How to use a phone camera as a webcam for PC

Since the COVID-19 induced lockdown has begun, working from home has become a household term, and we can see everything talking about it. The goods and bads of working from home, how long should it continue, and what not! But an integral part of going to the office was to have meetings, and with work from home, meetings haven’t gone anywhere. Instead of having physical meetings, we are having virtual meetings online.

We can have a meeting with our colleagues, seniors, and other members through different online meetings apps these days, like Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and many more. But what if you don’t have a webcam? Or maybe you have one, but not a good one, and you don’t want to invest in a webcam! The solution is to use your smartphone, the Swiss-knife for everything, as a webcam. Yes, it is possible, and I will talk about, how to use a phone camera as a webcam for pc via Wi-Fi for Zoom or other apps.

So, let’s find that out today on InkedFreedom.

I will talk about both, how to use your phone camera as a webcam for pc via USB for Zoom, and also, how you can do the same if you have a Wi-Fi network.

Step 1: Downloading the DroidCam Android app and the DroidCam client for Windows.

Click on the following link to download the DroidCam Android app on your Android smartphone. To download the client for Windows, click on the following link.

The installation process of the DroidCam client for Windows is just like other Windows programs, so I’m not getting into the details of it.

So, now you are ready to proceed with using your phone camera as a webcam for your PC or laptop.

Step 2: Using DroidCam via Wi-Fi or USB

How to use the phone camera as a webcam for PC via Wi-Fi?

If you have Wi-Fi at your home, the setup for using your phone camera as a webcam for your PC is going to be the easiest. Make sure that both your smartphone and your PC or laptop are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. 

Once you are done, open the DroidCam app on your Android smartphone. If everything is right, you can see your smartphone’s IP address on your local Wi-Fi network and a port no. on the screen and that will be used for using your smartphone’s camera as the webcam for your PC. Refer to the screenshot below, and you will also find something similar to what is shown below.

Now, open the DroidCam client on your PC from the shortcut on your desktop or from somewhere else you know. Now, select the ‘Connect Over WiFi (LAN)’ option. Next, enter the IP address displayed on your smartphone, and the port number in the appropriate places, as shown in the screenshot below. Select both ‘Audio’ and ‘Video’ to get both the audio, as well as the video feed to the PC from your smartphone’s camera. Finally, click on ‘Start’.

Now you can see the smartphone’s camera feed within the DroidCam app.

How to use phone camera as webcam for PC via USB

If you want to know, how to use DroidCam via USB, I am here with the solution, as well. Most people do not have a Wi-Fi connection at home, and they wonder how to use a phone camera as a webcam for PC via USB for Zoom or other meeting apps. What you simply need is a USB cable for this purpose.

First, connect your smartphone to your computer or laptop using the USB cable, and open the DroidCam both on your Android and PC.

Ensure that USB debugging is enabled on your Android, by going to ‘Developer options’, withing ‘Settings’, and then by ensuring ‘USB debugging’ is enabled.

Now, in the DroidCam PC client, select ‘Connect over USB’, and the name of the Android device should be right below, in the drop-down menu. If the device name is not displayed, use the small refresh button, and now you should see the device name.

Now, enable ‘Audio’ and ‘Video’, and click on ‘Start’.

Troubleshooting DroidCam when it is not working with USB

If for any reason, your phone is not recognized by the DroidCam PC client, and you are unable to use DroidCan using USB, there’s a simple fix. 

Go to ‘Developer options’ on your Android within ‘Settings’, and tap on ‘Revoke USB debugging authorizations’, and then, tap on ‘OK’.

Now, reconnect the smartphone with your computer or laptop, and your smartphone will ask, whether it should allow USB debugging on the connected system. Simply tap on OK, and retry connecting DroidCam using USB, and it should work flawlessly now. Tick the ‘Always allow from this computer’, only if you are using a trusted or your own PC. This is important.

So, if on DroidCam USB, no device detected is shown, you should try the following solution.

So, that’s all about, how you can use your Android phone as a webcam via USB or Wi-Fi.

Step 3: Using Droid with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other meeting apps on PC

Now that you know, how to use your phone as a webcam for your PC via USB, you can now easily use the webcam video feed with your PC or laptop. What you simply need to do is, switch the camera from your default webcam to the webcam by DroidCam. Coming to, how you can switch from the default webcam to the DroidCam webcam, there is no one size that fits all solution.

However, if you do not have any webcam at all, connected to your PC, Zoom or any other meeting app will automatically recognize DroidCam webcam as the default webcam, and you can proceed with your meetings or calls.

However, if you are interested in Zoom, which is the most popular virtual meeting app after the COVID-19 menace has started, here\s how to use your phone camera as a webcam for PC via USB with Zoom. The same will also apply if you are using DroidCam using Wi-Fi mode.

Open Zoom, and tap on the settings cog, on the top right corner of the UI.

Tap on the ‘Video’ tab, and select ‘DroiCam Source’ from the drop-down menu corresponding to ‘Camera’. Next, you should see the output display from your smartphone’s camera on Zoom, and in fact, use it for Zoom calls or meetings.

You simply need to find out, how to switch the webcam on your meeting app, and the process might not be exactly similar to switching the webcam on Zoom, but it should be easy, and similar to how you can do the same on Zoom.

So, that was all about, how you can use your smartphone’s camera as a webcam for your PC or laptop. Like our InkedFreedom Facebook page to get regular updates.