How to use your old smartphone, laptop as security camera

As the world re-opens after the health crisis, you’re probably one of the people who now have to leave home and go back to work or school.

Leaving home after years of remote working or distance learning could be really daunting, especially when you think about the ones you’re leaving on a daily basis: kids, pets, or possibly even a small business.

The best thing to do is to install a security camera on your home or business, so you can check up on what’s their status in real-time while you’re away. Plus, with these cameras’ recording feature, you can look back at what happened the entire day once you get home. It’s also a great baby monitor for new parents.

While there are tons of affordable smart security cameras in the market, it’s even better if you can have one for free, right? With your old or backup smartphone/laptop lying around, you can definitely turn it into a security camera.

Smartphone as security camera: How it works?

It’s quite simple. You have to download a particular app on two devices. The first device is the one that you’d be using as the security camera, while the other will act as a viewer a.k.a the primary device that you always take with you.

For this tutorial, we’ll be using an app called Alfred Camera. What makes this app appealing is that it’s free to use, has wide compatibility, and really easy to set up.

What device can I use as a mobile security camera?

What we liked about Alfred Camera is its compatibility. It works on both Android and iPhone devices and even comes with a WebViewer and WebCamera so you can use your computer’s web browser.

How to use your old smartphone as a security camera

Step 1: Download the Alfred Home Security Camera app on the smartphone you’d be using as the viewer. The app is available on both the Google Play Store for Android users and App Store for iOS.

Step 2: After it’s downloaded, open the app and create an account. It will ask for your preferred username and verify your account via a link sent to your email. Once you access the link from your email, go back to the app and tap Sign In Now.

Step 3: Specify what you’re using the app for: Home Security, Baby Monitor, Kid Monitor, Pet monitor, etc. If you don’t want to say, you can tap Skip.

Step 4: Now, get the old/back-up smartphone you’d be using as the security camera. Download and open the app, then tap “Scan to Link to Viewer device.”

Step 5: On the viewer device tap “Pair up by QR code”. Then, scan the QR code using the camera device.

Step 6: In the dashboard of the viewer smartphone, tap on the paired camera to start viewing.

How to switch the security camera smartphone to viewer (and vice versa)

For Android users, simply tap the menu icon on the top and pick “Camera”. For iOS, you can also tap the menu icon on the top left and then tap “Switch to Viewer”.

You’d be asked to sign in again to get started. The only main rule is to use your registered email and password on any device you want to switch to.

How can I mount my smartphone to act as a security camera?

There are tons of accessories available in the market that lets you mount your smartphone. The cheapest and most popular one is a monopod. You can also use a boom mic arm stand with a smartphone attachment for better flexibility. All are available in phone stores and in Lazada and Shopee.

Related

How to use a website browser to access the smartphone security camera

Step 1: Visit the Alfred Camera website here: https://alfred.camera/webapp/viewer/login.

Step 2: Click on the camera you want to view.

How to use laptops, computers as security camera

Step 1: All you have to do is visit their website and sign in: https://alfred.camera/webapp/camera

Step 2: Click the check box when asked to turn on your camera.

Step 3: Click yes when the browser asked for permission to use your camera and microphone. Then, click Next.

Step 4: Click the Motion Detection button when asked. Then, Click Next.

Step 5: Click the checkbox then click next. On the last screen, click Get Started to do so.

That’s it. If you have further questions ask them in the comments below and someone from the team or the community will try to help you out.