Turn Old Phone into Dash Cam: Free & Easy Guide

Do you ever think you can make your old phone into a dash cam? Yes I’m talking about Do you ever think you can turn old phone into dash cam? Yes I’m talking about how you can turn an old phone into a dash cam. Repurpose your old smartphone and save money and also get a video record of what’s happening on the road. I tested this in hot summers and cold winters. Use it instead of buying a new dash cam and you will save you money and spend next to nothing.

Why Turn Old Phone into Dash Cam? Save $150 and Cut E-Waste

A dash cam costs easily $100 to $300 for decent models. Meanwhile you’ve got a spare phone lying around. So you use it, you save maybe $150+, and prevent one more gadget being dumped. And since you’re already comfortable with phones, you avoid a fancy setup. Plus it feels good to reuse something. I got mine going instead of buying a new unit and it felt like cheating the system.

With a DIY old phone dash cam you:

don’t buy a dedicated camera
give electronics new life
still get continuous recording for incidents, which is the point

Just remember — many states like California, Texas, and Florida have laws that say your windshield has to be obstruction free. The same rules apply to your DIY dash cam setup so make sure you’re not breaking any traffic laws while you’re being clever.
So you’re good: save money, reuse gear, get incident coverage.

Looking for more ways to make your car life easier? This dash cam hack is just one of the 4 Must-Have Car Gadgets for 2025 that can save you time and headaches.

What You Need to Use Old Smartphone as a Dash Cam (All Under $25)

Here’s everything you’ll need to use old smartphone as dash cam

Firstly you need a working old smartphone no matter it is Android or iPhone with camera and decent battery
Any free dash cam app for old phone of your choice
Also a strong car mount dashboard or windshield
A car charger + quality cable to keep the phone powered
Make sure device have sufficient storage or microSD card for old phone dash cam continuous recording

You can find mounts and cables for under $25 total. USB-C cable, suction cup mount, as well as a 32 GB sd card. The app should support loop recording so old files are overwritten when full.

Best Free Dash Cam Apps for Old Phones – Android & iPhone Tested

I tried it out myself on a spare Samsung and an old iPhone to see what actually works.

For Android you can use these apps AutoBoy Dash Cam App tops the list for background continuous recording it has loop mode and GPS tagging. There are more options, try Droid Dash Cam Video Recorder which is good for insurance footage and overlays.

For iPhone try these apps like Nexar Connect App is the go-to for iOS which also supports loop recording, GPS, and optional cloud backup.

When I tested in Android started recording automatically once plugged into power, while in iPhone we need a couple of permission things. Both worked fine but some apps like DailyRoads Voyager can inform you when the phone overheats and even automatically stop recording to protect your hardware in extremely hot conditions.

Always remove the phone from the mount when you are parking your cars as it is a highly visible theft target.

How to Mount Your Old Phone as a Dash Cam: Safe, Legal, and Rock-Solid

Where your phone is mounted really does matter a fair bit more than you might have thought. Put it in the wrong spot and you’ll be risking some pretty poor video quality, either due to it being all wobbly or worse still, having the view completely blocked for when you’re behind the wheel.

When you’re looking for a spot to mount your phone try to aim for a place that keeps the camera nice and steady, also somewhere it won’t be in your line of sight so you’re free to keep an eye on the road, and finally make sure it’s out of the direct sun light so it stays cool – this should also save you having to deal with screen glare or overheating. Suction mounts or adhesives on the windshield can work, providing they also follow your local road laws about keeping any glass clear (states like California, Texas and Florida all have their own rules about this).

Also keep an eye on the angle, you want to be able to keep the road in the frame & not have your dashboard dominating the view. Make a few tweaks, test it out for a few minutes first & only then get back out on the road. Taking a little bit of time upfront will be worth it for all that work to prevent your phone all shakily wobbling about later.

Essential Accessories for Your Old Phone Dash Cam Setup

Here’s what I used to make the setup legit:

Adjustable suction-cup mount with 360° swivel
USB car charger (2.4 A or higher)
Long durable cable (USB-C or Lightning)
Extra storage or microSD (for Android)
Optional: Wide-angle lens clip-on to expand field of view
Optional: ventilated mount or heat shield

Total cost? Under $25. Make sure each piece is rated for vehicle heat and vibration.

Power & Storage Solutions: Keep Your Old Phone Dash Cam Running All Day

If you set your old phone dash cam to record continuously you’ll drain battery, fill storage, or overheat. So:

Plug in car charger before every drive
Use 1080p instead of 4K on older phones
Enable loop recording and 5-minute clips
Mount phone where air hits it
For long park sessions, use a USB power bank
Check available space weekly

In my 3-hour test the phone stayed cool enough and the power never cut out.

Overcoming the Challenges: Battery Life, Heat, and Continuous Recording Fixes

Yes, it’s not perfect there are some drawbacks and here is how I got around the issues:

Battery life: kill background apps, dim the screen, disable mobile data
Heat: avoid full sun, use ventilated mount, sometimes I even shaded it with a napkin—ugly but worked
Continuous recording: apps crash when hot; schedule auto-restart or reboot weekly
Storage overload: 5-minute loop overwrite fixed that
Interruptions: silence notifications, airplane mode + GPS only

Phones are delicate under heat, but manageable with these tweaks.

DIY Dash Cam from Old Android – Step-by-Step Setup

This is how I went about setting up my old Samsung, the way I got it running as a dash cam.

I did Factory-reset to delete all data and cache stored in the phone.
Then i Update my Android phone to latest version it supports
Install AutoBoy Dash Cam app
I set app to 1080p resolution, 30 fps, fixed focus (turn off image stabilization if it causes jitter), loop = 5 min for getting clear and good video quality
Insert 32 GB microSD or clear internal storage
Mount behind mirror
Plug into car charger, airplane mode + GPS only
Test, review video clarity, adjust angle
Back up important clips
Leave phone mounted

After setting it up a fender-bender happened right in front of me, and the phone captured it instantly.

Old iPhone as Dash Cam Setup – iOS-Specific Tips & Tricks

Using your iPhone for recording purposes? Here is some basic guidelines to help you get the most out of your iPhone:

First things first, you’re going to need to download the Nexar Classic app. In our experience this is probably your best bet for recording on an iPhone.
For a decent video quality, just make sure your camera and GPS are turned on. If you don’t need to record audio, you can switch the mic off – up to you.
Now find a spot to mount your iPhone – ideally somewhere it can stay out of direct sunlight and won’t get too hot. This will stop it overheating and freezing up.
For clear and stable recordings, have a go at 1080p at 30 frames per second and make sure the focus is locked down.
Keep an eye on how much space you’ve got free on that thing and clear out some clutter every now and then – otherwise its not going to record smoothly.
Try to ignore the temptation of a bright screen and a ringing phone – tone down the brightness and switch off notifications so you can just get on with the task at hand.
If you’ve got Apple CarPlay, its probably a good idea to just use a spare phone for the app. We’ve had okay results with an iPhone 8, so if you’ve still got one of those lying around you might find it works alright.
One other thing – make sure you know the rules about recording audio in your car without asking first – check the laws in your area to be on the safe side. Its probably better to just be safe and turn off the mic if you’re not entirely sure.

Real-World Test: Old Phone Dash Cam vs. $100 Dedicated Unit

I tested mine against a $100 dash cam.
Pros: costs nothing, familiar controls, easy file transfers
Cons: more heat, slower startup, more visible to thieves, occasional app crash

The old phone did 80% of what the dedicated unit did. For casual drivers it’s plenty.