How to use an Android phone as the camera for FaceTime on a Mac

FaceTime on a Mac lets you choose which camera and microphone it uses, from the Video menu in the menu bar. So an Android phone can be the camera for a Mac FaceTime call, provided the phone first shows up on the Mac as a camera. Apple's own phone-as-camera feature, Continuity Camera, is for iPhone only. With an Android phone you get there by Android's USB webcam mode, a webcam app, or The Relay, and then you select the phone in that Video menu.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

Where does FaceTime let you choose a camera?

Apple's FaceTime guide has a page for it: Choose a camera or microphone for FaceTime calls on Mac. It opens: "If your Mac is connected to multiple audio devices or cameras, you can choose which one to use for FaceTime audio and video calls."

The setting is not in a settings window. It is in the menu bar at the top of the screen, under Video, while FaceTime is the app in front. Apple lists four things you can do there:

Apple adds: "If no devices are listed in the Video menu, FaceTime uses the built-in camera, microphone, and speakers." That sentence is the diagnostic for everything below. If the Android phone is not in the menu, the Mac does not yet see it as a camera.

How do I make the Android phone appear in that menu?

FaceTime does not look for phones. It lists cameras. The ways to turn an Android phone into one are covered in how to use an Android phone as a webcam for a Mac. The short version:

1. Android's USB webcam mode. Plug the phone in, tap the USB notification, and select Webcam if the phone offers it. It is free and needs nothing installed on the Mac. The Android documentation says it does not work with USB 3.0 or later cables on macOS, so use a USB 2.0 data cable.
2. A webcam app. Camo has a Mac program for macOS 12.3 or later and an Android app for Android 7.0 or later.
3. The Relay. The phone's camera and microphone appear on the Mac wirelessly, as a camera and a microphone that FaceTime can select.

How do I select the phone in FaceTime?

1. Connect the phone by one of the routes above.
2. Open FaceTime on the Mac. If it was already open, quit it and open it again.
3. Click Video in the menu bar.
4. Under the list of cameras, choose the phone. Its name depends on the route you used.
5. In the same menu, choose a microphone. If your route supplies the phone's microphone, it is listed there as its own entry. If not, leave the Mac's microphone selected.
6. Check the preview in the FaceTime window before you call anyone.

The camera and the microphone are separate choices in that menu. Picking the phone as the camera does not move the sound.

What about Automatic Camera Selection?

Apple says that option picks a camera based on what is connected and what you used most recently. If you want the phone every time, choose it by name instead of relying on the automatic setting. If the phone is not connected when you open FaceTime, expect the Mac's own camera.

What does an iPhone get here that an Android phone does not?

Apple's FaceTime page notes: "You can use the rear-facing camera on your iPhone as a webcam in FaceTime." That is Continuity Camera. Apple's requirements include an iPhone XR or later on iOS 16 or later and a Mac on macOS Ventura 13 or later, both signed in to the same Apple Account. The same page lists effects such as Center Stage, Portrait mode, Studio Light, and Desk View.

Those effects belong to Continuity Camera. An Android phone selected in the Video menu gives FaceTime a picture, and with the right tool a microphone. It does not bring Apple's effects with it, whichever route you use. If those effects are what you want, only an iPhone provides them.

What you do get is the thing most people are after: the phone's main camera in place of the one above the Mac's screen, on a FaceTime call from the Mac.

Which route suits FaceTime?

FaceTime calls tend to be personal ones, made from a sofa or a kitchen table. That shifts the choice a little.

The Relay names FaceTime among the apps that can select the phone's camera and microphone. It is wireless over your own Wi-Fi network, costs $19.99 paid once, and needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. The same app shows the phone's notifications, incoming texts, and incoming calls on the Mac.

It is not the right tool if you want a cable, since it has no USB mode, or if the free USB route already works on your phone. We have not measured picture quality or delay for any option. Call a patient friend and ask how you look and sound.

Questions people ask

Can I FaceTime from a Mac if my phone is Android?

Yes. Apple's FaceTime requirements for Mac are an internet connection, being signed in to FaceTime with your Apple Account, and "a built-in or connected microphone" plus, for video, "a built-in or connected camera". An iPhone is not on that list. The Android phone can serve as the connected camera and microphone. For calls between a Mac and someone on an Android phone, see FaceTime with Android and a Mac.

Why is my Android phone not in FaceTime's Video menu?

Because the Mac does not see it as a camera yet. Apple says that when no devices are listed, FaceTime uses the built-in ones. Check the phone's connection, try a USB 2.0 data cable if you are using the USB mode, then quit and reopen FaceTime.

Does Continuity Camera work with an Android phone?

No. Apple's page requires an iPhone and a Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. See Continuity Camera for Android for the nearest equivalents.

Can FaceTime use the Android phone's microphone?

If the tool you use presents the phone's microphone to the Mac. The Relay does. Google's steps for the USB webcam mode describe the camera only. Select the microphone in FaceTime's Video menu.