--- title: Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam... description: A personal workaround shows how Windows 11's Mobile devices feature can turn an Android phone, such as a Samsung Galaxy, into a webcam via Microsoft's Phone... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam feel like a waste of money | daily.dev og:description: A personal workaround shows how Windows 11's Mobile devices feature can turn an Android phone, such as a Samsung Galaxy, into a webcam via Microsoft's Phone... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/cbn0uXCog.png og:image:alt: Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam feel like a waste of money og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam feel like a waste of money **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A personal workaround shows how Windows 11's Mobile devices feature can turn an Android phone, such as a Samsung Galaxy, into a webcam via Microsoft's Phone Link app. After signing into the same Microsoft account on phone and PC and enabling 'Use as a connected camera,' users get better image quality than most built-in laptop webcams, plus controls like background blur, soft focus, and auto framing. The feature requires a Microsoft account, doesn't work in locked phone mode, and has no subscription cost, making it a free alternative to buying an external webcam. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I use my Android phone as a webcam on Windows 11? Windows 11's Mobile devices feature lets you use a phone as a connected camera through the Phone Link app. Sign into the same Microsoft account on both the phone and PC, pair them, then enable 'Use as a connected camera' in the mobile devices section on the PC. Controls for switching cameras, pausing video, and effects like Blur, Soft Focus, and Auto Framing are available on both devices, and no subscription is required. _Anyone chasing better video call quality without new hardware can dig into more setup tips on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [My old phone became a $200 webcam upgrade, and the setup took 10 minutes](https://daily.dev/posts/my-old-phone-became-a-200-webcam-upgrade-and-the-setup-took-10-minutes-dnnv6agtx) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I thought linking my phone and PC was pointless, but now I wouldn't have it any other way](https://daily.dev/posts/i-thought-linking-my-phone-and-pc-was-pointless-but-now-i-wouldn-t-have-it-any-other-way-2nt0bb6sa) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped treating my Android phone like a second device after using Phone Link](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-treating-my-android-phone-like-a-second-device-after-using-phone-link-pzps5up6t) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft tests new privacy controls for Windows 11 desktop apps](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-tests-new-privacy-controls-for-windows-11-desktop-apps-yx6omgyab) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android), [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam feel like a waste of money","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog"},"datePublished":"2026-09-28T21:03:49.338Z","dateModified":"2026-09-28T21:06:21.124Z","description":"A personal workaround shows how Windows 11's Mobile devices feature can turn an Android phone, such as a Samsung Galaxy, into a webcam via Microsoft's Phone...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/258af77c16e734992778035e4a34d6df?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/258af77c16e734992778035e4a34d6df?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"android,windows","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Windows 11 and my old Android phone made buying a webcam feel like a waste of money"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-11-and-my-old-android-phone-made-buying-a-webcam-feel-like-a-waste-of-money-cbn0uxcog#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I use my Android phone as a webcam on Windows 11?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Windows 11's Mobile devices feature lets you use a phone as a connected camera through the Phone Link app. Sign into the same Microsoft account on both the phone and PC, pair them, then enable 'Use as a connected camera' in the mobile devices section on the PC. 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