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When you run out of uses for your smart phone you can always convert it to a wifi LAN camera using IP Webcam by Pavel Khlebovich and consume the output in VLC.

When you run out of uses for your smart phone you can always convert it to a wifi LAN camera using IP Webcam by Pavel Khlebovich and consume the output in VLC. I have been using an old phone for this purpose successfully for years.

nfriedly 5y ago
In general, I'm pretty aggressive about reselling or giving away old hardware when I no longer use it. But I do appreciate innovative uses like that, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some previous phone of mine is serving as a LAN camera for someone else :)
ajsnigrutin 5y ago
Is it running 24/7? How is the camera (sensor) holding on? Is the image quality still ok? I had the same plans, but I was always afraid that running the camera for a long(-er) time will degrade the sensor fast, so te phones are collecting dust in a drawer now :)
- hanselot 5y ago
  On Christmas morning we had a break-in at our house. Since then have been using an old droid connected to wifi as IP Webcam (I even bought pro actually) There are enough settings to allow for just about any use-case. For me, I had issues doing full HD over wifi, since the router is upstairs in a different room, but you can play around with settings for resolution and FPS until you find something stable enough for your setup. The heating seems okay, leave it on 24/7 with no downtime. Occasionally the phone falls off the wall due to the advanced taping mechanism keeping it there, but that's not the software's fault. You can have it automatically run at boot. We have load shedding here often, and the phone recharges quickly enough after the 2 hour shutdown of power and can stream throughout (connected to mobile hotspot wifi - also for loadshedding reasons) I don't buy many apps, but this one I recommend for sure.
deno 5y ago
This is less useful than it sounds because there’s no integrated night vision, unlike even the cheapest ip cams. So really only works as a webcam.
- FrenchAmerican 5y ago
  How do you manage the battery? I would be afraid of a fire after x years being on all the time. Note that I have no specific knowledge on the subject ; it's quite possibly a fear without any reasonable ground. But I had a cheap speaker that I used with a Chromecast audio to listening to podcasts ; I left it always on and... I came back just in time one night, the speaker was producing a large dark smoke. I almost put fire to one of the oldest habitation building in Paris (1704) - with a lot of apparent wood etc. :-( Not proud of it, but good lesson. I recently read about the risk of fire in cheap replacement phone chargers. Google's ought to be of quality but... still a no-no for me. Obviously, advice from people with knowledge on the issue will be appreciated.
  - afavour 5y ago
    Another reason why non removable batteries are crap. I have an old Nexus phone kicking around, if I were to repurpose it I’d just remove the battery and power it via USB. But you can’t do that with newer devices.
    - orangepurple 5y ago
      I wish there was an ability to replace smartphone batteries with a capacitor bank. Dashcam users have had these battery problems since Day 1. The solution is to replace batteries with capacitors. They are far more durable and can tolerate heating well.
      - FrenchAmerican 5y ago
        I didn't know about "capacitors". Thanks for mentioning it.
  - 5y ago
afavour 5y ago
I do appreciate stuff like that but I wish there were more alternatives, I don’t need a LAN camera! And I can’t think of much else I’d repurpose the hardware for either. I wish it were a lot easier to use phones as phones for a long time.

nfriedly 5y ago

In general, I'm pretty aggressive about reselling or giving away old hardware when I no longer use it. But I do appreciate innovative uses like that, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some previous phone of mine is serving as a LAN camera for someone else :)

ajsnigrutin 5y ago

Is it running 24/7? How is the camera (sensor) holding on? Is the image quality still ok? I had the same plans, but I was always afraid that running the camera for a long(-er) time will degrade the sensor fast, so te phones are collecting dust in a drawer now :)

hanselot 5y ago
On Christmas morning we had a break-in at our house. Since then have been using an old droid connected to wifi as IP Webcam (I even bought pro actually) There are enough settings to allow for just about any use-case. For me, I had issues doing full HD over wifi, since the router is upstairs in a different room, but you can play around with settings for resolution and FPS until you find something stable enough for your setup. The heating seems okay, leave it on 24/7 with no downtime. Occasionally the phone falls off the wall due to the advanced taping mechanism keeping it there, but that's not the software's fault. You can have it automatically run at boot. We have load shedding here often, and the phone recharges quickly enough after the 2 hour shutdown of power and can stream throughout (connected to mobile hotspot wifi - also for loadshedding reasons) I don't buy many apps, but this one I recommend for sure.

deno 5y ago

This is less useful than it sounds because there’s no integrated night vision, unlike even the cheapest ip cams. So really only works as a webcam.

FrenchAmerican 5y ago
How do you manage the battery? I would be afraid of a fire after x years being on all the time. Note that I have no specific knowledge on the subject ; it's quite possibly a fear without any reasonable ground. But I had a cheap speaker that I used with a Chromecast audio to listening to podcasts ; I left it always on and... I came back just in time one night, the speaker was producing a large dark smoke. I almost put fire to one of the oldest habitation building in Paris (1704) - with a lot of apparent wood etc. :-( Not proud of it, but good lesson. I recently read about the risk of fire in cheap replacement phone chargers. Google's ought to be of quality but... still a no-no for me. Obviously, advice from people with knowledge on the issue will be appreciated.
- afavour 5y ago
  Another reason why non removable batteries are crap. I have an old Nexus phone kicking around, if I were to repurpose it I’d just remove the battery and power it via USB. But you can’t do that with newer devices.
  - orangepurple 5y ago
    I wish there was an ability to replace smartphone batteries with a capacitor bank. Dashcam users have had these battery problems since Day 1. The solution is to replace batteries with capacitors. They are far more durable and can tolerate heating well.
    - FrenchAmerican 5y ago
      I didn't know about "capacitors". Thanks for mentioning it.
- 5y ago

afavour 5y ago

I do appreciate stuff like that but I wish there were more alternatives, I don’t need a LAN camera! And I can’t think of much else I’d repurpose the hardware for either. I wish it were a lot easier to use phones as phones for a long time.