If you want to use your Smartphone camera as a platform for surveillance security system that you can watch from anywhere just like other spy camera technologies like dash cam and covert cameras do, then you’re in the right place, because you’re not going to be having problems like software malfunctioning, difficulty in setting up devices and compatibility issues.
First, let’s get through with the basics; you will need to choose a security camera app to install for your Smartphone. Some of these apps may not offer same features like cloud streaming, recording and storing of footage remotely, motion detection capabilities and so on, so you have to be careful and selective and this why the Alfred Home Security webcam app is a very helpful tool. The Alfred Home Security webcam is a tremendous useful app that’s have been receiving positive reviews recently, and the beautiful thing about this app is that; it is well supported for Android, Apple and even PCs, of course we all know that only a handful of such security apps out there are compatible with many devices and can still work perfectly. So if you own maybe an IPhone or Android phone, you have nothing to worry about, just go to Apple store or Google Play for your download, and you’re good to go.
So what does this app really offer?; It is specially made to capture and stream videos in real time, comes with motion detection and night vision capabilities, free cloud storage, zoom-in and zoom-out function, capturing of photos, has a two way conversation feature that can be used like a nanny cam with audio or walkie-talkie, and some other supporting features to learn about when you begin to use it. The app works in such a way that you have view your feed from an internet connected device which can be a PC or another Smartphone and it doesn’t matter if your phone is an old one or not as it has been seen working for Smartphones produced since the year 2010 till date.
Now that you’ve known much about the features of the app you’re going to use for your Smartphone and viewing device, let’s get started on how you can set-up and install the app to get it working for your security purpose.
Set-up / Installation Steps
Step 1: Go to Google play or Apple store, and search for Alfred Security camera, click on install, then you accept and download on your Smartphone. After download is complete, install the app and click on the green ‘open’ button, it will pop-up a window suggestion on how to mount your camera, but don’t worry; you will learn them here.
Step 2: Login in to your Google account on your Smartphone. Now on the app, click the start button and chose either to set-up the device as Viewer or Camera, of course you’re going to chose the camera option since you’re going to use it for monitoring.
Step 3: Choose a spot to place or point the Smartphone camera where you want to monitor. You may want it focused on the place where you keep valuables, entry and exit point to your home or office, your backyard, inside the light fittings of your bedroom, just try to be creative in placing it to avoid any suspicion just like when installing a traditional spy camera at points you think might be particularly vulnerable. In addition, if you have multiple or old spare phones lying around, you can as well set up multiple cameras for viewing different locations at the same time.
Step 4: Now pick up the Smartphone or PC you want to use as a viewing device, install the app and select the ‘as viewer’ option. Login to the same Gmail account like you did with the monitoring device then proceed to next step of viewing.
Step 5: To view your live feed, first thing is to make sure you are using Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser and the date and time on your PC is set correctly, then go to https://alfred.camera/, to begin your viewing. Take note that Motion Detection does not function when you are watching live feed, so if you want Alfred to automatically record clips when there is movement, please end the live session first. If it takes too long for the live feed to come through, disabling hardware decoding acceleration may help.
Step 7: Go to your Monitoring Smartphone, click on save power button, it will turn off the LED screen, which then allows your camera to function as a security phone with motion detection. So that’s all, everything is set and you can start viewing remotely from your viewing station
Other Useful Tips / Guide
For mounting of your Smartphone monitoring device, a small Smartphone tripod or suction cup car mount can is much more recommended since it can magically position the camera in an inconspicuous place, otherwise you may as well fabricate a typical mount for special cases.
To broaden your field of view on the Monitoring Smartphone, you may want to consider buying a wide-angle lens for your phone, which is not expensive and goes for as low as $6, but remember this is optional.
The app has an icon option on your Smartphone to click upon that shows you how many times the camera is disconnected should in case you are having issues with network, or if your camera turns off for any reason. Because of these, it is therefore recommended that you charge your battery fully if you’re skeptical about the battery life of the phone or you may as well buy a new one. However, if you don’t plan to position your Smartphone discretely for monitoring, you can place it close to a power source, using a Micro-USB cable to add some flexibility in positioning your camera.
When using some of the options like motion detection, it will record the events and store it up on your Smartphone monitoring device so that you can click on the saved file at any time to view. There are other useful icons on the app like snapshot, which you can click from your remote viewing device, and it can as well save images on your hard drive. There is also an icon for video recording, and note that it will automatically do the video recording for every detect motion sensing for at least 5 to 25 seconds that you can later view.
It is not advisable to turn on the flashlight on your Smartphone while using if for monitoring, do turn on the low light filter option to enable you view in darker surroundings. For effective use; if your Smartphone has a forward and rear facing camera, of course most phones do, you can as well place the monitoring phone spy camera at the middle of the room or space so that you can have a 360-degree view.
The app also has a screen grid view option that you can zoom in and out from your viewing device, and you can exit to view other Smartphone point of view if you are using more than one mobile phone for monitoring at different spots or places.
If your viewing device is a mobile phone, you will have an icon option that looks like a microphone at the bottom of your screen, click it and speak in to it, and your voice will be broadcasted to wherever your monitoring security camera is. We have seen this option worked for people who intend using the feature as a nanny cam in keeping a watchful eye on their baby.
From your viewing station, you can change a few more settings like turning off / on notifications, remove / add a camera, setting camera or viewer name, and adding other people to your trust circle.
So that’s it!, I hope this useful tips helped, if you’re having any challenges encountered during your process of installation and usage, you can always visit https://alfred.camera/; they have a 24 /7 hours respond team to answer to your query.
