep in mind because some of the other PhoneBox setups below are stripped down almost entirely to just the device board/chip itself. Those types of setups usually require direct Ethernet connections from your router in order to access the internet properly, since they no longer retain the same onboard Wi-Fi antenna structure that the standard motherboard setups still have.

CPU Motherboard Phone Box (No Device Casing = Very Limited WIFI Capability)

The next type of device box is the one mentioned earlier, the CPU Motherboard Phone Box (No Device Casing = Very Limited Wi-Fi Capability). This version is completely stripped down to just the CPU board, meaning all external components, including the casing, battery, and Wi-Fi antennas, have been removed. The reason this setup is convenient for some agencies is twofold:

It helps dissipate heat more effectively since there’s more space between each device.
It offers easier maintenance, the CPU device boards can be quickly replaced or swapped out, as they simply clip into place like a USB stick when connecting to the chassis (the main box that houses the devices and cooling fans).

Here’s an image showing how the devices connect to the chassis box, similar to USB sticks:

Some important things to consider with this type of PhoneBox are that, since there is no physical device casing, the Wi-Fi antennas are also removed as part of the setup. Because of that, the Wi-Fi signal becomes much weaker and less reliable compared to the standard motherboard PhoneBoxes mentioned earlier. This means that most of these setups require Ethernet connections, where the devices are directly connected to your router in order to maintain a stable internet connection.

For more information regarding these setups, it is highly recommended that you directly contact the PhoneBox supplier/provider and confirm:

The exact specifications
Internet requirements
Connectivity methods
Compatibility with your automation software
Setup requirements

Doing this ahead of time will help ensure that you fully understand what you are purchasing and how to properly integrate it into your automation setup.

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Here are all the links, services, and resources I mentioned throughout this guide; you can simply use this area as a central place to access everything directly and explore each section on its own.

All of this information will also be available on our website, ToyBox.Marketing, inside the Knowledge Base section and the Tools & Resources section, where you’ll be able to access all of the links, guides, tutorials, and resources related to each topic all in one place