How to turn your old Android phone into a security camera

Worry about violence increasing at home or office, for this reason, one of the devices that have become popular in recent times was the security cameras. Through them, even remotely, you can see in real time the images of the environment in which they are installed, being ideal items to do the surveillance of a gate or something.

If you have an Android phone, even if it is old and it is out of use, know that you can give it a new life by using it instead of an IP camera, and you may even save a little money by not having to invest on new equipment. Here’s how to turn an Android phone into an IP security camera.

How it works

In order for this task to be performed, it is necessary to install a program on Android and also that it is connected to a Wi-Fi network. This way, through a computer or another image seen by him in real time.
If you want to access this camera outside the original network environment, you will need to redirect TCP port 8080 to your router.

Setting up Android as an IP Camera

The program to be used on the cell phone is free, but it does contain some paid resources that do not disturb its main operation. In addition, all of its advanced functions work without depending on your license. Here’s how to get this app and set it up:

1. Go to Google Play and download the IP Webcam ;
2. Click on “Video preferences” and grant the necessary permissions;
3. For security reasons, enter “Local broadcaster” and set a login and password in “Login/password”;
4. Finally, tap “Start server,” the last option on the program’s home screen, and in the video, note that you will have a highlighted IP address on the bottom of it. Write it down.

Accessing the camera image

There are two methods for accessing the camera image that is being transmitted in real time. The first one that is the official one, is through the browser when accessing the IP of the cell phone as if it were a website. Check out:

1. Access the IP of the mobile in the browser of your choice and use the login registered in the application;
2. At the top of the site, choose an option for the “Video renderer” and the “Audio player”;
3. At this point, you will already be seeing the camera image.

Even through this first form of access, you have access to some extra features to be activated remotely. For example, you can start recording the image to a file, activate the camera’s Flash or the night view mode, among other options.

The second method is a bit simpler and involves the use of a video player such as VLC. While this is also an effective way to gain access to the camera image, it has fewer control options on the camera, just for picture or audio playback. Follow the steps:

1. In the player of your choice, choose the option to open a link from the network;
2. Put the address that is in the Android program, but adds a “/ video” at the end of it. If you want to capture the audio, you must add “/ audio”.

Ready! Now, you already know how to leave an Android phone running like an IP camera. In addition to the options shown here, you can also configure the program to automatically save the videos to a server, so you can know what happened during the day.