Phones have been gaining high compatibility with external peripherals, all thanks to the available connections and drivers. A smartphone has many functions, being able to be used as a modem, as a camera for a device and many other functions which can be taken from a smartphone.
Among its possibilities, a phone can be expanded with a USB stick, all as long as you use an OTG cable to connect this memory. The connection with a pendrive allows you to pass data or have access to them quickly and accessing it as if your mobile were a computer to it.
Today we are going to explain how to connect usb webcam to android phone with a few simple steps, requiring at least one cable for connection. Almost all models of webcams usually work, compatibility may be subject to manufacturers and their installation in other devices outside of computers.
Reuse a webcam
Among its functions you will be able to reuse a USB webcam, if it usually has a decent video quality, this will be to contribute and improve the front camera of your phone. Selfie cameras are at a very high level, which is why finding a comparable webcam will depend on what you are going to spend.
It is not very common to have a webcam, unless you are a content creator, although laptops have been adding it to their screens. A camera of this type can be used to connect through applications and being able to hold meetings with people, either with Zoom, Skype, among other tools.
The best thing is to look in that drawer where you usually keep relics of years, older peripherals tend to work just as well as newer ones, though they sometimes fail over time. Cameras can get a second life outside of desktop PCs and laptops.
First step, buy an OTG cable
When connecting a USB stick or other peripheral via USB, for its fast connection and detection is to have an OTG cable. A page that usually has this type of cables at a good price is Amazon, a site where you can find almost everything you can think of and much more.
You have these cables for about 3 euros, although it may vary depending on the manufacturer, which is the one that ultimately decides on the cost of this cable. The connection will be immediate, usually connect immediately and all this without having to install any driver to the terminal.
Remember, if you already have an OTG, you will not need to buy one at your specialized store, can also be found in centers such as Carrefor, MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés, among others. Here the price of each one will vary, so it may cost a little more, although the difference will not be much.
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How to connect USB webcam to phone
The first thing is to have the USB OTG cable ready, check that your phone has a USB-C input, so you will need the OTG connection to be of this type. If you have the Micro USB input, you have to have an OTG of this type, being the other if you have a current phone.
Each of the OTG can be found on Amazon, but not only here, you can also do it on specialized sites, so you can ask. The connection of the USB webcam to the mobile phone will be done as follows:
- Connect the OTG cable with the tip to the phone
- The other tip is for plugging in the standard USB cable in the OTG
- There will be a flicker on the USB webcam if it has a built-in indicator
- Everything will be up and running once it's turned on, you will need to install the OTG View application on the phone, except the one that you are going to use for the video conference and the use of the webcam
No messages will be skipped on the phone, except in some of the occasions which usually displays a message that it has found a new connected device. The USB is usually the one that allows us to see this message almost always and we must ignore it, not touching any button after the alert is triggered on our mobile phone.
Install OTG View
To see the webcam from the phone you will have to use an application, which will act as a driver on the phone and does not need to be configured. Android by default uses the front camera, so the recognition depends on this tool, which is vital to see if the camera works.
The installation will be done like any other, grant permission to access the device, viewing the image once you have this and other permissions. OTG View is a utility that hardly requires resources and it is recommended by Google itself to install it on the phone.
Once you download and install the app, you can do many tasks with OTG View, including rotating the image or reflecting it in turns of up to 180 degrees. Add to that the app's resolution, brightness adjustment, contrast, and other features that make it an important utility.
It is an application that will recognize everything connected until the boot, so you will not need to remove the camera from the OTG, as well as the one connected by USB-C to the mobile. The connections will be visible once you open it in the app, which is usually vital to see the camera image.
Take photos and videos with OTG View
Among the functions of OTG View are the ability to capture photos and videosIn addition, the application recognizes digital photography cameras. The sensors of the cameras are much better than those of an average standard webcam, so you can get a lot of juice out of it just by connecting it via OTG.
Once you open the OTG View app, the user has the typical options of a mobile phone, with the buttons to capture still photos, to record a video and to access the images/videos taken. It is a complete application that improves over time.
Among its options, you have the ability to capture several seconds to be able to position yourself and take a selfie without having to use the phone with one hand. OTG View is an app worth checking out if you use an external wired camera, giving you the options of a phone camera, the environment is the same.