These days it’s very easy to switch phones, and as a result you probably have at least one phone sitting in a drawer. Instead of having your old Android phone collecting dust, turn it into a useful security camera.
You can see what’s going on at home and finally know which of your dogs gets into the cookie jar. To turn your phone into a security camera, all you need is one free app and your old and current phones.
How to Use Any Android Device as a Security Camera
To turn your Android device into a security camera, install Security Camera/ Caregiver Video Monitor – Alfred. It’s very easy to set up, and you won’t have a hard time with it, even if you’re not very tech-savvy.
After signing into your Google account, you’ll need to decide if the first device is the viewing device or a camera. When you install the app on the second device, it automatically chooses the remaining option.
At first, when you have the app set up on both devices, you can see what’s going on on the camera device. After a few minutes, the camera device will go dark, but it’s still live streaming.
Alfred can send you notifications whenever it detects movement. When motion is detected, it will start recording until the movement stops. If the notifications aren’t necessary, you can always turn them off.
Press the microphone button to either listen to what’s going on or to tell your dog to get off the sofa. You can only talk into the mic as long as you press the button, once you let go, it turns off.
To the right you’ll see a recording button where you can record whatever you see on your device’s display. It can only record a maximum of 30 seconds, but it gives you the option of sharing it on Facebook, through a link, or an app you already have on your phone.
Record from Two Different Cameras
The app uses the rear-facing camera by default, but if you press the arrow at the bottom right, you can have the app stream from the front-facing camera. Next to the camera-changing option you’ll also see options to rotate the image, turn on the camera device’s flashlight, and even stream in night mode.
Even if someone were to grab the camera device and use it, the app would continue to live stream. Alfred even has a useful web app where you can also see what’s going on.
Features that only the web app has include the possibility to take a picture, zoom in, and zoom out. You’re still able to rotate the image, use night mode, and switch cameras.
One thing to keep in mind is that to see the live stream from your computer you’ll need to close the session on your Android device. The app doesn’t offer the possibility of seeing the camera device from two different devices.
Conclusion
Alfred is a great app to see if everything at home is okay without having to spend too much money on an expensive security system. But there is always room for improvement. What features would you add to the app? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Just a simple guy that can’t enough of Technology in general and is always surrounded by at least one Android and iOS device. I’m a Pizza addict as well.
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