Home security for nothing!

[Black]

For a long time I've been going to buy one of those tilt & swivel IP webcams but some of the reviews are utterly scathing & I've never pulled the trigger on it. So last night I'm thinking how to find another way round seeing my back door without going downstairs from the computer - no we don't have a bell (running wires is not on and those wireless ones are shit), actually we do have a big metal clangy bell by the door but folk don't seem inclined to use it. We have thick walls and our office room is as far as possible from the back door (we don't use the front door, its not allowed in Kernow!)

Suddenly it hit me, there must be a way of turning my old android phone that's sat in the drawer into an IP cam - YES and ITS FREE!
The IP Webcam app does just that, it uses your wifi so its all internal on your home network. Just run the app and point your browser at the IP address - bingo.
Link here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam&hl=en_GB
Make sure you type the IP address right or you may spend 45 minutes pulling your hair out like I did!

There's lots more features to it but thats the gist.

At last a use for old phones AND some free home security. I am so chuffed with myself, if you already know all this don't deflate me just yet.

[Black]

In case all that is too much to read I'm now on my computer and can look at a live feed of my back door using my old phone and house wifi!

[majordom]

cool

i have ip cameras inside the house for reassurance as i travel a lot - with a ddns server account i can view them over the internet
from anywhere - does the app offer this ?

[Black]

Yes there is a way to set that up but I haven't tried it. Think you may need to fiddle with your router to link it to your external IP address.

As an addendum I have found that battery use is very high (2 hours max not plugged in) and gets quite warm which suggests power use is quite high!

[ATTMFKH]

As an addendum I have found that battery use is very high (2 hours max not plugged in) and gets quite warm which suggests power use is quite high!

So you can watch your house burn down remotely .............. technology eh !

[Black]

As an addendum I have found that battery use is very high (2 hours max not plugged in) and gets quite warm which suggests power use is quite high!

So you can watch your house burn down remotely .............. technology eh !

Yes it pays to be prepared!

Actually phones "should" turn off if the processor starts overheating.

[danny1]

Good tip. Imagine all those old phones in drawers

[Black]

I'm reviving this thread to update I still use that phone to keep watch and its still working well.
I've also got a couple more uses that I've done recently, maybe not earth shattering but simple solutions.

1: I went abroad recently and took 2 old smart phones with decent sized sd cards in to use for holiday snaps. They worked very well and if one ran out of battery I just used the other. Also no bother if they were lost or nicked as they are worthless really. I accidentally left one by a busy temple ruin and came back at least 10 minutes later and it was still there - who would steal a crappy old phone?

2: This bit is really just for those who use cds! Our house stereo has had trouble playing cds for a while and the wife gave me orders to sort it - "I just want to play cds". After some deliberation and option mulling I came up with the easiest solution.... an old phone! I'd already ripped all our cds onto the main computer so just put them on the phone and ran an audio cable from the headphone socket on the phone to the aux-in socket on the stereo. So she's not "just playing cds" but she is playing those albums with easy scrolling choice. It sounds better than I was expecting. Another advantage of this is you can now take your music wherever you go (ie the greenhouse) with the help of a bluetooth speaker. I know lots of people already have their music available on their phone or use streaming services and may have a "dock" or similar but I like this solution as its making use of all the old stuff sitting about the place.

My two old phones are now fully occupied so the next solution won't appear here until I "upgrade" - unless you've got an idea or two?

[Philshoz]

Good skills MacGuyver...

[Vince Noir]

2: This bit is really just for those who use cds! Our house stereo has had trouble playing cds for a while and the wife gave me orders to sort it - "I just want to play cds". After some deliberation and option mulling I came up with the easiest solution.... an old phone! I'd already ripped all our cds onto the main computer so just put them on the phone and ran an audio cable from the headphone socket on the phone to the aux-in socket on the stereo. So she's not "just playing cds" but she is playing those albums with easy scrolling choice. It sounds better than I was expecting. Another advantage of this is you can now take your music wherever you go (ie the greenhouse) with the help of a bluetooth speaker. I know lots of people already have their music available on their phone or use streaming services and may have a "dock" or similar but I like this solution as its making use of all the old stuff sitting about the place.

My two old phones are now fully occupied so the next solution won't appear here until I "upgrade" - unless you've got an idea or two?

jesus christ gandalf youve only just clocked onto this

[Black]

2: This bit is really just for those who use cds! Our house stereo has had trouble playing cds for a while and the wife gave me orders to sort it - "I just want to play cds". After some deliberation and option mulling I came up with the easiest solution.... an old phone! I'd already ripped all our cds onto the main computer so just put them on the phone and ran an audio cable from the headphone socket on the phone to the aux-in socket on the stereo. So she's not "just playing cds" but she is playing those albums with easy scrolling choice. It sounds better than I was expecting. Another advantage of this is you can now take your music wherever you go (ie the greenhouse) with the help of a bluetooth speaker. I know lots of people already have their music available on their phone or use streaming services and may have a "dock" or similar but I like this solution as its making use of all the old stuff sitting about the place.

My two old phones are now fully occupied so the next solution won't appear here until I "upgrade" - unless you've got an idea or two?

jesus christ gandalf youve only just clocked onto this

Well its the first time I've even thought about it. And I've been preoccupied dealing with Sauron. We had cds which I prefer as even high quality mp3s still shred some of the info but they do sound better than I was expecting.