Turn Your Phone into a Computer Webcam with a USB Cable!

If your computer's camera is showing blurry images, you may not need to buy a new webcam right away. The USB webcam feature on supported Google Pixel phones allows you to use the phone's camera in video calling applications on the computer.

The nice thing about this method is that it takes advantage of the phone's supported built-in USB camera function rather than transferring the image through a third-party camera app.

Google's official Pixel update announcement explains this usage for Pixel Fold and Pixel 6 and later phones. blog.google

How to do it step by step?

1. Prepare your phone.

Use a supported Google Pixel phone. In order for the feature to appear, it is important that the phone's software is up to date and that you use a cable that supports data transfer via USB.

2. Connect the phone to the computer.

Plug the USB-C cable into your phone and computer.

Use a cable that also supports data transfer instead of a cable that only provides charging.

3. Unlock the phone.

Turn on notification regarding USB connection. If your phone offers a supported USB camera feature, the connection options include Webcam or a similar camera option.

4. Select webcam mode.

Select Webcam from the USB usage options. When your phone goes into this mode, it works to transfer the camera image to the computer.

5. Open the video calling application on your computer.

For example, open Zoom, Google Meet or OBS Studio.

6. Change camera source.

Select your phone as the camera source from the camera settings of the application. The device name may appear differently depending on the operating system and connection type.

7. Check the image.

Place your phone on a stand, adjust the framing and check that the image is in the correct orientation. You may also need to select the microphone in the application you will use.

How do you improve image quality?

• Place the phone close to eye level.
• Make sure there is no very bright window behind your face.
• Clean the camera lens.
• Place the phone on a stable stand for long calls.
• Check that the correct camera source is selected in the calling application.

What should you do if the feature is not visible?

1. Check that your phone is one of the supported Pixel models.
2. Connect the phone with a different USB data cable.
3. Unlock the phone and check the USB notification again.
4. Reopen the camera list on the computer.
5. If the feature still does not appear, note that your device or software version may not support this functionality.

Important: This is not a universal feature that works the same on all Android phones. Take Pixel device support as the basis in Google's announcement. blog.google

Official source

Google's Pixel update announcement