How to convert your mobile into a surveillance camera

On several occasions we have talked about different ways to give new life to an old mobile phone, one of the most interesting is that of turn an Android smartphone into a surveillance camera.

Now that a large part of the population already works from home, take advantage of an old device to use it as telecamera di sicurezza which allows us to monitor certain areas of the house - for example where our children are - can be a very good option. In this guide, we explain how to do it step by step.

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So you can use your android mobile as a surveillance camera

What do you need:

• An Android device (mobile or tablet) that will be used as a surveillance camera
• An Android device (mobile or tablet) or a computer that will be used as a viewer
• An app to configure both the camera and the viewer. In this case, we will use the Alfred surveillance camera

How to configure the device to be used as a camera as

Once you have installed the application that we propose on the device you will use as a surveillance camera, you must run the necessary configuration. We have chosen this app for its ease of configuration and use. You just have to follow these steps:

1. Open Alfred and create an account or log in with Google (note that you must use the same account on the device you will use as a viewer).
2. Give the app the necessary permissions.
3. Finally, place the device in the place in your home you want to keep an eye on.
4. In camera mode, you can activate options such as motion detection or activate the power saving mode, which will dim the screen and block touches to avoid activating the power consumption.

You now have your mobile set up as a surveillance camera. Easy right? Finally, you just have to configure the app as a viewer on any other device.

How to configure the device to use as a viewer

The process of using a device as a camera viewfinder it's just as simple. Furthermore, in this case it offers the possibility of use another Android device to see what the camera is recording, or to log in from a computer via the web version of Alfred, which is very useful if you do not have a second smartphone or tablet at hand. The process for setting up the app is as follows:

• If you are going to use a cell phone:
  1. Open the Alfred app and log in with the same account you used on the device you use as a camera.
  2. Select the "Gamer" mode, then choose the name of the mobile or tablet that is used as a camera.

• If you are going to use a computer.
  1. Access the web version of Alfred Camera from the browser.
  2. Log in to the same Alfred account you used on the device you are using as a camera.

As you can see, in whichever way you choose, the process is extremely simple either way and it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to set up your mobile as a surveillance camera. Also, if you have several old cell phones that you don't use, you can associate them with your Alfred account to monitor different areas of your home. Note, of course, that some of Alfred's functions require a Premium subscription.