Use an Android Phone as a Camera in OBS

The short answer

Yes, you can use an Android phone as a video source in OBS Studio. There are three main routes. Some phones can act as a standard USB webcam. A companion app on the phone and computer can send video over USB or Wi-Fi. A browser-based or streaming-protocol bridge can feed the phone's camera into OBS. The main limit is that the video path and the audio path are separate decisions. Several of these methods carry video only, or treat audio as optional. You will usually need to choose a microphone deliberately and check lip sync in OBS.

How the connection routes differ

Route | How it reaches OBS | What to check

Built-in USB webcam mode | Recent Android versions let some phones present themselves to the computer as a standard USB webcam. OBS then sees the phone as an ordinary Video Capture Device. | Availability depends on the phone model and manufacturer. It may not provide an audio device, so confirm whether a microphone appears on the computer.

Companion webcam app | An app on the phone pairs with a desktop client or an OBS plugin, over USB or Wi-Fi. | Feature sets vary by app and by free or paid tier: resolution, audio support and watermarks. Wi-Fi adds latency and can drop frames on a busy network.

Browser or stream bridge | The phone sends video through a browser-based peer connection or a streaming protocol. OBS picks it up as a Browser Source or Media Source. | Needs a stable network. Latency and audio handling depend on the service and settings used.

Where your phone supports it, a wired connection is generally the more predictable choice. It avoids wireless interference and can keep the phone charged during long sessions. Wi-Fi gives you more freedom to position the phone. The trade-offs are variable delay and occasional dropouts.

Adding the phone in OBS

• Connect the phone using your chosen route. Make sure the phone is unlocked and has granted any camera permission the app requests.
• In OBS, add a source to your scene. Use Video Capture Device for USB webcam mode or apps that install a virtual camera driver. Use the app's dedicated plugin source if one is provided. Use Browser Source or Media Source for network bridges.
• Select the phone from the device list, then set the resolution and frame rate within what the phone and connection can sustain.
• If the phone also sends audio, check whether it shows up in the OBS Audio Mixer. If it does not, add it as an Audio Input Capture source, or decide to use a different microphone.

What this means for capturing speech

Getting the picture into OBS is only half the job for spoken content. Phone microphones are designed mainly for close-range use, such as holding the phone to your mouth or speaking a short distance away. A phone mounted as a camera is often farther from your mouth than that. A more distant microphone picks up more room sound relative to your voice. That includes reverberation, which is reflections off walls that make speech sound hollow, plus background noise. As a result, speech usually sounds less clear than the camera image might suggest.

Practical options, roughly in order of reliability: use a dedicated USB or interface-connected microphone placed close to your mouth. Or use a headset microphone. Or, if you must use the phone's microphone, position the phone closer to you, accepting a tighter camera framing. Whichever source you use, watch the OBS Audio Mixer meters while speaking at normal volume. Aim for consistent levels that do not reach the red area, which signals clipping. Clipping is distortion that occurs when the signal is too loud for the input.

Keeping lips and voice in sync

Phone video, especially over Wi-Fi, often arrives later than audio from a microphone plugged directly into the computer. When that happens, your voice leads your lip movements. OBS can compensate with the Sync Offset setting in Advanced Audio Properties, which delays an audio source by a set number of milliseconds. Record a short test clip that includes a clap or a hard consonant. Compare the sound with the visible movement, and adjust the offset on the microphone until they line up. Recheck after changing connection type, resolution or frame rate, because each can change the video delay.

Checks before a live session

• Confirm which microphone OBS is actually recording. Mute any duplicate audio sources so the same voice is not captured twice with different delays.
• Keep the phone on power and disable screen sleep or battery-saving features that might interrupt the camera.
• Turn on do-not-disturb so notifications or calls do not interrupt video or audio from the phone.
• Make a test recording and listen back on headphones for clarity, noise and sync before relying on the setup.

Gaps in the available evidence

No confirmed specifications, measurements or test results were available for this guide. It does not state latency figures, supported phone models, resolution limits, or which specific apps include audio or charge for features. These vary by device, Android version and app version. Check them against the current documentation for your phone and chosen app. Statements about phone microphone performance at a distance are general acoustic principles, not measured results.