How to connect a phone camera to OBS wirelessly

The short answer

OBS cannot pull video from a phone over Wi-Fi by itself. Something has to send the phone's camera feed across your local network and present it to OBS in a form OBS can use. In practice that means one of three routes: a webcam-bridge app that makes the phone appear as a camera on your computer, a phone app that publishes a network video stream that OBS opens directly, or, for iPhone and Mac users, Apple's built-in Continuity Camera feature. Once the feed reaches OBS, you add it as a source like any other camera.

The steps differ depending on which route you choose, and an iPhone with a Windows PC follows a different route than an iPhone with a Mac. Pick your route in the next section before following the setup steps.

Choose a connection method

• Webcam-bridge app (Android or iPhone, Windows, Mac or Linux): You install an app on the phone and a companion program or driver on the computer. The phone then shows up in OBS as a regular video capture device. This is usually the simplest route and works for most people.
• Network stream into OBS (mostly for more technical setups): A phone app broadcasts the camera over your network using a streaming protocol, and OBS receives it through a Media Source pointed at the stream's network location or through a protocol-specific plugin. You get more control, but setup and troubleshooting take more effort.
• Continuity Camera (iPhone with a Mac only): macOS can use a nearby iPhone as a camera without a third-party app. OBS on the Mac can then select the iPhone as a video capture device. This route does not apply to Windows or Linux.

Gap to check: no verified details were available on which specific apps currently support each platform, which features they lock behind paid tiers, or the exact operating-system versions Continuity Camera requires. Check the current requirements in the app's store listing or in Apple's documentation before you commit to a method.

Before you start

• OBS Studio is installed on the computer and opens normally.
• The phone and computer are on the same local network. Guest networks and some public or office Wi-Fi block devices from seeing each other, a setting often called client or AP isolation. Use a home network or one where you know devices can talk to each other.
• Any VPN on the phone or computer is off during setup, because a VPN can route traffic away from your local network.
• The phone is charged or plugged into power. Continuous camera use and Wi-Fi streaming drain the battery and warm the phone.
• You have a stable way to mount the phone, such as a tripod clamp or stand, so you can position it before testing.

Setup with a webcam-bridge app

• 1. Install the phone app and its matching desktop companion from the same developer. The two parts need to come from the same product to pair.
• 2. Open the phone app and allow camera access when the phone asks. On iPhone, also allow Local Network access if prompted. Without it, the app cannot find your computer over Wi-Fi.
• 3. Open the desktop companion. If your computer's firewall asks whether to allow it on private networks, allow it. Blocking this prompt is a common reason the phone never connects.
• 4. Connect the two. Depending on the app, the computer may detect the phone automatically, or you may need to type the IP address the phone app displays into the desktop program.
• 5. Check: the desktop companion shows a live image from the phone. If it doesn't, fix the connection at this step before you open OBS.
• 6. In OBS, click the plus button under Sources, choose Video Capture Device, name it, and select the phone's virtual camera from the Device list.
• 7. Check: the OBS preview shows live, moving video. Wave a hand in front of the phone to confirm the image isn't frozen.

If the device appears in OBS but the preview stays black, close any other program that might be using the same virtual camera, such as a video-call app, and then reselect the device. Also check the computer's camera privacy settings. On Windows, desktop apps need camera access turned on. On macOS, OBS has to be allowed under Camera in Privacy & Security.

Setup with a network stream

• 1. In the phone app, start the stream. Grant camera and, on iPhone, Local Network access. Note the stream address the app displays, along with the protocol it uses.
• 2. In OBS, add a Media Source. Clear the Local File option and paste the stream address into the input field. If the app uses a protocol that OBS doesn't open natively, install the plugin that protocol requires and use the source type the plugin adds instead.
• 3. Check: the OBS preview shows live video from the phone. Move in front of the camera and watch how far the preview lags behind you.

Network streams often lag more than bridge apps, because the video is compressed, sent and buffered before OBS displays it. If the lag is a problem, look in the phone app for lower-latency or buffering settings, and look in the OBS Media Source properties for buffering options. No verified latency figures were available for specific apps or settings, so judge the result by watching the preview.

Setup with Continuity Camera (iPhone and Mac)

• 1. Make sure the iPhone and Mac are signed in to the same Apple Account, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on for both.
• 2. Mount the iPhone near the Mac, screen locked and rear camera facing you.
• 3. In OBS on the Mac, add a Video Capture Device source and choose the iPhone from the Device list.
• 4. Check: the OBS preview shows live video from the iPhone's camera. If the iPhone isn't in the list, confirm that OBS has camera permission in the Mac's Privacy & Security settings, then restart OBS.

What a successful preview does and doesn't prove

Live video in the OBS preview confirms three things: the phone has granted camera access, the connection over your network works, and OBS is receiving frames. It doesn't confirm that the connection will hold up through a long session, that the delay is acceptable for your use, or how the image will look after OBS encodes it for a stream, a recording or a call. To check those, make a short test recording or private test stream that lasts about as long as a typical session, and watch it back for dropped frames, freezes and blur.

If you're sending OBS into a video-call app through the OBS Virtual Camera, that's a separate link to test. Start the virtual camera in OBS, choose it as the camera in the call app, and confirm that the call app's own preview shows your OBS scene. Seeing your scene in that preview shows the camera route works. How the video looks to other people on the call also depends on their connection and on the call service's compression.

Audio from the phone

Some bridge apps and stream apps can also carry the phone's microphone, and some can't. Even when they do, the audio may need its own source or device selection in OBS. If you use it, treat each stage as its own check. The device appearing in OBS means it's detected. A moving meter in the OBS audio mixer means there's input activity. Neither tells you the sound is clear, so make a short recording and listen back. No verified target levels for this setup were available, so adjust by ear and keep the meter from reaching the top of its range.

Wireless video usually arrives later than audio from a mic plugged into the computer, so your lips may not match your voice. To correct this in OBS, open Advanced Audio Properties, increase the sync offset on the faster audio source until the two line up, and recheck with a short recording.

Common problems and fixes

• Phone and computer can't find each other: confirm both are on the same network and not a guest network, turn off any VPN, allow the desktop program through the firewall, and on iPhone turn on Local Network access for the app in Settings.
• Video freezes or stutters: move closer to the router, reduce other heavy traffic on the network, or choose a lower resolution or frame rate in the phone app.
• Phone overheats or the stream stops: keep the phone on power, take it out of a thick case, keep it out of direct sun, and close other apps on it.
• Image is mirrored or rotated: fix it in the phone app if it has the option, or in OBS by right-clicking the source and using Transform.
• Source worked before but is now black: the phone app may have closed or the phone may have locked. Reopen the app, then reselect the device in OBS or toggle the source off and on.