CamRelay 1.0.3: Use Your Phone as a Windows Webcam and Watch Live in Your Browser

CamRelay 1.0.3 is now available on Google Play. This update makes your camera much easier to use: open it in any web browser, use your phone as a wireless webcam for video calls on Windows, and keep it running when the phone's screen is off.

Turn your phone into a wireless webcam for Windows

Your phone's camera is probably much better than the webcam built into your laptop. With 1.0.3, you can use it as a camera on your Windows PC, without cables, drivers or extra software on the PC.

Windows 11 has built-in support for network cameras, and CamRelay now works with it. Once you add your phone, Windows treats it like a webcam plugged into the PC, so any app that can use a camera can use your phone.

What you can do with it

• Online meetings: pick your phone as the camera in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype or Discord and look sharper on every call.
• Better angles: the phone is wireless, so you can put it anywhere in the room. Use a tripod at eye level, mount it high for a wide view of a meeting room, or point it down at your desk to show papers, sketches or products.
• Streaming and recording: use it as a second camera in OBS Studio or as your main camera in the Windows Camera app.
• Choose the lens: pick the wide-angle, main or front camera in CamRelay, depending on how much of the room you want to show.

How to add it

1. In CamRelay, go to Settings > Camera > Video Codec and select H.264.
2. Start streaming. Make sure the phone and the PC are on the same Wi-Fi network.
3. On your PC, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras.
4. Under Network cameras, your phone appears with the camera name you set in CamRelay. Click Add.
5. In your meeting app, open its video settings and select your phone as the camera. In Zoom, for example, go to Settings > Video > Camera.

Important: use H.264. Windows doesn't support H.265 network cameras yet. If CamRelay is set to H.265, Windows can find your phone but can't show its picture. Switch the video codec to H.264 before adding it.

Note: video only for now. Windows currently uses only the video from network cameras. The phone's microphone can't be used as a microphone on the PC yet. Use your PC's microphone or a headset for audio during calls.

Tips for the best result

• Keep the phone charged: plug it into a charger during long calls.
• Pick a sensible quality: 720p or 1080p at 30 fps is plenty for video calls and keeps the Wi-Fi connection light.
• Prefer a strong Wi-Fi signal: a 5 GHz network, or a PC connected by cable, gives the smoothest picture.

Works better with NVR and security apps too

We also improved how CamRelay works with NVR and security camera software such as Frigate. Your phone is found automatically on the network, the stream details are reported correctly, and apps that support H.265 can now use it for sharper video at a lower bitrate.

Watch live in any web browser, no player app needed

CamRelay streams video over RTSP, the standard used by security cameras. It's great for NVRs and apps like VLC, but web browsers can't play RTSP. So until now, just looking at your camera meant installing a player app first. That's tricky on a work PC where you can't install software, on an iPad, or when you just want a quick look from a family member's phone.

With 1.0.3, the CamRelay web interface has a built-in Live Player. If you can open a web page, you can watch your camera.

Works on almost anything

• Any modern browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
• Any device: Windows PC, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, even a smart TV with a browser.
• Nothing to install: no VLC, no plugins, no account and no cloud. The video goes straight from your phone to your browser over your own Wi-Fi.
• Several viewers at once: open the page on more than one device at the same time.

How to watch

1. Start streaming in CamRelay.
2. On another device on the same Wi-Fi, open the web interface address shown in the app (it looks like http://192.168.1.20:8888).
3. The live video appears at the top of the page.

Tip: Bookmark the page or add it to your home screen. Next time, checking your camera is a single tap.

Made for everyday use

• Fast and smooth: the video starts in a second or two and plays at full frame rate with very little delay, so it really feels live.
• Always get a picture: if the fast mode can't connect on your network, the player switches to a simpler mode automatically. You can also switch modes yourself with one tap.
• Fullscreen: tap Fullscreen (or double-click the picture) for a big view, great on a TV or a second monitor.
• Control and watch on one page: the same web page also lets you change camera settings while you watch, so you see the result immediately.
• Your recordings are safe: watching in the browser doesn't interrupt the RTSP stream or local recording.

Ready for more? Copy the stream link

When you want more than a quick look, for example 24/7 recording in an NVR, adding the camera to Home Assistant, or using it in OBS Studio, tap Copy RTSP URL and paste the link into that app.

Note: The Live Player shows video only for now. To hear the camera's audio, open the RTSP link in a player such as VLC. If you've set the video format to H.265, the player uses the simpler mode at a lower frame rate. Choose H.264 for the smoothest browser playback.

Keep streaming when the screen is off

Android saves battery by putting apps to sleep when the phone is idle, which can stop the stream, especially on a phone left on a shelf as a security camera.

CamRelay now asks, once, whether you want to turn off battery optimization for the app. It's optional: you can skip it and change it later in Settings > Safety & Automation > Battery Optimization.

Tip: Some phones (for example Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Samsung) have extra battery savers. If streaming still stops, allow Autostart and turn off Battery saver for CamRelay in your phone's settings.

Better video settings out of the box

When you change the resolution, CamRelay now picks a suitable bitrate for it automatically. You no longer end up with a blurry high-resolution picture or a low resolution that wastes bandwidth. You can still fine-tune the bitrate yourself at any time.

Also in this update

• An updated user guide with new screenshots, available in all supported languages.
• Stability improvements and bug fixes.

Get the update

CamRelay 1.0.3 is rolling out on Google Play now. If you don't see it yet, it should arrive within a few days.

Get CamRelay on Google Play

Have feedback or ideas? Tap Feedback in the app's About screen. We read every message.