I hope you are having a great holiday season! Did your gift include a shiny new iPhone 15, Pixel 8 or Galaxy Flip? Well, what about the old phone? Don’t throw it away, because you can use it to set up a home security camera. This would be a perfect way to keep an eye on your property while you’re away. In the spirit of giving, here’s a step-by-step guide that you can use this holiday season to make your home more secure. It’s a conscious belief to always keep a good eye on your home when you’re not there.
First and foremost, download the Alfred camera app, a cross-platform app that allows you to turn your old phone into a security camera. The Alfred app is equipped with many features like motion detection, remote streaming, two-way audio feed as well as cloud storage and recording. With Alfred Premium, you can unlock additional features. So, follow this: Download Alfred on your old and new phones or tablets, sign in with a Google account, make your old phone a security camera, choose where to position it, mount it and connect it to power. Voilà! Your home is now more secure.
Where to position your new security camera is vital. You can focus it on your main entry point, the backyard, where you store valuables or any other vulnerable areas on your property. You can even turn an old phone into a baby monitor. And if you have multiple devices, you can set up multiple cameras.
You will need a stand and a power source for the camera phone so that you can position it and keep it on 24/7. A Micro USB or Lightning cable should give you enough flexibility for this. Now, you’ve turned that old phone into a security camera without spending much money. Besides, you’re not stuck with just one app or camera. If Alfred doesn’t cut it for you, try Manything, Salient Eye, and Presence which are all free or have affordable subscriptions, and are solid choices.
This method is a cost-effective way to beef up your home’s security system, but it comes with limitations. Before you try to turn your old phone into a security camera, it’s important that you read about the app you chose, take note of some others, then weigh the pros and cons. And if this story inspired you, let us know in the comments.
When you’re not here, use an old phone as a security camera while you’re on holiday, work and your property should always be well-protected. But older phones aren’t just good for setting up a security camera. After reading this story, you might be able to get more from an old phone than you initially thought. For example, those other phones in your drawer? You can easily sell them or do a trade-in. We talk about it in other tips, like why your internet router is probably in the wrong spot, and the six places you should be putting home security cameras, so check them out. I hope this tip is useful for you. I’ll be back tomorrow with another new suggestion.
