How to Use Your Smartphone’s Camera as a Webcam for PC

Let’s admit it. No matter how costly your laptop is, the webcam quality always leaves something to be desired. More often than not, I have to use the webcam for making official video calls via Skype. But half of my call ends up in finding perfect lit surrounding for the webcam. So to counter all these issues, I went over to the internet and started looking for some workarounds. And this is what I came up with. There exists a method to use your phone’s camera as a webcam for your PC. Now you will get the same resolution as your device camera. If it sounds interesting enough, head over to the below instructions to see how this could be done.

Using the Phone’s Camera as a Webcam

To use your phone’s camera as a webcam, you will have to install the below-mentioned app on your Android device. The app work on a client-server model and will make a connection via IP Address. So make sure that your device and laptop are connected to the same WiFi network.

Download: IP WebCam Android app | IP WebCam Desktop Application

Steps to Setup the IP WebCam

1. Download and install the IP WebCam application from the above link on your Android device.
2. Open the app, scroll all the way to the bottom and select the Start Server option. While you use this app, you may notice ads. In those cases, have a look at how you can block ads on Android devices.
   
3. Next, give it all the necessary permission. Now when the app opens, you will find the URL at the bottom of the screen, as shown in the below image. It will be in the form of an IP Address. For example, in my case, the URL is http://192.168.0.3:8080.
   
   
4. Now, download and install the IP WebCam desktop app on your PC. This will help in using your smartphone’s camera as a webcam.
   
5. Head over to the Start menu and search for Configure IP Camera Adapter.
   
6. In the Properties dialog box that appears, type the URL in the Camera feed URL box. And suffix it with the videofeed keyword. As my URL was http://192.168.0.3:8080. Therefore, under the Camera feed URL, I will enter http://192.168.0.3:8080/videofeed.
   
7. Once you have entered the URL, tap on Autodetect next to the Video size option. Once you do that, you should receive a success message: Successfully received image size. Your camera works. This means the connection is approved and you may start using your smartphone camera as a webcam.
   
8. Tap on OK to proceed further. Finally, click on the Apply button to close the Properties dialog box. That’s it. You have successfully set up the IP WebCam app on your desktop. Now head over to the below section to start using your smartphone’s camera as a webcam.

Test the IP WebCam app

1. Before you can use your phone’s camera as a webcam, you need to test the camera first. To test the camera, head over to any desktop browser and enter the above URL (which is http://192.168.0.3:8080/videofeed in my case). Then, select Browser under Video Renderer and HTML5 Wav for Audio Player.
   
   
2. Also, the app will be recording via your device’s front camera. You may switch it to the back camera as well. For that, scroll down a little bit and click on the Front Camera button. The camera switch will now take place.
   
3. You may also test it on any app that requires a webcam. In the case of Skype, open the app and tap on the three horizontal dots. Then select Settings and navigate to Audio and Video. Click on the drop-down menu next to the Camera option. Finally, select MJPEG Camera.

With this, we conclude the guide on how to use your phone’s camera as a Webcam for your PC. If you have any issues setting up the app, let us know in the comments below.

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