Working at home has become more popular than ever before. There are many different advantages to being at home, but also a lot of new challenges to face. For me, avoiding the daily traffic by far was a big plus. But soon, I realized that keeping in contact with coworkers, meeting with vendors, and following up on progress overseas will require additional equipment. For many people, a computer is not a problem – but finding a webcam can be a nightmare due to the high demand these days, not to mention the prices.
Looking for solutions I found in my right hand the Man’s Best Friend: not a dog, but a smartphone! This little but powerful device has one of the best cameras that you can dream of, and in this article, I will explain to you how I used it to solve my problem.
Can I use my smartphone as a webcam? Smartphones these days have amazing cameras, sometimes better than many others on the market. You can connect to your computer as a webcam with these 3 steps:
- Download the application from the website to your PC
- Install the application apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play store to your phone
- Pair both apps – then, your camera will be online.
By the way, all the mentioned apps are free and work fantastic. So, here’s how you can do it.
Can You Link Your Phone to Your Computer?
As I mentioned before you will need to install a free piece of software on your computer and a free app for your smartphone. You can download the application for your PC on this website: www.iriun.com. On the home page, you will see three different options to install. Depending on the computer that you are using you will have the option to install the software in Windows, iOS, or Linux.
For this example, because I’m using a Windows computer, I will show you how to install it for Windows. Hit the button that says “For Windows”, and you will see that your browser starts the download.
Wait until the file is downloaded, then click on it. This pops up a license agreement menu box, click on “I accept,” then “Next”.
The next menu box shows you the installation folder, leave it as the default location, and click next. The last step is to click on “Install”. The installation won’t take long, and when it’s done, it’ll pop up another menu with a checkbox marker to start Irium Webcam Server. Leave it like that and click “Finish”.
Now the installation is completed, and the Irium webcam is open and shows you that there is not a phone available.
This is OK because our next step is to install the phone apps.
Can I Use Android or iOS to Connect My Phone to Computer?
You can install the app on either an Android Phone or an iPhone (iOS), Also, your device does not need to have service, just Wi-Fi connection, but the computer and the smartphone need to be connected to the same network to communicate with each other.
On the iPhone, click on the App Store. If you’re on an Android phone, click on the Play Store. When you’re on the store, you will need to search for the “Irium” app. Once you’ve found Irium Webcam, go ahead and install it.
When it’s installed, open the app. If everything was installed correctly, as soon as you open the app you will see the image. Most of the time this goes directly to the back camera, but the app has a switch camera option (so you can see what you’re pointing your camera at).
What Option Do I Have on The Computer Software?
Like the phone apps the software on your computer has a clean and simple interface, although you can make some little adjustments to get better video quality. If by now the software shows your image from your phone, this means that it is 100% working. Remember that the computer and your phone need to be on the same network.
On the front of the interface you can choose the default video format from low-resolution to high-resolution, if you use a more advanced phone with 4K you will have the option to choose this super high resolution as well. You need to remember that more resolution will consume more bandwidth from your internet signal.
Can You Use Your Phone As A Webcam for Zoom?
Zoom is the video conference platform used for school and business and was launched in the USA and Canada around January 2019 that later expanded to Australia, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico. It earned its high popularity with its versatile and user-friendly options.
Zoom, Google Meeting, Microsoft Teams, OBS, Skype, and many others can be used with your phone as a webcam, without any issues enjoying the best quality videos that your phone can provide.
One of the main advantages to using a smartphone as a web camera is the advantage of being connected by Wi-Fi, giving you mobility around your workspace without losing the connection or being attached to the computer by USB or other cables.
Conclusion:
Connecting your smartphone to your computer as a webcam is a good tool for your productivity toolbox. This will help your productivity at home without making you spend a lot of money on new equipment, by using what is in your hand right now – remember my Man’s Best Friend? Yes, my phone. I have been using my old iPhone 6s for almost 6 months without any issue at all!
As a recap, connecting these two is so simple, just download the software (for Windows, iOS or Linux) and install it, then download the phone apps on the Apple App Store or Google Play store on your phone. Then, using the same network connection (your Home internet signal) you will impress your coworkers with how clear you will look.
I wish you the best in your career, job and business. And remember:
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
– Steve Jobs, Co-founder, CEO, Chairman Apple Inc.