How to use an old phone as a baby monitor

An old phone can serve as a baby monitor once it runs a baby monitor app. It stays in the nursery; your own phone becomes the parent unit. You need two devices, the same app on both, a charger and Wi-Fi or mobile data. Without an app, a phone or FaceTime call is a stopgap that won’t alert you to anything.

What you need

• Two devices, one for the nursery and one for you: an old iPhone, an Android phone or a tablet. iPhone and Android can be mixed if the app supports both.
• A baby monitor app on both devices, turning one into the transmitter and your phone into the receiver.
• A charger whose cable reaches a socket away from the crib or cot, as the nursery device runs all evening.
• Wi-Fi or mobile data on both devices. Depending on the app, it works on your home Wi-Fi only or over the internet too; alerts reach you only while both are connected.
• A stand or mount (optional), so the microphone and camera face the bed.

Babyfino is coming soon for iPhone (iOS 16.4 or later) and Android (7 or later). One device becomes the Baby device; your phone, or several parents’ phones at once, become the parent units. You pair them by QR code, with no account.

How to turn two phones into a baby monitor

1. Prepare the old phone. Charge it and install the last updates it can get. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre warns that a phone no longer receiving security updates from its maker is easier to hack [10]; see Can baby monitors be hacked?
2. Install the app on both devices and pair them, by QR code, a code or an account, depending on the app.
3. Silence the nursery device. Turn off the ringer and notifications and dim the screen, so no call wakes your baby and nothing glows in the room.
4. Place it on a shelf or dresser, never in the crib or on its edge (details below).
5. Plug it in and route the cable out of reach.
6. Set up your own phone: volume up, and let the app through Focus or Do Not Disturb (see below).
7. Test it. Make a noise in the nursery, sit where you’ll spend the evening and check that sound and alert come through. Then switch off the nursery device’s Wi-Fi and mobile data: does the app warn you?

How to use an iPhone or iPad as a baby monitor

To use an iPhone as a baby monitor you need an app: iOS has no built-in baby monitor that sends sound to another phone and alerts you to noise. Check which iOS version the app requires. According to Apple, iOS 16 runs on the iPhone 8, the iPhone SE (2nd generation) and every newer model [2]; an iPhone 7 can’t run it.

An iPad as a baby monitor works the same way, in the nursery or as the parent unit. A Wi-Fi-only iPad has no mobile data, though, so it goes offline whenever your Wi-Fi does.

If you use a Focus such as Do Not Disturb, let the alerts through under Settings > Focus > (your Focus) > Apps > Allow Notifications From [5].

Using an old Android phone

An old Samsung, Pixel or other Android phone follows the same steps. Under Do Not Disturb (Modes on newer versions) you can choose which apps may still send you notifications; menu names vary by phone, as Google notes [7].

Using your phone as a baby monitor without an app

There are three workarounds; none reliably alerts you.

A phone or FaceTime call. Call your phone from the nursery phone, mute your microphone and turn the nursery phone’s volume down. A normal call, FaceTime between Apple devices or a messaging app will do. The limits:

• You have to keep listening all evening; nothing alerts you to a sound.
• If the connection drops, the call simply ends and you hear silence, with no warning.
• Your phone is tied up: other calls are awkward, and both batteries drain.
• On a video call, the nursery screen usually lights up.

AirPods and Live Listen. Live Listen turns an iPhone or iPad into a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods or Beats (iOS 14.3 or later) [3]. Apple describes it as a way to hear someone speaking across the room. As a baby monitor it falls short: you’d wear earbuds all evening, with no alert.

Sound Recognition. An iPhone can listen for sounds such as a crying baby and notify you [4]. But the alert appears on the listening phone, not on a second one, and Apple says not to rely on it in high-risk or emergency situations [4].

Is it safe to use a phone as a baby monitor?

Placement and cords. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that monitor cords and other electrical cords are a strangulation hazard. It advises keeping them at least three feet from any part of the crib, bassinet or play yard, and never placing a monitor inside or on the edge of a crib [1].

Heat while charging. Apple says iPhone and iPad work best at 0 to 35 °C (32 to 95 °F), and that charging inside certain cases can cause excess heat [9]. Don’t cover the phone or leave it in the sun; take it out of its case if it gets warm.

Radiation. A phone in the nursery sends radio signals, as every wireless baby monitor does. Our guide to baby monitor radiation explains what that means.

What it does not do. A phone used as a baby monitor passes on sound and video. It does not monitor breathing or movement.

Keeping the alerts coming

Mute and Focus. The nursery device should be silent; your phone shouldn’t. Check in the evening that your phone isn’t muted and that no Focus is blocking the app, or an alert may arrive without a sound.

Battery. Keep the nursery device plugged in and your own phone charged.

Airplane mode. Airplane mode on the nursery device cuts its radio and its connection, so no alert reaches you. On an iPhone it turns off all radios except Bluetooth, and you can switch Wi-Fi back on [6]. Android turns Wi-Fi off too; switch it back on and the phone remembers, as Google describes for Pixel phones [8]. With Wi-Fi back on, the monitor depends entirely on your home Wi-Fi.

Travel. Pack the charger and a long cable, get both devices online (the accommodation’s Wi-Fi or mobile data) and run the test from step 7 before bedtime.

App or video call: which works better?

	Phone or video call	Baby monitor app
Alerts you to sounds	no, you listen	yes, depending on the app with adjustable sensitivity
If the connection drops	call ends, no alert	depending on the app, a separate alert
Using your phone meanwhile	limited	depending on the app, yes
Setup	instant	install and pair once
Best for	one night	every evening

A call will do for a night away; for every evening, an app that speaks up beats listening to a line. Babyfino detects noise on the Baby device, with the sensitivity adjustable from your phone, and alerts you by notification even when the app is closed or you’re on a call. The Baby device also sends a sign of life every three seconds; if it stops, because of a flat battery, a crash or a lost connection, you’re alerted about ten seconds later. Both devices need an internet connection for this. To compare an app with a dedicated camera, see baby monitor app vs. video baby monitor.

Sources

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Infants and Toddlers Can Strangle in Baby Monitor Cords (Publication 5066), 2012 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
2. Apple: iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 are compatible with these devices, 2023 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
3. Apple: Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats, 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
4. Apple: Recognize sounds using iPhone, iPhone User Guide, 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
5. Apple: Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone, iPhone User Guide, 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
6. Apple: Use Airplane Mode on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
7. Google: Limit interruptions with modes and Do Not Disturb on Android, Android Help, n.d. (retrieved 21 October 2026)
8. Google: Keep your Android’s wireless connections on in Airplane mode, Pixel Phone Help, n.d. (retrieved 21 October 2026)
9. Apple: Batteries – Maximizing Performance, n.d. (retrieved 21 October 2026)
10. National Cyber Security Centre: Buying, selling and donating second-hand devices, 2020, reviewed 2022 (retrieved 21 October 2026)