Working at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Simple Webcam Solution

Working at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Simple Webcam Solution

With official work-at-home orders and general public health wisdom, forcing many people to work from home, small businesses are scrambling to find solutions that work for their employees. While there is a lot to consider, such as whether at-home VoIP phone services are necessary, one thing that small businesses don’t have to worry about is setting up webcams at home.

Here’s how to efficiently use an Android phone as a webcam, so employees don’t have to worry about laptop-associated camera security risks or dust off that old webcam from the 90s (which likely doesn’t work, anyway).

Download the Preferred App and Necessary Driver

Setting up an Android phone to use as a webcam is much easier than installing full VoIP phone services. All employees need to do is download a suitable app and the necessary driver software. The app is downloaded to and installed on the employee’s Android phone, while the driver software is downloaded to their PC (which can be a laptop or desktop).

There are a couple of suitable apps that will turn an Android phone into a webcam. Both of them have free and paid versions depending on employees’ precise streaming needs.

EpocCam from Kinoni turns an Android phone or an iPhone into a webcam that’s compatible with most major video conferencing platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Skype. It’s also useful for Youtube videos and personal video calls via Google Hangouts, Facebook Video Calling, Facetime, and other platforms. In some cases, employees may have already set up the app for those uses and be familiar with it.

To install EpocCam, employees must:

1. Download the app to their phone from the appropriate store (i.e., Google Play or App Store), and install the application.
2. Download the appropriate driver (i.e., Windows drivers or macOS drivers) from Kinoni’s website, and install the drivers on their computer.
3. Connect the phone and computer via a USB cord or Wi-Fi network.
4. Grant the app its necessary permissions on the phone and/or computer.

Because EpocCam is compatible with both Android and Apple devices, it’s a comprehensive solution for businesses that have employees who use have different phones.

DroidCam from Dev47Apps is an Android-specific app that’s compatible with all of the same professional and personal video conferencing platforms as EpocCam works on. The advantage of DroidCam is that it’s easier for some Android users to set up.

To install DroidCam, employees need to:

1. Download the app to their Android phone from the Google Play store.
2. Either download the necessary driver to their Windows computer or use the app through a mainstream internet browser. The app will work with internet browsers without any additional drivers installed.
3. Connect the phone and computer via a USB cord or Wi-Fi network.
4. Grant the app its necessary permissions on the phone and/or computer.

Since DroidCam can be used without drivers, it’s easier for some Android phone users to set up.

If there are issues setting up either app, restarting the phone and computer may help.

Always Use an Official App Store

When using an app to set up a phone as a webcam, always use a well-regarded app like these two and download it from an official Google or Apple store. Downloading unknown apps from unreliable sources can lead to installing risky and/or fraudulent apps. Even the Department of Health has been the target of fraud, and small businesses that don’t have the same resources certainly aren’t immune from potential risk.

Get Help with Remote Working Needs

Should you need any help with setting up work-at-home solutions for employees, contact us at SemTech IT Solutions. From simple apps to complete VoIP phone services, we have the IT solutions that small businesses in Centra Florida need.