Nowadays smartphones have increased in usage and all the manufacturers attract people with cutting-edge technology every year. People have started to upgrade their smartphones within a year or two even though it has a higher functionality.
So, you might think about what to do with the old smartphone? If you know how to use mobile camera as a webcam for PC, then your phone is the best webcam you ever had.
A mobile Camera as a webcam for PC is a new way of accessing your PC from anywhere. It’s not a new technology but it’s the new norm. It is very easy to do this with any mobile phone that has a camera. You just need to follow the instructions on this article.
How to use Mobile Camera as a webcam for PC?
Since the smartphones are not manufactured for the purpose of becoming a webcam to your PC, it requires certain applications to let them connect to the PC like a camera. Let us look into the installation of the application and enabling the mobile as a webcam.
#1 Installing DroidCam Application (For Android)
- In order for your mobile to become a webcam, first you should install an application called DroidCam into the smartphone.
- Go to the google play store and search for the app.
- Click install to get the application.
- Even though the free version of the application works well, with premium version you have access to HD recording and ad-free user interface.
#2 Installing Windows Client on PC
- Now turn on your PC and search for Dev47Apps in the internet.
- Or you can search for Windows client Dev47Apps in google.
- This will take you to a site with the windows client software download link. Download the application.
- Setup the application in your PC after the download. Now both your Phone and PC are ready to get started.
#3 How to Connect Mobile as a webcam for PC
Once both the software are installed, now follow the Respective steps to use your mobile phone PC
- Open the application in their respective devices.
- Make sure both the devices are connected on the same Wi-Fi network.
- In your mobile, open the app and give permissions to use microphone and camera.
- You can see an IP address in your mobile application after Wi-Fi IP and DroidCam Port. Make a note of it.
- In the PC, open the application and enter the IP address in the area which says Device IP and DroidCam Port.
- Check the video and audio options in the application.
- Now your mobile camera is changed as a webcam for your PC.
- You can enable this camera as default webcam in the settings of your PC.
- If you are using a videoconferencing application, you can change the device in the device settings of the application.
Installing EpocCam app (For iPhone Users)
- If you are an iPhone user, download the EpocCam app from the App store.
- Enter into the application and provide access to mic and camera.
- Then download the Windows client driver for your PC from elgato.com
- After downloading, install the software and restart the PC.
- Then open the applications in both smartphone and computer.
- If both the devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the applications will work automatically.
- If not, connect them to the same network.
Other Important Posts to check:
Is it recommended to use a mobile camera as a webcam?
For the following reasons, it is recommended to use a mobile camera as a webcam:
- The smartphone camera has higher quality, especially the back camera is equipped with a large sensor and megapixels which makes it suitable for high-quality video conferences.
- You can make use of the camera software of the smartphone to tweak the camera settings as you desire. Most of the modern smartphones are focused on producing the best camera. Therefore, you will have many settings to play with.
- Some smartphones have different sensors and lenses such as wide-angle which can cover a large area.
- Finally, good quality webcams are very expensive and you can get more quality and features with your existing smartphone instead of that.
Does it harm your computer PC?
No, using a smartphone as a webcam doesn’t harm your PC. However, you must be careful in protecting your smartphone from hackers to avoid unauthorized access to the device’s camera and microphone. The following things must be taken care of to avoid such dangers:
- Do not enter into unknown websites or click bait advertisements in your smartphone
- Try to buy premium version of the application so that you don’t get irrelevant ads that may consume lot of power from your mobile phone.
- Give permissions to camera and mic access only when the application is in use.
- If you aren’t going to use the smartphone for any other purpose, try to deny camera and mic access to all other applications.
- After usage, physically cover the mobile camera with an opaque object.
What are the advantages of using mobile as a webcam?
Mobile cameras are equipped with a high-quality lens, and sensor, and have more megapixels than a webcam. This will enable you to have high-quality video conferences easily.
Using the mobile camera application, you can have different types of settings that will enhance your image quality. You can adjust exposure, enable HDR, use wide-angle, and easily zoom in or zoom out.
With these advantages, you can conduct seamless high-quality video calls and capture images with your PC.
Can we turn any mobile into a webcam?
Most smartphones come with a camera and the camera is made to shoot good quality videos. But not all smartphones can be used as a webcam.
There are certain hardware and software requirements for a smartphone to work as a webcam. The hardware requirement is that the device should have an adapter which can be plugged into the USB port on your computer or laptop and then it will work as a webcam.
The software requirement is that you need to install special applications for streaming or recording that can be used with your device, if not then it will not work as a webcam irrespective of whether the hardware is there or not.
Conclusion
Using the mobile camera as a webcam is more advantageous than using a webcam. The price of high-quality webcams is very high and instead of buying them, you can make use of the old smartphone. This gives you better quality without any need for spending more money.
