Using Your Phone as a Webcam on Linux

Need a webcam for your Linux system? This guide shows you how to use your phone as a webcam using IP Webcam and v4l2loopback.

Prerequisites

Android phone
Linux system (examples use Arch Linux)
Both devices connected to the same network

Download and Set Up IP Webcam

Install IP Webcam from the Google Play Store.
Open the app and scroll down to find Start server
Tap Start server - the app will display a URL like:
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http://192.168.100.6:8080
Note this IP address for later use

Install Required Packages

Install the necessary dependencies on your Linux system:

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sudo pacman -S --needed v4l2loopback-dkms \
    gstreamer gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad \
    gst-plugins-ugly gst-libav

Create Virtual Camera Device

Load the v4l2loopback module to create a virtual webcam:

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sudo modprobe v4l2loopback exclusive_caps=1 video_nr=10 card_label="IPCam"

Verify the device was created:

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ls -l /dev/video10

Add your user to the video group for proper permissions:

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sudo usermod -aG video $USER

Important: Log out and log back in for the group changes to take effect.

Test the Connection

Verify your phone’s video stream is accessible:

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xdg-open http://192.168.100.6:8080/videofeed

Replace 192.168.100.6 with your phone’s IP address. You should see live video in your browser.

Stream to Virtual Camera

Choose one of the following methods based on your preference:

Method A: MJPEG Stream (More Compatible)

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gst-launch-1.0 souphttpsrc is-live=true do-timestamp=true \
  location=http://192.168.100.6:8080/videofeed ! \
  multipartdemux ! jpegdec ! videoconvert ! v4l2sink device=/dev/video10

Method B: H.264 Stream (Better Quality)

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gst-launch-1.0 souphttpsrc is-live=true do-timestamp=true \
  location=http://192.168.100.6:8080/video ! \
  decodebin ! videoconvert ! v4l2sink device=/dev/video10

Keep this command running while you want to use your phone as a webcam.

Use in Applications

Your phone camera will now appear as IPCam in video applications like:

Zoom
Google Meet
OBS Studio
Discord
Any application that supports V4L2 devices

Bonus: Automation Script

Create a convenient script to automate the process. Save this as ~/.local/bin/ipcam:

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#!/bin/bash
# IP Webcam to Virtual Camera Script

PHONE_IP="192.168.100.6"  # Change to your phone's IP
PORT="8080"
DEVICE="/dev/video10"

# Load v4l2loopback module if device doesn't exist
if ! ls $DEVICE &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Loading v4l2loopback module..."
    sudo modprobe v4l2loopback exclusive_caps=1 video_nr=10 card_label="IPCam"
fi

# Check if device exists
if ! ls $DEVICE &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Error: Could not create virtual camera device"
    exit 1
fi

echo "Starting IP Webcam stream..."
echo "Phone IP: $PHONE_IP:$PORT"
echo "Virtual device: $DEVICE"
echo "Press Ctrl+C to stop"

# Stream configuration
STREAM="/videofeed"                   # Use "/video" for H.264
PIPE="multipartdemux ! jpegdec"       # Use "decodebin" for H.264

gst-launch-1.0 souphttpsrc is-live=true do-timestamp=true \
  location="http://$PHONE_IP:$PORT$STREAM" ! \
  $PIPE ! videoconvert ! v4l2sink device=$DEVICE

Make it executable and run:

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chmod +x ~/.local/bin/ipcam
ipcam

Troubleshooting

Stream not working?

Ensure both devices are on the same network
Verify the IP address in the URL
Try another decoding method.

Permission denied on /dev/video10?

Make sure you’re in the video group: groups $USER
Log out and back in after adding to the group

Poor video quality?

Try the H.264 stream (/video endpoint)
Adjust video settings in the IP Webcam app
Check network bandwidth

Conclusion

You now have a high-quality webcam using your Android phone. This setup provides better video quality than some built-in laptop cameras and gives you the flexibility to position your camera anywhere within your network range.

Also, if you don’t have a webcam on your laptop/PC, this is a great alternative. Enjoy your new webcam setup!

For more details, please refer to the links below.