Posted on Feb 25, 2023 by kingbeowulf
Instead of buying expensive security cameras or USB webcams, older cell phones (iOS and Android) can be repurposed as internet (IP) cameras via WIFI. SIM card not required. In this post, I'll describe a two camera security configuration with ZoneMinder video surveillance software system.
For each phone, you'll need to install software to stream the camera video in format accessible to web browsers (Firefox, etc). For my cameras I chose:
These apps will allow you to stream video inside your WiFi network without internet access via http access. There are others; choose wisely.
I recommend setting the phones for a fixed IP address so that the same IP is assigned should the phone restart. One way (recommended), is to set your router to provide static leases and block traffic to the internet (WAN). In the iOS and Android settings, under network, look up the MAC address of your phone.
NOTE: Some Android configurations set up a random MAC address. You'll need to turn this off and use the actual hardware address.
My Wifi router utilizes OpenWrt firmware. Others are similar. To set the static lease and profide a fixed IP address when the phone connects to Wifi:
Network -> DHCP and DNS -> Static Leases -> Add
Enter in the camera hostname, MAC address and IP address to use. Enter the values in the --custom-- field. The values below are examples. You will need to select an IP address that doesn't conflict with any other devices on your network.
Feb 25, 2023
kingbeowulf