Stop using your laptop’s low-quality webcam! Here’s how to use your Android phone as a camera on Windows 11 instead

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Many Android phones can be used as webcams with Windows 11 or 10. Just connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and adjust a setting on your phone. By default, your phone will likely start charging when connected, but changing this to ‘webcam’ mode can give you a much better video quality than most built-in laptop webcams.

I frequently use my Google Pixel as a webcam, particularly when I’m traveling. I can simply unplug the USB-C cable that came with the phone from its charger and connect it to most laptops for a clearer picture. However, some brands like Samsung and Motorola don’t allow you to use your Android phone as a webcam through a USB connection, which makes setting it up a bit more complicated.

I’ve found a really handy trick for video calls! I can position my phone exactly where I need it – as long as the cable reaches, of course – and it just looks so much better than looking up at a laptop camera. I’ve been using this a lot with my Google Pixel 7 Pro, and thankfully, Phone Link lets you do this wirelessly with other phones too. Let me walk you through how it all works.

How to use a Google Pixel as a webcam

Setting this up isn’t difficult, but your Google Pixel doesn’t automatically do it when connected to a Windows computer. Here’s a guide to getting it working.

  1. Connect your Pixel to your Windows 11 PC with a compatible USB cable
  2. Navigate to your Notifications panel, usually by scrolling down from the top-center part of your phone’s display
  3. Tap the USB notification, which usually displays a “Charging this device via USB” message
  4. Within USB preferences, change the “Use USB for” setting to Webcam
  • Optional: At this point, you can check in Device Manager whether Windows 11 has correctly identified your Google Pixel smartphone as a webcam, and verify that “Android Webcam” appears under the Cameras subsection. Press your Start menu and type “Device Manager” to find this.
  1. Open the Camera app in Windows 11, and select Android Webcam by clicking the Change camera button in the top-right area of the app (an icon of arrows rotating around a circle)

Using other Android smartphones as a webcam

Samsung and Motorola, along with other smartphone makers, sometimes turn off the option to use their Android phones as webcams directly. While this can add a step to the setup, it’s still possible to use your phone as a webcam with Phone Link, a built-in Windows application.

  1. Set up your Android smartphone with the Mobile devices section of the Settings app on Windows 11 by following our guide
  2. Ensure “Allow this PC to access your mobile devices” is set to On
  3. Click Manage devices and set “Use as a connected camera” to On for your intended Android phone
  4. Open the Camera app in Windows 11 to check that it’s working, and select Android Webcam by clicking the Change camera button in the top-right area of the app (an icon of arrows rotating around a circle)
  1. Check your phone to control which camera (front or rear-facing) is used by Windows 11

Don’t use a laptop webcam, use your phone!

If you mostly use a laptop for video calls, a small change can dramatically improve your webcam quality. While some laptops have good cameras, many people have much better cameras on their smartphones. A quick comparison between the webcam on this ASUS Zenbook and the camera on my Google Pixel 7 Pro clearly shows the difference.

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2025-10-27 20:15