三和一善 新入生セミナー6

 

Turn your old phone into a free wireless security camera in minutes

Don't throw it away, don't try to sell it, and don't let it sit in a drawer until the end of time.

Like every seasoned tech writer, I have all sorts of embarrassingly old iPhones and Android devices collecting dust around the house. Almost everything is worthless so far, but the youngest of them are prime candidates for a second life. . . please play the drums. . . Free wireless security cameras!

 

Think about it: Phones have decent cameras. They are connected to the Internet. They can work for hours without being plugged in. Real cameras cost money.

It's a technical race made in cheapskate heaven. Lest you think it's complicated to teach an old phone new tricks, I'll share with you the method as simple as logging into the app.

 

First, download ALFREDCAMERA

The app to use is the free and excellent AlfredCamera Home Security, available for iOS and Android.

Download it on your normal everyday phone that you will use as a viewer phone and your old phone as a camera.

Don't be afraid to try a real old phone. I had it running on my first Google Pixel phone, circa 2016, but I've loaded it on older phones.

 

Sign in to the app on both phones

After launching the app for the first time, you can create an account with your email address, or log in with your Google or Apple account. It doesn't matter which order you enter: log in, then select your phone as a viewer or camera.

You can change devices later using the drop-down menu in the upper left, which is handy when your current incredible phone turns into a shabby old phone at some point in the future.

 

That's it

After logging in, your camera phone will request some permissions in order to use the camera to stream. After processing, set it where you want to monitor.

From the viewer phone side, just log into the app and tap the camera phone's screenshot of the room being streamed. After a few moments, you will be watching the live broadcast.

三和一善

 

At the bottom of the screen, there's a call button that enables a handy two-way talk feature between phones. There's also a record button if you want to record what's going on.

Motion detection is a nice feature to turn on from the camera phone. If it senses activity in the room, it will alert your viewers to their phones, which you can then watch in real time.

 

It will also be recorded so you can watch it later.

There's a carat button to the right of the call and record buttons, allowing you to rotate the image on your camera phone, switch between the front and rear cameras, turn on the flashlight to better illuminate the room, and even enable the siren to scare off intruders function of the user. All of these functions are launched from the viewer phone to the camera phone. neat, right?

 

If you want to use your computer as a viewer, you can also do this directly from the app's website. Just log in as you would on a viewer phone.

 

what to do?

OK, so you can use it as a normal security camera, but keep in mind that you have a few hours of battery life to spare. I mostly use this setup temporarily, like when the kids are playing in another room and I want to keep an eye on them, or if I'm expecting a package and want to know immediately when it arrives.

 

Also great as a travel baby monitor. Just connect both phones to Wi-Fi and you're ready to go wherever you are.

 

I even use it to monitor laundry: these novelty dryers say the load will be done in 46 minutes, but now with all the humidity sensors built in, they rarely hit their mark.

 

As for the AlfredCamera app, try the free version first to get a feel for it. It's very functional. There's also a premium version for $6 per month or $30 per year, which offers better viewing quality, longer event logging, longer storage, no ads, and a few other perks. It's a rare gem: an app with a great free version and an affordable premium product that's totally worth it.