Amid the ongoing pandemic, people are working from their homes and attending meetings, lectures, seminars, and what not. In all of this, video conferencing software like Zoom has become an inevitable medium for many of us, and webcam an indispensable tool. However, with the lockdown in place in many countries, e-commerce companies are unable to deliver webcams and other electronic products. Not to mention, the price of webcams has gone through the roof due to a shortage of supply. In such a scenario, what can one do? Well, you can use your phone as a webcam for streaming or video conferencing purposes. The process is pretty easy and straightforward. You just need to install an app and configure a few things. That’s all. So to use your smartphone as a webcam, let’s go ahead and learn about the steps in detail.
In this article we have mentioned how you can use your Android and iOS devices as a webcam. We have mentioned methods for each OS separately so you can skip the one you want to learn. With that said, let’s get started, shall we?
There are many Android apps out there that offer webcam functionality on the computer. However, I found DroidCam to be the best as it’s free for the most part and works reliably well. It doesn’t put any watermark and allows you to use both the front and back camera on your smartphone under the free version. However, if you want HD quality and better FPS support then opt for its premium version, DroidCam X ($4.99). Apart from that, the app is available on both Windows and Linux platforms, but not on macOS. In case, you want to use your Android smartphone as a webcam on a Mac then go with the EpocCam app (Free). Now having said all of that, let’s move to the steps.
Next, open the DroidCam app on your Android smartphone and you will be offered the WiFi IP address. Make a note of it. Also, you can go to the app settings and choose your preferred camera option.
In case, you are using Zoom, Skype Meet Now or any other video conferencing app on a web browser then you need to change the webcam source from the address bar. Click on the webcam icon -> Manage -> Camera and change the drop-down menu to “DroidCam Source 3/2”. Apart from this, on Zoom Web, you can also change the camera source from its own control at the bottom.
If you want to use your iPhone as a webcam for streaming or video conferencing then you have come to the right place. In this section, we will be using the EpocCam app from the App Store which works pretty well and it’s available on both macOS and Windows. For starters, the app is free, but I would highly recommend you to get the paid version to access some really important features. Under the free version, you can’t use your iPhone’s microphone and don’t have the option to switch the camera between front and back. With that said, let’s go through the steps and learn how to use the iPhone as a webcam for web meetings.
- Instantly, a notification will appear saying that “EpocCam connected via Wi-Fi.” That’s it. Now, you can comfortably use your iPhone as a webcam on Mac or Windows computer.
