Taking care of kids and children can sometimes be quite a challenging task. If you’re a parent yourself, you’d mostly understand how having a baby at home can take away all of your time. You will even find it difficult to have spare time for a shower or a good night’s sleep.
Fortunately, technology is here to elevate our lives. One way that technology can help us in taking care of our babies is by the use of baby monitors.
Baby monitors are like a CCTV but instead of having security features, they are designed to monitor an infant at all times and alert you when your attention is needed. It is also a great way to keep an eye on your baby while you’re in another room. That being said, baby monitors can sometimes be really expensive and can easily chip your budget.
Fortunately, a good alternative is by turning your old smartphone into a baby monitor. So, if you have an old Android phone lying around, why not consider turning it into a baby monitor?
In this post, we’ll show you how to turn or make your old Android phone into a baby monitor.
Why should you use your Android phone as a baby monitor?
There are many things that you can do with an old Android device. Here are the reasons why you should use it as a baby monitor if you have a baby in the house.
- Perform your daily activities without worrying that your baby is constantly crying.
- If your baby starts crying, you’ll find out about it through the baby monitor and you can then take care of the baby.
- Entertain your guests while your baby is sleeping in the next room.
- Save a lot of money by using your old Android phone instead of buying a baby monitor.
An App to turn a phone into a baby monitor
1. Dormi – Baby Monitor
The Dormi – Baby Monitor app is one of the most popular audio baby monitors available on the Google Play Store. This particular app lets you do everything that you can do on a regular audio baby monitor and a bit more!
You don’t need to worry about the sensitivity of the phone’s microphone as the app can easily configure it, even if you place the phone far from the baby. The app not only lets you listen to the baby, but it also lets you speak so for instance if your baby starts crying, you can sing a song or say a poem to calm him/her.
For this app to work, you’ll need 2 pcs of smartphone that supports the app. The app is free to use for the first 4 hours of monitoring every month. You can, however, pay a certain amount for unlimited monitoring time. This method is still way cheaper than buying an actual baby monitor.
To start, you need to download and install the app first. Ensure that you install the app on both devices to be used.
Once done, follow the steps below:
Pair Both Devices
Make sure that both the phones are connected to the same WiFi and launch the Dormi app on both phones. You’ll now see your old Android device appearing in the list. You can now pair both devices.
If you don’t have WiFi, go to Internet pairing and tap on Generate password on your regular Android device. This will give you a temporary password.
On your old Android device, tap on “Enter” password and type the password that you got on your regular Android device. You might need to confirm the request once you enter the password.
Set Up the Parent & Child Device
On the Android device that you want to use as the baby monitor and place in the baby’s room, tap on the drop-down menu on the top and select Child device.
On your regular Android device, tap on the drop-down menu and select Parent device. Your old Android phone has now become your Child device and your regular phone has become the Parent device.
Activate the Baby Monitor to Listen & Speak to the Baby
lace the old Android phone that you set as the Child device in the baby’s room, and on both Android devices, slide the circle towards the Play icon. You have now activated the baby monitor on both devices.
If noise is detected from the child, you’ll get a text notification on your phone. To listen to the baby, tap on the Listen button. In order to speak or sing a poem to your child, tap on the Speak button.
Alternatively, the VTech DM111 Audio Baby Monitor is one of the cheapest audio-only devices that are available for purchase.
VTech DM111 Audio Baby Monitor
This digital monitor uses DECT 6.0 digital technology which eliminates background noise and prevents interference, ensuring a crystal-clear transmission, so the only sounds you hear are your baby’s.
WiFi Baby Monitor
If you’re looking for a video baby monitor, then the WiFi Baby Monitor is the perfect app. The app is not only available for Android, but you can also use it on iOS and Nokia S60 phones. You don’t even need 2 devices as the app also lets you view the video on your PC.
The app brings high video and audio quality along with additional camera controls such as zooming, switching on LED and switching between the front and back camera. In order to view the video from the phone, you’ll need to connect both devices to the same WiFi network.
The app is readily available for download on the Google Play store.
Once done, ensure that all devices to be used for this method is connected to the same WiFi network.
Set-Up Devices
On your old Android phone that you want to use as the camera in the baby’s room, select Camera and tap on the Next button.
On your regular Android phone on which you want to view the video recording, select Viewer and tap on the Next button. You can leave this step if you want to use a PC to view the video instead of another Android device.
Once you’ve configured both devices correctly, place the camera device in your baby’s room.
View on Computer Desktop/Laptop
If you want to view the live feed on your PC, open the web viewer application in your PC’s browser. Enter the IP address used by the old Android phone and click on Start.
Additionally, if you don’t want the video to be shown on the old phone that is in the baby’s room, tap on the Blank Screen button. This can be great for saving battery.
Alternatively, the Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor is one of the best selling baby monitoring products in the market.
Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor
Plug and play – no setup required. Independent sound-activated LED bar lets you see when your baby is crying. Unlike internet cameras, the DXR-8 offers zero load time delay-free playback on a dedicated monitor screen without hogging your smartphone.100% digital privacy, safe from hackers.
Conclusion
Overall, both methods will work but we prefer method 2. Not only is it perfect for a real-time video baby surveillance, but it also has all the features that you will find with audio-only setup
Baby monitors can be essential if you have a baby, especially if you can’t stay with the baby at all times.
If you haven’t thrown out or sold your old Android phone, consider turning it into a baby monitor.
Make sure that you follow all the instructions on how to use an old Android phone as a baby monitor in order to successfully set up a baby monitor on your Android device. If you have any queries, feel free to shoot them in the comments area below and let us know your experience with these baby monitoring apps.
If you’re looking to do more with your old Android phones, then check out our guides on how to use your old Android device as a WiFi-only device and as an MP3 player.
This content was originally published here.
