How to Turn Your Phone Into a Webcam (2024): Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android

Tired of looking similar a pixelated blob connected your Zoom calls? Why usage that pesky, tiny, low-quality webcam embedded successful your laptop erstwhile you person a earnestly large smartphone camera successful your pocket? It has go truly casual to usage your smartphone arsenic a webcam these days, and immoderate options don’t adjacent necessitate you to plug thing in. We’ve elaborate however to bash this whether you person an iPhone oregon Android, connected Windows oregon Mac.

We besides person instructions for using a nonrecreational camera oregon GoPro to grip the aforesaid task. If you don’t privation to fuss with apps, cheque retired our Best Webcams guide.

Updated June 2024: We've vetted each prime again, removed older methods, and added steps for Pixel and Motorola phones.

Table of Contents

• No PC Required: How to Video Call With Just Your Phone
• Mac and Windows: How to Use Any Phone arsenic a Webcam (Wireless)
• Mac Only: How to Use iPhone arsenic a Webcam With Continuity Camera (Wireless)
• Mac and Windows: How to Use a Google Pixel Phone arsenic a Webcam
• Windows Only: How to Use a Motorola Phone arsenic a Webcam connected Windows (Wireless)
• Windows Only: An Alternate Wireless Method for Windows (iPhone and Android)

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How to Make a Video Call With Just Your Phone

Before converting your smartphone into a webcam for your computer, the evident happening mightiness beryllium to effort utilizing your smartphone to tally a video meeting. Services similar Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams mostly person Android and iPhone apps available. All you request to bash is instal the app, log in, and usage your phone’s selfie camera and microphone to enactment successful the meeting.

Whether you bash this oregon travel our methods below, put successful a tiny tripod to prop your telephone up truthful you don’t person to equilibrium it against a heap of books. The Joby GripTight is simply a fashionable and affordable tripod with legs that tin contort to enactment unchangeable connected astir immoderate surface, though a height-adjustable tripod similar this mightiness beryllium a amended option. Lume Cube’s Panel Mini is besides a bully mode to illuminate your face.

Ways to Use Your Phone arsenic a Webcam

You tin usage a videoconferencing app connected your telephone if you rapidly request to beryllium successful connected a gathering and chime successful present and then, but you’ll request a amended strategy if you’re presenting and person to stock your screen. That’s wherever it could assistance to person your smartphone into a webcam.

General tip: Make definite your preferred videoconferencing app is closed erstwhile installing a webcam lawsuit connected your desktop PC oregon laptop. You whitethorn request to relaunch the app oregon restart your machine to get it each working.

The solution that works—whether you person an iPhone, Android, Mac, oregon Windows, successful immoderate combination—is a work called Reincubate Camo. It’s compatible with much than 40 video-calling apps, from Google Meet and Zoom to FaceTime and Discord. The steps beneath volition enactment if you’re trying to link an Android to a Mac, an iPhone to a Windows PC, oregon vice versa.

Steps to Set Up Camo:

1. Download the Camo app connected your Mac oregon Windows machine. Then download the app connected iOS oregon Android. Android phones request to beryllium moving mentation 7.0 and up, and iPhones request to beryllium connected iOS 12 oregon later. It’ll enactment with Windows 7 (64-bit) oregon newer, and macOS 10.13 oregon later. (Camo besides works with iPads.)
2. Launch the app connected your PC and smartphone. Camo supports wireless video transfer, truthful each you request to bash is property the Wi-Fi icon successful the Camo app connected your telephone (after permitting it to usage your microphone and camera), and a QR codification scanner should popular up. In the desktop client, click the drop-down paper nether Device and take Pair a Device. You should spot a QR code. Scan it and your telephone should link immediately. Skip to measurement 4 if this is working.
3. If you don't privation to spell the wireless route, plug successful a cablegram from your telephone to your computer—make definite it’s a data-supported cablegram (not each USB-C cables enactment information transfer). (If you person issues, effort different cable.) For Android phones connecting to a Windows PC, you’ll request to alteration USB debugging mode. To bash this, caput to Settings > About Phone and past pat Build Number 7 times to alteration Developer mode. Once turned on, you tin find it successful Settings > System > Developer Mode, though immoderate of the navigation menus whitethorn disagree based connected your Android phone. Scroll down to find USB Debugging and toggle it on. You mightiness spot a pop-up asking whether you privation to let USB debugging. If it's not working, unplug the cablegram and plug it backmost in. Connecting an Android to a Mac? Turn USB debugging off. If you ne'er turned it on, you should beryllium bully to go, oregon caput to Developer mode again and crook it off. iPhones connecting to Windows PCs oregon Macs shouldn’t necessitate further steps (press Trust if the pop-up appears connected your phone).
4. You should present commencement seeing your rear camera’s provender connected the Camo desktop app. If you don’t, and you're connected via a cord, unplug the cablegram from your phone, past restart the Camo app connected your machine and phone. Plug it backmost successful and you should spot the feed.
5. Go to your video conferencing app’s instrumentality settings and take Camo arsenic the video camera, and your telephone camera’s provender should popular up. You tin besides alteration the default microphone to Camo if you privation to usage your telephone arsenic a mic.

You get rather a fewer options to take from successful the Camo desktop app to customize the video feed. That includes 720p video prime and zoom options, and you tin remove the watermark. Much of this is free, but unfortunately, you'll request to wage for Camo Pro for respective nifty features, similar 4K recording, the quality to power lenses, and Portrait mode (iPhone owners are apt amended disconnected utilizing Apple's Continuity Camera, which we item further below). Camo offers a fewer outgo options: a beingness licence ($100), an yearly subscription ($50), oregon a monthly subscription ($9).

Apple's Continuity Camera lets you usage your iPhone arsenic a webcam for your Mac—no third-party bundle required. Your iPhone needs to beryllium connected iOS 16 oregon later, and your Mac needs to beryllium connected macOS 13 Ventura oregon later. (iOS 16 isn’t disposable for the iPhone 7 oregon older, truthful you’ll request to upgrade your device.)

When you unfastened a video-calling app with your iPhone nearby, you’ll spot a pop-up explaining that you tin usage your iPhone arsenic a webcam. The archetypal clip I tried to power the camera it didn’t work, but a restart of my telephone and MacBook did the trick.