Microsoft Releases Mobile Device Camera Support For Webcams on Windows 11

The advantage of this is that most Android phone cameras these days are very high quality, with features like portrait mode, beauty filters, and excellent low-light capabilities. So you can get much better video quality in your video chats by using your phone’s camera rather than your PC’s webcam.

How to use Windows 11 Mobile Device Camera for Webcam

To use this, you first need to connect your Android phone to your Windows 11 PC using the Link to Windows app on your phone. This app allows your phone and PC to communicate with each other. Your Android phone needs to be running Android 9 or newer and have the latest version of the Link to Windows app installed. Microsoft is Inviting Windows 10 Users to Upgrade to Windows 11

Once connected, you can go into Windows 11 settings, choose Bluetooth & Devices, and then Mobile Devices. Here you can select “Manage Devices” and give your PC permission to access your phone’s camera. Windows 11 will then install a small update to enable this camera access.

After that, you can launch any video app on your Windows 11 PC that uses a webcam, like Teams, Zoom, or Skype. Your phone should appear as an option to choose for the webcam. When selected, what your phone’s camera sees will be transmitted to your PC and used in the video app or call.

Microsoft Releases Mobile Device Camera Support For Webcams on Windows 11 (Image Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft says this mobile camera access works wirelessly over Bluetooth or WiFi, so your phone does not need to be physically plugged into your PC. You’ll be able to switch between your phone’s front and rear cameras easily. You can also pause the video streaming if you need privacy during an interruption.

The effects and beauty modes offered by your Android phone’s camera app can also be used and show up on your PC’s video. So you can take advantage of these to look better in your video chats.

Mobile Device Camera Support, This offers a lot more flexibility, ease of use, and quality for webcams by tapping into your phone’s camera capabilities. As most people carry powerful cameras in their pockets every day with their phones, it makes sense to leverage these for PC video rather than relying on the often lower-quality built-in laptop webcams.

Microsoft does say this new mobile camera access feature is still rolling out slowly. So it may take some time before it is widely available to all Windows 11 users.

I hope this simpler explanation gives you a good overall understanding of how you’ll soon be able to use your phone’s camera as a wireless webcam for your Windows 11 PC! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section!