Many people are working from home right now due to the pandemic. Of form, this means people volition have to apply webcams to be virtually present in meetings and events.

Webcam prices are rising due to the college need, so it may non be feasible for yous to open your wallet for a new webcam. Furthermore, if yous need simply to use a webcam occasionally, buying a dedicated webcam could exist a waste matter of money.

Whatever your reasoning, if you are not fix to beat out out cash for a webcam, you can always apply your Android telephone as a webcam for your PC. That's right, with the help of an app, you tin can turn your phone into a webcam for complimentary.

Yous can do this wirelessly and using a USB cable, and each method has its own upsides and downsides. I'll show both of these ways to utilize your Android phone as a webcam for PC in this postal service.

Use an Android phone as a PC webcam Wirelessly.

If your PC and phone are on the same network, yous can apply an Android app to connect both devices and use the telephone camera as a webcam. The app will annals your Android telephone as a webcam for the PC, so all apps that check your PC for webcam availability will apply your Android phone camera instead.

Before I tell you how to set information technology up, it's good to know the good and bad side of wireless connection:

Pros:

  • It's a wireless connection, so you have full control over how you motility and position the phone photographic camera. You tin fifty-fifty take it to another room.
  • Information technology is easier to set upward equally no special permissions are needed.

Cons:

  • There will be unavoidable latency due to the limitation of how wireless connection works.
  • Wireless signals strength (the device signals, not the internet) tin can touch the quality of the video, leading to higher latency and frame skips.

Now that you know the good and bad sides, let's see how to employ an Android phone equally a webcam for PC. There are many Android apps to brand information technology happen, but I volition employ DroidCam equally it'south the near reputable app for this purpose, and it's straightforward to utilize.

Tip: If you aren't near a WiFi connectedness, you lot can also utilize your phone'due south hotspot feature to create a wireless connection. Simply connect your PC to your phone'southward hotspot and follow the above instructions (mobile data not required).

Using DroidCam to gear up up wirelessly

You lot need to set upward DroidCam on both your PC and your Android phone. Download the app on your phone and download the PC client from the programmer's website.

Launch the apps on both PC and phone, then follow the below instructions.

  • Make sure both PC and telephone are connected to the aforementioned network.
  • On the phone app, you volition see Device IP and DroidCam Port values. Keep these details in front.
  • Now on the PC client, select Connect over WiFi and enter the Device IP and DroidCam Port values you come across on the phone app.

Afterward, just hitting the Get-go button, and the video from your phone volition start showing in the DroidCam interface. If you need to apply the webcam with any app/service, simply select DroidCam as your webcam in its interface.

Use Android as webcam for PC wirelessly

The PC client needs to stay open to continue using the phone as a webcam. However, you can close the telephone app as it volition keep working in the background. To stop a session, either shut the PC client or tap the menu at the top-left corner on the telephone app and select Stop.

Use Android phone as a PC webcam using a USB cable

If you lot don't desire any latency at all, then using a wired connection is much better. As USB cable connexion isn't affected by external factors, different wireless connection, it offers the best quality without latency.

The pros/cons of this method are merely the reverse of wireless connection. You get a meliorate connexion with no latency, but you sacrifice the liberty to move the phone effectually equally the USB cable'south length on a leash limit information technology. In that location is another caveat, though; you lot have to enable USB debugging on your phone to make information technology work.

The aforementioned DroidCam app can also make the connection over a USB cable so that we will use information technology for this method. The requirements are a bit unlike; just follow the below procedure.

Enable USB debugging

USB debugging makes it possible for a PC to access more secure sections/features of your phone, including control over the camera. You take to enable information technology to make this setup work, but unfortunately, the USB debugging on Android phones differs depending on the manufacturer and Android version.

The main gist is to enable programmer options in your phone so enable USB debugging inside it. I am going to show you how to enable USB debugging in Samsung and Xiaomi phones (the two near popular manufacturers), just if yous have a different phone; yous will have to search online for the verbal instructions:

Alert: Enabling USB debugging can be a security risk as this feature tin can exist used to steal information from a phone connected to the PC. Ensure you don't connect to a public PC after enabling USB debugging and immediately disable information technology when yous are done using information technology.

Enable USB debugging on Samsung phones

  • Go to Settings > About phone > Software information and tap 7 times on the Build number option in succession to enable developer options.
  • A new Developer options entry will become available in Settings at the bottom. Open it and enable the USB debugging option inside.

Enable USB debugging on Samsung phone

Enable USB debugging on Xiaomi phones

  • Go to Settings > Near telephone > All specs and tap 7 times on the MIUI version selection, and developers' options volition be enabled.

Enable Developer mode in Xiaomi

  • At present tap on the Additional settings choice in the Settings and and then go to Developer options and enable USB debugging.

Enable USB debugging in Xiaomi phone

Once USB debugging is enabled, follow the below instructions to use DroidCam to utilise your telephone equally a webcam for PC over a USB connectedness.

Using DroidCam for USB cable setup

Connect a USB cable to your PC and your telephone and turn on the DroidCam app on both PC and telephone. On your PC, click on the Connect over USB push button and click on the Refresh button to detect the USB connection.

Afterward a short delay, the app should detect the USB connection and prove it in the drop-down menu. Select it and click on the Start button to start using your Android phone as a webcam.

Use Android as webcam for PC over USB

Similar to the wireless connection, y'all can select DroidCam as a webcam inside apps that require one.

Ending words

Using an Android phone as a webcam wirelessly should be the get-to solution for most users every bit Wi-Fi access isn't uncommon, and the latency isn't even noticeable in virtually cases. I personally found the all-time performance when I connected the PC and phone via hotspot instead of my WiFi router. For those who desire a perfect connexion, the USB connection should suffice.