How to turn your old phone into a security camera for free

If you have old phones collecting dust in a drawer somewhere, don’t sell them for a fraction of what you bought them for. If they still turn on, then you can make good use of them in your device At home.

You could turn one into one Baby monitor or a makeshift Google Home speaker, for example. Those are good ideas, and you can find more at the below, but one of the most useful ways to upgrade an old phone is to turn it into one Home security camera.

further reading:: Find new uses for that old Android phone or iPhone.

Step 1: Launch a security camera app on your old phones.

To get started, you need to choose a security camera app for your phone. Most apps offer many of the same features as local streaming, cloud streaming, recording and storing footage locally or remotely, and motion detection and alerts.

Once you are set up, you can monitor your living space and control your security camera from anywhere directly from your new phone.

One of the best ways to set up your phone as a security camera is Alfred. It’s cross-platform so it doesn’t matter if your old phone was a phone Android phone or iPhone. The same goes for your new phone.

Alfred is free and gives you a remote view of your live feed, motion detection with alerts, free cloud storage, a two-way audio feed, and use of the front and rear cameras. You can upgrade to Alfred Premium to unlock additional functions such as display and recording with higher resolution, zoom functions, display removal and 30-day cloud storage.

• Download Alfred (Android, iOS) to your old and new phone or whatever tablet you want to use.
• On your new phone, swipe through the introduction and tap Beginning. Choose spectator and tap Next.
• When you get to the login page, click Sign in with Google (a Google account is required) and sign in with your Google account credentials.
• Repeat the same steps on the old phone instead of selecting them spectator, choose camera. Make sure you are signing in to the same Google account.

Once both phones are signed in to Alfred, you are pretty much done with the setup. Alfred has simplified the camera options so that they contain only a few settings. On iOS, you can only enable motion detection, choose between the front and rear cameras, and enable or disable audio. If you’re using an Android device, you have these options and you can also enable Continuous Focus, have Alfred automatically reopen when the phone restarts, set a resolution, and enable a passcode lock.

From your new phone you can change a few other settings such as: B. Activate notifications on orff, set a camera or audience name and add other people to yours Circle of trust (Allow other people to access your video feed), remove a camera, check how many times a camera has been disconnected, set the sensitivity for motion detection, and activate a low light filter on cameras.

While Alfred is a good choice, keep in mind that it is not the right one just Choice. Far from it, in fact. A lot, Striking eye and present If you need more features, all of the free options are available to you with an affordable subscription model. And IP webcam is one of the most popular options for Android only.

Step 2: Pick a point to position your camera

After you’ve set up and running the stream, it’s time to set up and position the camera. You might want it to focus on the main entry point to your home, yard, the place where you store valuables, or a point you think may be particularly vulnerable. You can also set up an IP camera as a baby monitor.

If you have several old phones lying around, you can set up multiple cameras for pretty sturdy video coverage.

Step 3: assemble and supply your new surveillance cameras.

To mount or position the camera, a small smartphone tripod or Car suction cup holder can work wonders and help you position the camera in an inconspicuous place.

To expand the field of view, consider buying a wide angle lens for your phone, which can be purchased online for $ 5 to $ 20.

Streaming videos is very energy intensive and the phone is available 24/7. So that the phone does not die in the first few hours, you need to place it near a power . A 10-foot micro USB or Lightning cable gives you more flexibility in placement.