How to Connect a Phone Camera to OBS over USB

OBS Studio cannot use a phone's camera through the USB cable alone. A plugged-in phone normally shows up as a charging device or a storage device, not as a camera. To use it in OBS, you first need the phone to present itself to the computer as a video device. There are two ways to do this. Some recent Android phones have a built-in USB webcam mode. Otherwise, you use a webcam bridge app, which has one part on the phone and a companion program or driver on the computer. Once the computer sees the phone as a camera, you add it in OBS as a Video Capture Device source.

Check which direction you need

This guide covers getting the phone's camera into OBS, so you can record, stream or compose scenes with it. That is a different task from OBS Virtual Camera, which sends OBS's finished output to a video-call app as if it were a webcam. You can combine the two, with the phone feeding OBS and OBS feeding the call. If your goal is to join a call, the call app's own setup steps still apply after the steps below.

What you need before you start

• OBS Studio installed and opened at least once.
• A USB cable that carries data, not only power. Some cables sold with chargers carry power only, and the computer will not detect the phone through them.
• Either a phone with a built-in USB webcam option, or a webcam bridge app installed on the phone together with its matching computer program or driver. Check that the app supports your phone's operating system, your computer's operating system and a USB connection.
• The phone unlocked and kept awake during setup.

Step 1: Choose how the phone will appear as a camera

Route | What it involves | Things to confirm first

Built-in USB webcam mode (some recent Android phones) | You select a webcam option in the phone's USB connection settings, and the computer treats the phone as a standard camera | Not every phone or Android version offers this. Look for a webcam choice after plugging in.

Webcam bridge app (Android or iPhone) | An app on the phone sends video to a companion program or driver on the computer, which then provides a camera device | Whether USB is supported, not only Wi-Fi. Also check any limits in a free version, such as resolution caps or watermarks, which differ from app to app.

Step 2: Prepare the phone and the connection

Android with a built-in webcam mode: connect the cable, then open the USB notification or the USB preferences screen on the phone. Choose the webcam option if it is listed. Success check: the computer's camera list now includes a new device, such as the device list in your operating system's camera settings or in OBS.

Android with a bridge app: many bridge apps use USB debugging to move video over the cable. USB debugging is a developer setting that lets the computer talk to the phone over USB. To turn it on, enable Developer options, usually by tapping the Build number entry in the About phone screen several times. Then switch on USB debugging in Developer options. When you connect the cable, the phone asks whether to allow debugging from this computer. Approve it. Success check: the prompt stops reappearing, and the bridge app's computer program reports a USB connection. If your app's instructions don't mention USB debugging, follow the app's own method instead.

iPhone with a bridge app: unlock the phone, connect the cable and tap Trust when asked whether to trust this computer. On Windows, the computer may need Apple's device support components before it can communicate with the iPhone. These usually come with Apple's own apps for Windows. Your bridge app's instructions should say whether you need them. Success check: the bridge app's computer program detects the iPhone over USB.

Step 3: Start the video feed

If you use a bridge app, open it on the phone and open its companion program on the computer. Then choose the USB connection, not Wi-Fi, if it gives you a choice. Keep the app in the foreground on the phone, because many phones pause the camera when the app goes to the background or the screen locks. Success check: the companion program shows a live preview that moves when you move the phone. With a built-in webcam mode, there is usually no separate program, so go straight to Step 4.

Step 4: Add the phone as a source in OBS

• 1. In OBS, select the scene you want to use.
• 2. In the Sources panel, click the plus button and choose Video Capture Device. On Linux, it may be listed as Video Capture Device (V4L2).
• 3. Name the source and confirm.
• 4. In the Device dropdown, choose the entry for your phone or bridge app.
• 5. If the properties window lets you set a resolution, either keep the default or pick a mode the app supports. Then click OK.
• 6. Drag or resize the source in the preview so it fits the frame the way you want.

Success check: the OBS preview shows the phone's live image, and it moves when you move the phone. If the device is in the list but the preview is black, see the troubleshooting section below. If OBS was open while you installed a driver or companion program, close OBS completely and reopen it, because the new device may not appear until OBS restarts.

Step 5: Confirm the video is really using USB

Some bridge apps can connect over Wi-Fi as well as USB, and may quietly use the wireless connection. To confirm the feed is wired, turn off Wi-Fi on the phone while OBS is showing the preview. If the image keeps updating, the video is travelling over the cable. If it freezes or drops out, go back to the app and select its USB mode.

Optional: use the phone's microphone

Some routes carry only video, and some can also send the phone's microphone. If yours sends audio, it usually appears on the computer as a separate audio input. In OBS, add it with an Audio Input Capture source, or pick it as the microphone in OBS's audio settings. These are three separate checks. The device appearing in the list means it was detected. The meter in OBS's Audio Mixer moving when you speak means there is input activity. Neither tells you whether your voice is clear, so record a short clip and play it back. This guide gives no numeric level target, because none was verified for this setup. As a general rule, the meter should react clearly to your voice but stay out of the red, since red indicates clipping (distortion caused by the signal being too loud).

What a working preview proves, and what it doesn't

A moving image in the OBS preview confirms three things. The computer recognises the phone as a camera, OBS has access to it, and video is being captured. It does not tell you how the picture will look in a recording, stream or call. It also leaves untested whether another app can use the camera at the same time, whether lighting and framing work for you, and whether the connection stays stable over a long session. To check those, make a test recording of a few minutes and watch it back. Look for dropped frames, image lag compared with your audio, and the phone getting warm or its battery running down, since charging over USB may or may not keep pace with camera use. If you plan to send OBS into a video call, run a test call as well, because the call app may reduce quality on its own.

Troubleshooting common problems

What you see | Likely cause | What to try

The computer doesn't react when you plug in the phone | The cable carries power only, or there is a port problem | Use a cable you know transfers data, try another USB port, and unlock the phone

The phone isn't in OBS's Device list | Driver or companion program not installed or not running, or OBS was opened before installing | Start the companion program, confirm the webcam or USB mode on the phone, then fully restart OBS

The device is listed, but the preview is black | The phone app is in the background, the screen locked, or another app is already using the camera | Bring the app to the front, keep the screen awake, and close other apps that might be using the camera, such as call apps

The image freezes when Wi-Fi is turned off | The app was connected wirelessly | Select USB mode in the app and approve any USB or debugging prompt on the phone

The camera is blocked on macOS | OBS has not been given camera permission | In System Settings, open Privacy & Security, then Camera, and allow OBS. Restart OBS afterwards.

The camera is blocked on Windows | Desktop apps are not allowed to use the camera | In Windows camera privacy settings, allow desktop apps to access the camera

On Linux, some bridge apps create their camera through a virtual video device module. If OBS cannot see the phone there, check your app's Linux instructions to make sure that module is installed and loaded.

Gaps in this guide

Several things depend on the specific app and phone, and this guide could not verify them. These include supported resolutions and frame rates, any limits in free versions, whether audio is included, and the exact name of the webcam option on a given phone. Check those details in your bridge app's documentation or your phone's settings before relying on the setup for a live session.