How to Turn Your Smartphone Into a Webcam

We're months into a pandemic and it's still hard to find a good webcam for a price that won't make your jaw drop. Videoconferencing, whether it's for work or for a weekly remote board game night, has surged since most people have been stuck home. If you haven't able to snag a good webcam, don't worry—below, we walk through ways you can use your smartphone (old or new) as an alternative. Help You in Most services like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Meeting.

Using an Android Phone With Windows

If you're on a PC running Windows and you use an Android phone, one of the easiest (and wireless) methods is to use an app called DroidCam.

Connecting with Wi-Fi

Download the app from the Google Play Store on your phone. (Your phone needs to be running Android 5.0 or higher. To check, go to Settings > About Phone > Android version.)

Download App

Download the Windows client on your PC. 

DroidCam Setup 6.3.1.exe

Follow the setup wizard's installation instructions.

1. You should see the DroidCamApp icon on your desktop. Double-click it to open it. Open the app on your Android phone, too. Make sure your desktop and phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (it also works if your desktop is connected via Ethernet).
2. On the Android app, you will see some numbers after Wi-Fi IP and DroidCam Port. Enter these values into the fields on the PC client that say Device IP and DroidCam Port, respectively. Make sure both Video and Audio is checked off. Hit Start.
3. The phone app will launch the camera and you'll be able to see the feed on the PC client.

Now how do you get it to work with your videoconferencing software? You'll always need to launch the DroidCam PC client and app first (steps 4 and 5 above). Then, go to your videoconferencing app's settings and change the camera and microphone input to DroidCam and DroidCam Virtual Audio. It should immediately start using your phone's hardware.

connecting your Android phone to your PC with a cable.

If you're having trouble getting DroidCam to work wirelessly, you can also try connecting your Android phone to your PC with a cable. But first, you'll need to enable USB debugging so that the PC can control your phone's hardware.

1. In your phone, go to Settings > About Phone and tap on Build number seven times. Now go to Settings > System and you'll see a new option for Developer options (it might be hidden under Advanced). Tap it and scroll down a little to find USB debugging. Toggle it on.
2. Plug in your Android phone to your PC. If your phone starts charging, you will need to pull down the notification drawer and tap on Charging this device via USB. In the new settings window that opens up, click on File Transfer.
3. Open the DroidCamApp PC client and tap on the middle USB icon. Use the dropdown menu to find your phone (if it's not there, tap on the refresh icon and make sure the phone app is open). Verify that the DroidCam Port number is the same as what's in the app, check off Video and Audio, and hit Start.
4. Change the microphone and camera input in your videoconferencing app to DroidCam, and you should be good to go.