Use Many Things, Salient Eye or a similar free app to turn an old phone into a security camera.
Chris Monroe / CNET
The cheapest way to keep tabs on your home when you’re not there? Probably rummaging through your junk drawer and converting one of your old smartphones into a security camera. Most people have at least one old phone gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. You’ll save a ton of cash by upcycling an old phone instead of buying a new home security camera. And it’s not hard to install. In fact, you can start using that old, dusty iPhone or Android phone as a home security camera in just three steps.
Sure, you can sell your old phone or trade-in it for a fraction of the purchase price, but if it still holds up, there are many good uses for an old phone around the house. For example, you can turn that old Android phone into a baby monitor or makeshift Google Home speaker. One of the most useful ways to upcycle an old phone is to turn it into a home security camera.
Read more: 8 reasons not to sell or trade your old iPhone and 9 simple ways to give new life to your old Android phone
Step 1: Install the Security Camera app on your old phone
To start, you’ll need to choose a security camera app for your phone. Most apps offer many of the same features, such as local streaming, cloud streaming, recording and storing footage locally or remotely, and motion detection and alerts. Once you’re set up, you’ll be able to monitor your living space and control your security camera from anywhere, right from your new phone.
One of the best app alternatives to set up your phone as a security camera is Alfred. It’s cross-platform, so it doesn’t matter whether your old phone was an Android phone or an iPhone. And the same goes for your new phone.
Alfred is free to use and gives you remote view of your live feed, motion detection with alerts, free cloud storage, two-way audio feed, and use of both the front and rear cameras. To unlock additional features like high-resolution viewing and recording, zoom capabilities, ad removal, and 30-day cloud storage, you can upgrade to Alfred Premium.
- Download Alfred (Android, iOS) to your old and new phones, or any tablet you want to use.
- On the new phone, swipe through the introduction and tap to start, choosing the audience and tap next,
- Once you reach the sign-in page, click Sign in with Google (A Google Account is required) and sign in with your Google Account credentials.
- On the older phone, repeat the same steps, but instead of selecting the audienceChoose camera, And be sure to sign in to the same Google account.
Once both phones are signed into Alfred, you’re pretty much done with setup. Alfred has simplified the camera options to include 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 those options and you can also enable continuous focus, Alfred automatically reopens if the phone reboots, sets a resolution and locks a passcode enables.
With your new phone, you can change a few other settings, like turn notifications on or off, set the name of the camera or viewer, add other people to your Trust Circle (giving other people access to your video feed), removing the camera, checking how many times the camera has been disconnected, setting motion detection sensitivity, and enabling low-light filters on cameras.
While Alfred is a solid choice, keep in mind that it is not In college choice. Far from it, in fact. If you need more features, many with an affordable subscription model, Main Eye and Appearance are all solid free options. And IP Webcam is one of the more popular Android-only options.
Step 2: Choose a Location for Your Phone Security Camera
After you’ve got the stream up and running, you’ll need to set up and position the camera. You want it to be the main entry point of your home, your backyard, a place where you store valuables or a point that you think may be particularly vulnerable. You can also set up an IP camera as a baby monitor.
If you have several older phones lying around, you can set up multiple cameras for fairly strong video coverage.
Step 3: Mount and Power Your New Security Camera
To mount or position the camera, a small smartphone tripod or suction-cup car mount can work wonders and help you keep the camera in an inconspicuous place. To broaden the field of view, consider purchasing a wide-angle lens for your phone, something that can be purchased online for between $5 and $20.
Streaming video is very powerful, and the phone will be on 24/7. To keep the phone from dying in the first few hours, you need to put it close to a power source. A 10-foot Micro-USB or Lightning cable will give you more flexibility in where you put it.
And all! Now you can use the Security Cam app on your new phone to view a feed from your old phone’s camera, and you’ve just made your home more secure without spending much.
While you’re here, check out six quick tips for getting the most out of your home security camera, how to use your Alexa device as a home security camera, and the best DIY home security systems.
