How to use your old Android smartphone as security camera

People spend quite a lot of money buying security cameras for their home and which ideally

is the right thing to do. But, if you have an old smartphone that is collecting dust

somewhere in your storeroom or cupboard, it can help you save a lot of money on

dedicated security cameras.

Well, if you are looking to sell them for almost no value just because they are old and the

OEM has not sent any latest software update from ages, then just don’t sell it. Instead you

can use them for several purposes at home such as you can make it a baby monitor or use

it as a remote doorbell camera or security camera which keeps on recording every activity

all the time.

You can even do a DIY trick to convert any traditional speaker into a smartphone speaker

(here). However, in this DIY guide we are going to tell you how to use an old smartphone as

a security camera.

Basic setup

We are talking about converting an old smartphone into a security camera which means

that the smartphone is going to be turned on all the time and for that it will require

continuous power. So, find a place near to switch board or add an extension board to keep

the smartphone juiced up all the time.

Now, look for a proper place where you want to keep your camera to monitor such as the

baby room, door, main gate, etc. Find a perfect location that covers the maximum possible

area. ‘

Also, you’ll need two devices. One will be used as the camera, which is the old smartphone

and second will be used as a viewer, your primary smartphone. However, some apps such

as Alfred also come with the web viewer.

Smartphone setup

Now that everything is in place, you’ll need some app and setup to make this work. Now,

there are several apps available on Google Play Store that offer several security camera

features such as online streaming, local streaming, record and save on local storage.

Download the same security camera app on both smartphones, there are several apps such

as Alfred, Security Camera CZ, CCTV Camera, etc. Here we will refer to the Alfred app.

Now, take both the device and login using the same email account and choose your old

smartphone as Camera and personal one as Viewer

After this, you’ll be able to view the footage from the old smartphone. The viewer

smartphone will also allow users to record or capture a photo or even keep the recording

on in the background.

Now, there are several apps that just record everything and keep it on the smartphone’s

storage. So if you want to do that, do not forget to add an additional memory card to

increase the storage space.