The $0 Home Security System That’s Currently Hiding in Your Junk Drawer

Let’s talk about that graveyard of old phones you have hiding in a drawer. Instead of letting them gather dust until they become ancient artifacts, it’s time to make one work as part of your home security setup.

You can turn that old iPhone or Android into a surprisingly decent security camera for free. Yes, seriously. With one simple app, you can get a live feed to keep an eye on your porch, pets, or anything else you want to monitor, all without purchasing new equipment.

All you need is a good place to support it and a power source. In just a few minutes, that useless phone you’ve been storing away finally has a use. It’s the ultimate way to have peace of mind and finally justify keeping all that old technology.

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Step 1: Install a security camera app on your old smartphone

To get started, you’ll need to choose a security camera app. Most apps offer many of the same features, such as local streaming, cloud streaming, recording and storing footage locally or remotely, and motion detection and alerts. Once set up, you’ll be able to monitor your living space and control your security camera from anywhere, right from your new phone.

One of the best apps to set your phone as a security camera is Alfred. It’s cross-platform, so it doesn’t matter if your old phone was an Android phone or an iPhone. The same goes for your new phone.

Alfred is free and gives you a remote view of your live stream, motion detection with alerts, free cloud storage, two-way audio streaming, and use of both front and rear cameras. To unlock additional features, such as high-resolution viewing and recording, zoom capabilities, ad removal, and 30-day cloud storage, you can upgrade to Alfred Premium.

1. Download Alfred (Android, iOS) on your old and new phones. You don’t have to use a phone as a monitoring tool – you can also download Alfred to your tablet or PC if you prefer to monitor from there. Just make sure the app is on both devices.

2. On the new phone, scroll through the introduction and tap To start. Select Viewer and press Following.

3. Once you arrive at the login page, click Sign in with Google (a Google account is required) and log in with your Google account credentials.

4. On the old phone, repeat the same steps, but instead of selecting Viewerselect Camera. Make sure you sign in to the same Google account.

Once both phones are connected to Alfred, you are almost done with the setup. Alfred has simplified the camera options to include only a few settings. On iOS, you can only enable motion detection, choose between front and rear cameras, and turn audio on or off. If you’re using an Android device, you have these options and can also enable continuous focus, have Alfred reopen automatically if the phone restarts, set a resolution, and enable a passcode lock.

From your new phone, you can change a few more settings, such as turning notifications on or off, setting a camera or viewer name, adding other people to your account. Circle of trust (allow others to access your video streams), delete a camera, check how many times a camera has disconnected, set motion detection sensitivity, and enable a low light filter on cameras.

If Alfred doesn’t really do it for you, you can explore other webcam app options. Other apps that can give your old phone a security camera upgrade include:

• Faceter: Faceter is a monitoring app that offers quick setup and cloud storage for Apple and Android phones.
• Epoccam: EpocCam is a very fast camera app designed for content creators but can be used for a wide variety of purposes. It is currently designed only for iPhones.
• iVCam from E2ESoft: iVCam is a more open source camera solution that’s best suited for those who really want to tinker with camera settings and customize them, although, like EpocCam, it focuses a little more on webcam-related activities than security.

Step 2: Choose a location for your new smartphone security camera

Once the flow is up and running, you will need to configure and position the camera. You may want it to focus on the main entry point to your home, your garden, where you store your valuables, or a point you think might be particularly vulnerable. If you have multiple old phones, you can set up multiple cameras for pretty robust video coverage.

Step 3: Mount and power your smartphone with security camera

To mount or position the camera, a small smartphone tripod or a suction cup car mount can work wonders and help you position the camera in an inconspicuous location. To expand the field of vision, consider purchasing a wide angle lens for your phonesomething that can be purchased for between $5 and $20 online.

Video streaming is very power hungry and the phone will run 24/7. To prevent the phone from dying in the first few hours, you will need to place it near a power source. A 10ft Micro-USB, Lightning cable Or USB-C The replacement phone cable and charger will give you more flexibility on where you can place it.

And that’s it: you can now use the security camera app on your new phone to view the camera feed from your old phone, and you’ve made your home more secure without spending a lot of money.

Note: When choosing your mounting location, be sure to avoid furnace vents and other heat sources, such as in a window exposed to full sun all day. Heat sources can damage your camera lenses and battery over time, especially when combined with the heat of a power-intensive task like live streaming.

Final Note: Old Smartphones and Security Issues

Smartphones will eventually stop receiving security updates, meaning they could eventually become vulnerable to attacks. If your old phone is still online, for example when you use it as a security camera, that’s a problem.

First of all, we recommend that you erase all personal data from the phone before turning it into a camera. Second, automate your updates when possible. Third, consider giving the phone a final use-by date, after which you will recycle it. These days, companies try to release security updates for five to seven years after release (some have lasted even longer in recent years). We have a complete guide to security for older phones if you want to learn more.

Finally, if we get you excited about using your smartphone for home security, don’t forget that you can also download an app like Hidden Camera Detector to automatically scan for telltale signs of a camera watching over the room. Airbnb may have banned indoor security cameras, but we don’t blame you if you still want to check when you travel.

To find out more, visit best DIY home security systems.