How to Turn Your Old Phone into a Pet Camera

Got a spare phone sitting in a drawer? Instead of letting it collect dust, you can turn it into a dedicated pet camera in minutes — no extra hardware required, with free basic live monitoring.

This guide walks you through exactly how to do it, what to look out for, and what makes a good pet camera setup at home.

Why Use a Spare Phone as a Pet Camera?

Most pet cameras on the market cost $50–$200 upfront, plus a recurring subscription fee just to access your own footage. If you already have an unused smartphone, you're throwing money away buying dedicated hardware.

A spare phone used as a pet camera gives you:

Live video feed — check on your pet anytime from your main phone
Two-way audio — talk to your pet or call out to them
Zero extra hardware cost — reuse what you already own
Full control over placement — no fixed mounting positions, move it anywhere

What You Need

One spare phone (iOS/iPadOS 13 or later, or Android) — this becomes the camera
Your main iPhone or iPad (iOS/iPadOS 13 or later) — this is the viewer/controller
Internet access on both phones — Wi-Fi or 4G/5G cellular data can work, but both networks must permit a direct P2P connection
A pet camera app that supports spare phone pairing

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Spare Phone as a Pet Camera

Step 1: Download the App

Download Call Pet on both your main iPhone or iPad and your spare device. Call Pet is free to download and designed specifically for this spare-device-as-camera setup.

Step 2: Open the App on Both Phones

Launch Call Pet on your main iPhone or iPad first and set it as the Controller (viewer). On your spare device, set it as the Monitor (camera). Android supports the Monitor role only.

Step 3: Pair with a QR Code

Set the spare device as the Monitor so it displays the pairing QR code. On your main iPhone or iPad, open the Controller and scan that code. No account, password, or email is required.

Step 4: Position the Camera Phone

Place your spare phone somewhere with a clear view of your pet's favorite spot — their bed, feeding area, or the couch they're not supposed to be on. Prop it up against a book, use a phone stand, or mount it on a shelf.

Step 5: Let It Run

Once paired, keep Call Pet open in the foreground on the spare device. Its standby display can be dark and low-brightness, but the device must not be locked and the app must not be left in the background. Open the Controller on your main iPhone or iPad to check in, and tap the microphone to talk to your pet.

Tips for a Better Setup

Battery life: Keep your spare phone plugged in. Running a live camera stream will drain the battery over a full day. A simple charging cable keeps it running indefinitely.

Network placement: Position the spare phone where it has a stable connection. Wi-Fi is usually cheaper for long sessions; 4G/5G cellular data can also work if the phone has an active SIM. Because Call Pet has no TURN or media-relay fallback, both networks must allow P2P; a network that blocks P2P cannot carry the live media.

Camera angle: Pets spend most of their time low to the ground. Place the camera at a low angle — around 30–60 cm off the floor — for a better view of what your pet is actually doing.

Lighting: Cameras struggle in dark rooms. If your pet's area doesn't get much natural light, a small ambient light nearby makes a big difference.

Night monitoring: If you need to check on pets at night, consider a phone with a decent low-light camera, or add a small night light to the room.

What About Privacy?

This is worth thinking about. Most pet camera apps route your video through their own cloud servers — meaning a third party is storing recordings of the inside of your home.

Call Pet takes a different approach: live media goes directly from the spare phone to the main phone over WebRTC, protected with DTLS/SRTP. X25519 + AES-256-GCM protects control and signaling data. Signaling helps establish the connection, but there is no TURN or media relay and no cloud recording. If you manually record on the Controller, that file stays on the Controller locally.

If privacy matters to you — and it should — choose a pet camera solution that doesn't rely on cloud video storage.

Android vs. iOS as the Camera Phone

Either works as the Monitor. An iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 13 or later can be the Controller or Monitor; Android supports the Monitor role only. If your spare phone is Android, use your main iPhone or iPad as the Controller.

Common Questions

Can I use a really old phone? Call Pet is optimized for older devices, but an Apple device must support iOS/iPadOS 13 or later. The Monitor uses a dark, low-brightness foreground standby display; it does not keep monitoring after you lock the phone or put the app in the background.

What if the connection drops? Call Pet reconnects automatically. If Wi-Fi, cellular data, or the current network blips, the connection restores itself after the network comes back without you needing to do anything.

Can I monitor multiple pets or rooms? You can set up multiple spare phones as cameras and switch between them in the app.

Does the spare phone need a SIM card? No. A phone with no active SIM can use Wi-Fi, and a phone with an active SIM can use 4G/5G cellular data. In either case, both ends' networks must allow P2P.

Final Thoughts

Turning a spare phone into a pet camera is one of the most practical ways to reuse old hardware. You get a real-time, private view of your pet without buying new equipment, and basic live monitoring can be used for free.

If you want to try it, download Call Pet for free and have your setup running in under five minutes.