Droidcam: How to use your mobile camera as a PC Webcam

 

What is DroidCam and what is it for?

When you buy a laptop, it is very rare that it does not include a webcam for leisure or work communications, but having a desktop PC is one of the peripherals that we forget to add to the budget. But don't worry, you can use your mobile as a Webcam for PC with the DroidCam application , so you won't need to buy one when you want to use it sporadically.

Its use is very simple, we have to install an application on our PC, and another on our Android mobile, make the configuration and we will have it ready to use with Skype, Zoom or other useful programs for teleworking . Applications installed from the Windows Store are not compatible with DroidCam, so we would have to download it from the application's own website.

We are going to explain how to do it in a few simple steps .

Step-by-step install DroidCam Client on PC

To use Droidcam it is necessary to install the application on the smartphone and also on the PC, first of all we must install on the Windows PC the application that will allow us to communicate the camera of our mobile with the PC in order to use it as a webcam in other applications this software is called DroidCam Client and we show you step by step how to do it.

1. Before downloading the DroidCam client for Windows and to make sure that the application will work correctly, we must close all the Videoconferencing programs that we have open, Skype, Zoom, etc.
2. Now we download the DroidCam Client application from its website and install it following the steps.
3. We open the application by clicking Start, DroidCam Client.
4. Now we leave the application open and go to the mobile. 

Step by step install DroidCam on Android Smartphones

Once we have installed the DroidCam Client on the PC, now it's time to  install the DroidCam application on our Android mobile  to communicate the camera with the PC. This application is free and is available in the Google Play Store. We must follow the following steps:

1. We look for the DroidCam application in the Play Store , if your mobile is a Huawei without Google services, here we tell you how to install them.
2. We click on install the application and wait for it to finish.
3. We open the application, and click on next and then on go it, we accept the permissions to have access to the camera and the audio so that the application can work correctly.
4. We leave the application open to see the data we need.

DroidCam configuration on mobile

Before clicking on Start to start the video transmission from the mobile to the pc, we can make some adjustments in the DroidCam mobile application . By clicking on the three points at the top right, we first have the help that is in English.

Secondly, we can click on Settings or configuration to access the options menu for the camera, we can limit the FPS to save battery, or select the default microphone.

In the camera settings we have the option to not sleep the device , necessary to have the Wi-Fi connection active in most mobiles, if we click on Camera  we can select the front or rear camera with which we want to work, there is also the option automatic dimming of the screen and the range of ports that we want to use for the camera. 

If we want to use the application as an IP webcam , we can fill in the username and password as well as if it uses HTTPS and the port we want to use.

Once the connection is started, it allows us some configuration options on the image , if we click on the 3 points on the top left we have the possibility of configuring the white balance that by default is Auto, but we have options for incandescent, fluorescent, warm fluorescent, cloudy day, etc.

We also have the option to enable or disable exposure lock . This serves to leave the exposure values ​​fixed at the time of activating them until we deactivate them, so it will not take into account if there are changes in light or colors to adapt the image to these new changes.

Finally, we have the option to deactivate the camera until we activate it again in the Windows DroidCam Client.

The DroidCamX Pro application allows us to use the application with some improvements with the inconvenience of having to pay 4.89 euros for it, some additional options are:

• 720p Video in HD mode
• Up to double FPS on some supported devices
• Zoom
• Continuous autofocus
• Rotate, mirror and flip
• Options to adjust video brightness, contrast and delay
• Save JPG on PC

Additional content that, perhaps if you are going to use it regularly, would be recommended to have.

How to connect smartphone camera to PC via WiFi with DroidCam

Now that we have the application on the mobile and on the PC, we need to configure everything to make it work. To connect our mobile with the pc we can do it in two different ways , if we have a Wi-Fi connection on our PC and / or on the mobile, we can connect through Wi-Fi , in this case we have to make sure that both devices are within the same network, otherwise it won't work.

1. If we have the phone connected via Wifi, we must select the Wifi button (it is recommended and easiest).
2. In Device IP we have to write, if it has not been filled in automatically, the IP address that appears in the mobile application in Wifi IP.
3. Also fill in DroidCam Port port that indicates the mobile application in DroidCam Port.
4. We select if we want Video and / or Audio by checking the corresponding box.
5. We just have to click on Start and we can see a preview of the camera in the DroidCam Client for Windows application.

Once the configuration is done either by WiFi or by USB cable, we only have to open our favorite application for video calls and start using it. We have tested it with Skype and it works great.

How to connect the mobile camera to the PC via USB with DroidCam

If we are away from home or do not have a WiFi connection for some reason, we can also use the USB cable of our mobile to connect with the PC and make use of the DroidCam application.

To connect through the mobile data cable we must follow these steps

1. Make sure that the USB connection icon is marked and try to connect the mobile to the PC, if it has recognized it and we have the drivers installed we can try to press Start and check if it works, if it does not work, go to point
2. We must disconnect the mobile phone from the pc, and look for the drivers of our brand and model , we can use this website to find them, or we can Google "ADB Drivers for ..." and our brand and model of mobile.
3. On the phone we have to enable the USB debugging option that is normally found in the settings and in the developer options menu . To enable the developer menu, just go to the About the phone section and click 7 times on the Build number section.
4. Once the USB debugging option is enabled, we connect the phone to the PC and if a message appears on the screen to allow USB debugging, we must accept. Now we reopen DroidCam Client and press Start to start it.
5. If following these steps gives you an error, you can try to close the adb.exe service in the task manager, change the port in the mobile app and in the DroidCam client, for example, to ports 4848, 5050 or 5151 or disable and activate USB debugging mode again.

How to turn your smartphone camera into an IP camera with Droidcam

We can also use our mobile as an IP camera with the DroidCam application, in this case it is not necessary to install any software on the PC, it is very easy to use and will allow us to use the mobile as a video surveillance system for example.

1. Make sure you are connected to a WiFi network and open the DroidCam application on your mobile, we will need some information that it will show us.
2. Look at the IP address that it gives you at the bottom, where it says Browser IP Cam Access and write it in the browser you usually use.
3. If you have not configured a username and password in the application configuration options, we will directly see the video in the browser. In this way you can zoom, turn on the flash, autofocus, enlarge or reduce the image, limit the FPS and save a slide in JPG.