How to use your Android phone as a webcam

Turn your Android phone into a webcam in minutes. To use your Android device as a webcam you need to configure the phone as an IP camera on the network, then configure it as a webcam on your computer. To do this, you will need special software on your phone and computer. We recommend DroidCam.

How to use your Android phone as a webcam

Follow the steps below to install and configure the correct software, then start your phone as a webcam in chat software like Skype. The whole process takes less than about 15 minutes.

Install your favorite IP webcam app on your Android phone from the Google Play Store. In this example, we will use the DroidCam app.

The latest version of DroidCam, the software used in this article, requires at least Android 5.0. However, if needed, you can download APKs for older versions of DroidCam. Or choose one of the alternative software applications listed below that work on your version of Android.

On your Windows 10 PC, visit the DroidCam downloads page and download the Windows client software. There is also a Linux client if you are using a Linux machine. 

Run the installation file, accept the terms of the agreement by selecting Accept and select NEXT to accept the destination folder. You can leave all components selected or remove Apple USB Support if you do not plan to use the software with an Apple device. Then select Install to complete the installation.

If the IP webcam app you have chosen for your Android does not come with the Windows client software, install the IP Camera Adapter. This is a universal IP camera driver that will connect to your Android's IP webcam app and turn it into a system webcam for software like Skype or Zoom.

Once the installation is complete, select the Start menu, type DroidCam and select the DroidCam client.

Now, back on your Android phone, launch the DroidCam app. On the first screen, tap NEXT and then OK. Select While using the app to give DroidCam permissions to use your camera. You will also need to select While using the app to give DroidCam permissions to use the microphone.

Finally, you will see the main screen of DroidCam which contains the IP address of your phone and the port number that the DroidCam software is using. Make a note of these values.

Back on your Windows 10 PC, type your Android's IP address in the field IP device and the port number in the field Port DroidCam . If you want to be able to use your phone's microphone for video conferencing, select the checkbox as well Audio . To select starts to establish the connection.

When the connection is successful, you will see your phone's camera video displayed within the DroidCam client software on your PC.

You will notice that there are no controls enabled at the bottom of the client software. These are only available in the Pro version. The only options are to bring up a video preview window or stop the video feed. This is because the client software's only real purpose is to capture the phone's video feed as the webcam source and deliver it to any video conferencing software in use.

To use your phone as a webcam in video conferencing software such as Skype, launch your favorite software. Go to the video settings for your video conferencing application and change the camera selection to one of the DroidCam sources.

If you want to use your phone's microphone as a video conferencing microphone, scroll down to the audio setting and select DroidCam VirtualAudio from the list of available communication devices.

You can now start a virtual meeting and your Android phone will provide both video and audio input for the meeting.

Why use your phone as a webcam?

Using the phone as a webcam for video conferencing software is very convenient. It allows you to walk away from the desktop even during a meeting. If you've enabled the microphone on your Android, you can see and chat with all meeting participants from anywhere, making all your video conferences fully mobile.

Choice of Android webcam software

The first step to using your phone as a webcam is to install the IP webcam software on your Android device. Ideally, the software you choose should come with complementary client software for your computer. Otherwise, you'll need to find special driver software for your computer that generically works with any IP webcam.

You need that software since you are not connecting your phone directly to the PC like a regular wired webcam.

The best apps you can find on the Google Play Store to use your phone as a webcam are:

• IP webcam: This software requires a universal MJPEG video driver on the PC to connect the phone as a webcam.
• DroidCam: Includes a PC client component to connect as a webcam.
• Iriun 4K: Primarily meant to convert your phone into a webcam and includes PC drivers.

In this article, you have learned the steps to set up the software and connect your phone as a webcam using DroidCam. The steps are generally the same regardless of the software you choose, although the software menus will be different.

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