How To Turn Old Phones Into CCTV Cameras

Due to the importance of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), both public and private sectors now employ video surveillance as a primary tool to monitor and prevent crimes. In fact, at one point or the other, everyone has thought of installing a security camera inside their houses.

But our correspondent in this piece looks at how you can turn your old phone into a CCTV security camera; because many people have been held back owing to the cost associated with setting up a bunch of CCTV cameras and then keeping all the footage that was recorded.

The good news is that you may not need to buy an expensive home surveillance system and a bunch of CCTV cameras to keep your house secure.

Phone into CCTV Security Camera

As innovations continue to evolve, and with the help of so many free apps on both, the App Store and the Google PlayStore; you can now use your old phones as a makeshift CCTV camera, and install them yourself using a few simple, DIY tricks.

Choose A Security Camera App & Install It

There are a ton of options to choose from, but ideally, you should go for something that supports cross-platform functionality, has features like local and cloud streaming; recording and storing footage locally or over the cloud, and can detect motion and send alerts.

We chose to go with “Alfred DIY CCTV Home Camera” because it has over 500,000 reviews; has over 1 Crore downloads and is highly rated. Also, setting up the phone with Alfred is super easy.

Download the app on both the devices, the phone you intend to use as a camera, and the phone that you carry with you.

On your daily driver, complete the introduction and tap “Start.” Then, select “Viewer” and tap “Next. Here, you’ll need to sign in. We suggest you sign in using your Google Account; as it makes things easier.”

On the old phone that is supposed to be the CCTV camera, repeat the entire process. But, instead of tapping the “Viewer” option, tap on “Camera.” Ensure that you’re logged in using the same Google account.

You’re all done now. You can play around with the settings to turn on motion sensors, audio recording, and whether to send you a notification if something suspicious happens.

No matter the app you use, the setup process is similar and can be dealt with in a jiffy.

Positioning Your Camera

Now that you have your security stream running, you’ll have to set the camera up; physically, at a place that gives you the best vantage point.

Choose a shelf that is placed at a height, which can show you the view of most of your room.

Ensure that the field of view includes the entrances to your room, and where you keep your valuables.

Keep on checking your new device to see just what view are you getting exactly, while ensuring that the camera doesn’t stand out. Also, see to it that the phone is securely connected to the WiFi, and has a strong connection.

Mounting Your Device & Powering It

There are a lot of ways you can go about this. You can use one of those suction cup phone mounts that are used in cars, or, you can use mini-tripods that are designed for phones.

To power, your device, ensure that you have a long charging cable for your phone. Ideally, it would be best if you use something that has a removable battery.

That way, you can power the device using just the power cable. If you don’t have a phone with a removable battery, you will have to switch the device and power the device off; whenever it is not being used.

You can also use a shorter cable, and power your device using a power bank. Make sure that it has at least 3-4 times as much as the rated capacity as your phone’s battery; as streaming footage is a power-intensive activity.