It’s something that you will always see in a police car. Or maybe it’s a video that was clearly recorded from a car’s dashcam, whether it’s a traffic accident or the Batmobile racing down the freeway. Why are dashcam videos so popular?
The reason they are popular is that dashcam videos help drivers receive the money they deserve from their insurance companies. Dashcam videos are also a great source of laughs, since I doubt anyone will believe that a seagull landed on the hood of your car.
Also read: How to Detect a Hidden Camera with Your Android Phone
What You’ll Need to Get the Right Angle
If you’re always going to have your old smartphone as a dashcam, it’s a good idea to have a charging cable connected to it so that you don’t have to worry about your phone dying on you. Check your drawers, as you might have an old one lying around, and if not, you can always get one for a reasonable price at Amazon.
You’re also going to need a car mount that you can easily get at any electronics store or on Amazon. Make sure that you place the mount so that it can point your phone’s camera in a direction that it will record the desired angle.
There are an endless amount of car mounts out there, but not all of them will allow you to get the right angle. One car mount you can try is the iOttie Easy One Touch Universal Car Mount.
It features a charging indicator, easy one-touch trigger button, release bars, locking side arms, a telescopic knob, a telescopic arm, and a pivoting knob.
A cheaper car mount is the JunDa Car Phone Holder 360-Degree Rotation Cell Phone Holder.
This car mount features a 360-degree rotating design, a spring buckle that can be adjusted to fit a phone from four to six and a half inches, and easy single-hand control, and it can also adhere to a curved surface or car dashboard.
It’s best that the angle your camera records is an equal part of both sides of the car. It’s up to you if the car mount will record from your car’s dashboard or windshield, but make sure you have a clear view of the road.
Choosing a Dashcam App
There are various apps you can choose from on Google Play, but for this tutorial, I went ahead and picked AutoBoyBlackBox. It’s a free app with great features, but there are other good apps to choose from such as DailyRoads Voyager and AutoGuard Dash Cam. Before you get going, it’s a good idea that you get to know the app so that you’re not playing around with it while driving.
Once your Android phone is in a position that allows the app to record at a proper angle, give the app a test run by pressing the Record button. The button has the shape of a camera, and once you press it, the icon will turn into a red square.
If you want to enable the app’s GPS feature, tap on the option at the bottom-left of your display. At the bottom right you will also see how much storage space the app has used and how much you have left.
If you tap on the storage you have available, the app will ask if you want to record the latest video so you can keep on recording. If you’re okay with this, tap on the Confirm button.
How to Access Extra Features
By tapping on the three dots at the top-left, you can gain access to various options such as changing from landscape to portrait mode, adjusting exposure, color effect, focus, screen and mode, and if you want to record what is going on inside your car for some reason, there is an option for that, too.
Swipe from the side of the display for more options such as being able to upload your video to YouTube. If you want to watch any of the videos the app recorded, tap on the image inside the circle shape and swipe left until you see the video you want to see.
Conclusion
Using your old Android phone as a dashcam is easy. All you need is the phone, a USB cable, and the car mount of your choice. Remember to get to know the app of your choice before you hit the road and to set it up to your liking. Which app are you going to use to turn your phone into a dashcam?
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