Run DeepSeek R1 on Your Android Phone: Easy Guide

Want to run smart AI models like DeepSeek-R1 on your Android phone? Guess what? You can! This guide will show you how to use powerful AI models, like DeepSeek R1 . And the best part? It’s private and doesn’t need internet.

What is DeepSeek-R1 ?

DeepSeek R1 is the first generation of reasoning models offering performance to openAI GPT-4o. 

You don’t need powerful computers or cloud services—just your android phone to run open-source models like DeepSeek R1, llama 3 and many more. 

For this demonstration, I will be using a Nothing Phone 1 but the process will be the same for any Android device. 

Run DeepSeek R1 on Android

First, you need Termux, which is Terminal emulator for your Android to do computer things.

• Open your phone’s internet browser (like Chrome or Firefox).
• Go to the Termux GitHub page.
• Find and download the Termux ARM64 V8. This works for most new Android phones.
• After downloading, install Termux on your phone.

Update Termux

Now, let’s set up Termux:

• Open the Termux app.
• Give it permission to use your phone’s storage by typing this command and pressing Enter – termux-setup-storage
• Choose a Package Mirror by typing this command – termux-change-repo
• Then update Termux. Type this pkg update Just press Enter if it asks you to confirm anything.

Install PRoot Distro

We need PRoot Distro to run Linux Distibutions systems inside Termux:

• Install PRoot Distro by typing this in Termux and pressing Enter –
  • pkg install proot-distro

Install Debian 12

• Install Debian 12 with this command
  • proot-distro install debian
• Once it’s done, login into Debian by typing:
  • proot-distro login debian
• You can notice prompt will be changed indicating you are inside Debian. 

Update Debian and Install TMUX

• Update Debian’s list of apps by typing
  • apt update
• Then Install TMUX to manage multiple terminal sessions in a single window. 
  • apt install tmux

Install Ollama

Ollama helps us run DeepSeek R1 on your phone:

• Install Ollama on Debian with this command
  • curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh
• This will take some time depending on your device speed and internet connection. 

Testing DeepSeek R1: 1.5B Model

• Inside Debian environment Type tmux to start TMUX.
• Start Ollama by typing - ollama serve
• Open a new terminal session in TMUX. Press CTRL + B and then " (double quote) to split the screen. Now you have two screens.
• Get the DeepSeek R1 1.5B model by typing this in the new screen
  • ollama pull deepseek-r1:1.5b
• If your phone has lots of RAM (more than 12GB) and a fast chip (Snapdragon Gen 2 or better), you could try the bigger 8B model. But, for phones like Nothing Phone 1, the 1.5B model is better.
• That’s it! The model is ready. You can now talk to DeepSeek on your phone!
• To Clean the screen press CTRL + L

Useful Shortcuts for TMUX and Ollama

Remember these easy shortcuts

• CTRL + C – Stop the AI from Generating Output.
• CTRL + D – Go Exit from the Model.
• exit – Close a screen in TMUX or go back to Termux from Debian.

So, that’s it! You can now run DeepSeek R1 on your Android phone using Termux. Now, try it yourself! Tell us what you think in the comments below. We’re excited to hear from you!