Did this land?

Android Setup

Run a local AI model on your Android phone - completely offline, no account, no API key.

Requirements

  • Android 10 or later
  • 4GB RAM minimum (6GB+ recommended for larger models)
  • At least 3GB free storage
  • Internet for the initial model download only

Step 1 - Install Off Grid

Download from Google Play

Step 2 - Download a model

  1. Open Off Grid
  2. Tap Models
  3. Choose a model - Qwen 3.5 0.8B or Qwen 3.5 2B are the best starting points for most Android devices
  4. Tap Download

Step 3 - Load and chat

  1. Tap Load next to your downloaded model
  2. The model loads into RAM (5–20 seconds depending on device)
  3. Tap Chat and start

Android-specific notes

Vulkan acceleration - On supported devices, Off Grid uses Vulkan for GPU inference. This significantly reduces response time compared to CPU-only. Devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and newer, Dimensity 9000+, and Exynos 2400 support this.

Background behaviour - Android may kill the model process if the app is backgrounded for too long. Keep Off Grid in the foreground during long conversations, or enable “Don’t optimise battery” for the app in settings.

Storage - Models are stored in app-private storage. They don’t appear in your gallery or Files app, which means they also won’t be accidentally deleted by a cleaner app.

Tested devices

Device RAM Models confirmed working
Pixel 8 Pro 12GB Llama 3.1 8B, Mistral 7B
Samsung S24 8GB Llama 3.2 3B, Mistral 7B Q4
Pixel 7 8GB Llama 3.2 3B, Phi-3 Mini
OnePlus 12 12GB Llama 3.1 8B
Samsung A55 8GB Phi-3 Mini, Gemma 2B