Old phone as a baby monitor: set it up in 10 minutes
Turn the smartphone in your drawer into a baby monitor with sound alerts, live audio and talk-back. A step-by-step guide for parents.
A baby monitor easily costs 50 to 150 euros, and after two years it gathers dust in a cupboard. Yet in many households there is already a device that can do more: an old Android phone with a camera and microphone. With VintageCam it becomes a baby monitor in a few minutes, one that keeps you in the loop not just in the next room but also in the garden, at friends' or over dinner.
What you need
You need an Android phone running version 8 or newer that still has power, a camera and a microphone. It does not have to be current or fast, it only has to run reliably. You also need a charging cable so it can stay plugged in permanently, and Wi-Fi in the house. On your everyday phone, a tablet or a computer you watch later on; the browser is enough for that.
Step 1: Create an account
Open vintagecam.airgine.de and create an account, either with email and password or with your Google account. All features are free for the first 14 days, and you do not enter any payment details.
Step 2: Install the app on the old phone
On the home page you will find the download for the Android app. The first time you open it, Android asks whether you want to allow installation from this source; that is normal for apps outside the Play Store. Then start the app, sign in and choose “Camera”. Give it a room name, for example “Nursery”, and allow camera and microphone.
Step 3: Place the phone
Position the phone so that it has the cot in view but is out of the child's reach. A shelf or a chest of drawers a metre away is ideal, and the cable must never get near the cot. The screen may be off, the app keeps running in the background. In the phone's settings, switch off battery optimisation for the app (the app shows you the way) so that Android does not throttle it.
Step 4: Watch on your phone
Sign in on your everyday phone or in the browser with the same account and choose “Viewer”. You see the room as a still image that refreshes regularly, can listen in live and, depending on your plan, watch live video. With the talk button, which is protected against mis-taps, you soothe your child directly through the camera phone.
Step 5: Set up the alert
In simple mode, sensible defaults apply: the camera measures the noise level in the room, learns what is normal and reports when sounds are clearly louder, such as crying. You get a notification with a photo, even when the app is closed. If that is too much or too little for you, you can adjust sensitivity, pauses and recording length in advanced mode. How to avoid false alarms is covered in the article Setting up alerts properly.
Two tips from practice
Take ten minutes for a trial run before the first real use: have someone clap or speak loudly in the room and watch how quickly the message reaches you. And set up a second account for your partner right away. With the invitation link in the account you share camera, settings and recordings, and the same person does not always have to listen at night.
More about what else the app can do is on the page Who is VintageCam for?.
