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How to turn your old Android phone into a security or pet camera
Vacations are great. You can leave behind your daily worries, your obligations… your work. At the same time, you leave behind your house and your pets. Every time I leave for more than a few days, I worry about the security of our house and miss our cats so badly that I think about cutting the vacation short.
Also: 4 ways I reuse my old iPhones instead of trading them in – including with robots
It’s not just about vacations. A year ago, one of our cats had a serious accident and wound up in a cast and collar. Because I needed to keep a constant eye on him — and still meet my deadlines — I decided to repurpose one of the many Android phones I had lying around. With the help of a simple-to-use application called DroidCam, I turned my phone into a webcam suitable for a variety of security and monitoring applications.
Since I first wrote this article, the developer has released a more powerful version of the software, called DroidCam Webcam & OBS Camera, which adds OBS Studio integration. If you only need to use this as standard webcam, the original software will suffice.
Let me show you how this is done.
How to use an old Android phone as a security or pet camera
What you’ll need: An Android phone (running version 5.0 and up), a power cord for the phone (you don’t want your battery to run out), the DroidCam app, and a web browser on the same network as the phone.
Open the Play Store on your Android device.
Search for DroidCam and, once you’ve found it, tap Install.
DroidCam is free to install and use.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Make sure your Android device is on the same wireless network as the desktop or laptop you’ll be using to view the camera, then start the application. Once it starts, it will present you with the address you use to connect from your browser.
The DroidCam interface is a bit old-school but works like a charm.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Also: The best Android phones you can buy right now
The output on the screen displays the IP address and the port you need to use to access the camera. If you point a web browser to http://SERVER:4747/video (where SERVER is the IP address displayed by DroidCam), you’ll see the video output from the camera.
My cat is being watched and he doesn’t even know it.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
The free version of the app only offers 240p or 480p resolutions. To get 720p and 1080p resolutions you must purchase the pro version of the app (DroidCamX $5.49 on the Google Play Store), which adds sound, HD mode, and SmoothFPS for more stable video. However, for very basic security/baby/cat cam usage, the free version does just fine.
Also: The best webcams for streaming: Expert tested and reviewed
Remember to plug that phone into an outlet, as streaming video can eat away at the battery. The good news on that front is that the app will continue streaming, even after your phone is locked and asleep.
That’s the gist of using DroidCam as a web/security cam. I’ve used this setup for a few applications, where I needed more eyes than evolution gave me.
