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How to use your Android phone as a webcam when your laptop's default won't cut it
On the rare occasion I need to join a Zoom meeting, I must be in my office because my MacBook Pro M1 webcam doesn’t always cut it. However, thanks to a handy app, I can use my Pixel 9 Pro‘s webcam, which is far better and more flexible than the built-in camera.
Believe it or not, it’s ridiculously easy to do this. In fact, the feature is built right into the latest releases of Android.
Also: I changed 12 settings on my Android phone to dramatically improve battery life
But why would you want to do this? Well, as I mentioned earlier, your laptop webcam may not be good enough for your Zoom meetings. This is especially true when you’re sitting in a room with insufficient light.
Another reason is that using your phone as a webcam makes it possible to get better angles. You’ve probably found yourself setting your laptop on books or various objects to get just the right angle for that meeting, and it often either doesn’t work or requires serious stacking skills. With your phone, you can attach it to a stand, hold it, or do whatever you need. That kind of flexibility will help you get just the right look in your meetings.
But how do you make this work? As I said, it’s so easy.
How to use your Android phone as a webcam
What you’ll need: You’ll need a phone with an updated version of Android — I’ll demonstrate on a Pixel 9 Pro with Android 15 — a PC or laptop to join your meeting, and a USB cable capable of high transfer speeds. If you purchased a Pixel phone, the included cable should work fine. If not, try your other cables to see which one works.
For this to work, you must enable USB debugging. To do that, open Settings > System > “About phone.” Scroll down to “Build number,” and tap that entry seven times until you see the message that you are now a developer. Once you’ve done that, go to Settings > System > “Developer options” and locate “USB debugging.” Tap the on/off slider for “USB debugging” until it’s in the on position.
That’s my best buddy giving me a lecture on how to be a good human.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Open your meeting app and locate the option for selecting which camera you want to use. You should see the name of your Android phone listed. Tap that listing, and the camera should switch, ready for you to use your phone instead of the built-in webcam.
If you don’t find the option for Android camera listed in your meeting app of choice, you might have to manually configure Android to be used as a webcam when plugged in. To do that, go to Settings > “Developer options” > “Default USB configuration.” On that page, tap Webcam and then back out of Settings. That should solve the problem.
Also: How to clear your Android phone’s cache and make it feel like new
You can enable USB for automatic webcam usage here.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
And that’s all there is to it. I told you it was easy.
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