Can You Use Hotspot For Security Cameras: Keep Your Surveillance Uninterrupted!

Yes! You can connect your phone’s hotspot to the security camera. Hotspot is a good alternative or backup in case of unstable wi-fi or when you require sudden router troubleshooting. Using a hotspot as a backup can provide an internet connection to the security camera so you can prevent unusual interruptions in your surveillance system. Let’s meet all the queries related to connecting security cameras to a hotspot.

Can You Use Hotspot For Security Cameras?  

If your location doesn’t cover a stable wi-fi connection, you can use another smartphone for hotspot connectivity so the camera can send notifications and show you live streams to your smart device. Consider using a hotspot as a temporary solution in situations such as sudden interruptions in Wi-Fi connectivity. If the area does not have stable Wi-Fi connectivity, consider a cellular security camera that does not require a hotspot or Wi-Fi.  

How Much Hotspot Does a Security Camera Use?  

The amount of hotspot your camera uses can vary depending on a few factors. The quality and resolution of the camera, frame rate, compression, and uploading frequency can all affect how much data your camera uses. Let us break it down for you.  

Compression 

MJPEG/MJPEG-4 and H.264 are coding systems used for compressing video data. In MJPEG/MJPEG-4 format, each frame of video is compressed independently. So, it uses more data compared to other compression formats. H.264, on the other hand, is a compression format that analyses groups of frames and compresses them based on similarities, resulting in less data usage than MJPEG/MJPEG-4.  

Resolution 

A higher-resolution camera tends to use more bandwidth, meaning more data usage. For example, a 5MP camera will need more data than a 2MP or 4MP camera.   

Frame Rate 

Frame rate refers to the number of frames captured in a given amount of time, typically a second. It’s commonly measured in frames per second (FPS), and as the FPS increases, the data usage also increases.  

Uploading Frequency 

If you’re using cloud storage or transferring video footage wirelessly, the frequency of your uploads can have a big impact on how much data is used. If your cameras are constantly recording instead of just when there’s motion, you can end up using more than 60 gigabytes of data in a month, on average, 2 GB daily.  

Now, let’s get to the numbers. The hotspot or data usage can range anywhere from 100MB to 13GB per day, depending on the factors mentioned above. So, if you have a high-resolution camera that constantly records, you can quickly rack up a lot of data usage.  

On average, a 5-minute video recorded in MJPEG format at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second (FPS) can use around 3 GB of data. For the same 5-minute video at 1080p resolution and 30 FPS, H.264 format can use around 1 GB of data. A 5MP camera recording a 5-minute video at 30 FPS and using H.264 compression can use around 2 GB of data, while a 2MP camera recording the same video can use around 700 MB.  

How Do I Connect My CCTV Camera To My Mobile Hotspot?  

You’ll need two smartphones to connect your CCTV camera to a mobile hotspot- one mobile will function as a hotspot device, and another one is for monitoring. Check out our easy-to-follow steps so you can connect wi-fi CCTV cameras to hotspot:  

Step 1: Enable the hotspot on the phone (hotspot device) and configure it with another smartphone (monitoring device) to monitor  

Step 2: Now, open the camera app or your third-party software on your monitoring device, then connect it to your cellular network.   

Step 3: After that, use your security camera’s device name and password to get monitoring access via the app or the software.  

Can You Use A Mobile Hotspot For Wi-Fi or IP Cameras?  

Yes, you can use a mobile hotspot for Wi-Fi cameras. Digital Wi-Fi security cameras are widely used both for indoor and outdoor surveillance. If your Wi-Fi connection is shut down temporarily, then you can connect your mobile device featuring a hotspot and opt for an adequate cellular plan to run the camera. However, our experts say using a hotspot is more effective when you have a wireless security camera since the power outage cannot affect the wireless surveillance system.  

Can I Connect My Outdoor Camera To My Mobile Hotspot?  

You can connect your outdoor security camera to a mobile hotspot as a backup. However, we recommend not using the mobile hotspot as a permanent solution. Connecting a security camera to a hotspot requires an additional phone, which should be located near the camera. In that case, running the outdoor security camera via a hotspot can be tricky.  

Can Wireless Cameras Work Without Internet?  

No, wireless cameras cannot work without the Internet; you must use a Wi-Fi connection or a cellular plan to run your wireless security camera. In a situation you need to cover an area where Wi-Fi is not available, then you can use a good-quality cellular security camera for monitoring.

Verdict  

We recommend a hotspot as a temporary backup to run a Wi-Fi security camera. But while turning your hotspot, check if there is enough cellular bandwidth to record footage and show live streams properly. Otherwise, the hotspot won’t work.