A dedicated baby monitor is a radio link, a parent unit and a camera sold as one box. A spare Android phone with AndrIoT is a Wi-Fi camera with a microphone, a speaker and a set of sensors, which your own phone or laptop can watch from anywhere. Both can be reasonable choices; they fail in different ways.
This page compares them honestly: what the dedicated unit does better, what the phone adds, what the alerts can and cannot tell you, and the safety rules that apply either way. The step-by-step setup lives in the baby monitor guide.
Key takeaways
- A phone gives live video, two-way audio, a temperature reading, sound-level alerts and motion zones in any browser.
- A dedicated monitor usually keeps working when your Wi-Fi or internet does not, because it uses its own radio link.
- Sound-level alerts need Standard or Pro; they are a loudness threshold, not cry detection.
- Nothing is recorded unless you enable it, and clips last only for the plan's retention window.
- Neither option is a medical device. This is a helper, not a breathing or health monitor.
What a dedicated monitor does well
It is worth being clear about this before listing what a phone can do, because these are the reasons dedicated monitors still sell.
- Its own radio link, usually DECT or a 2.4 GHz frequency-hopping link, so it does not share your Wi-Fi with anything.
- No account, no app store, no firmware subscription.
- A parent unit with physical buttons that works when your phone is charging or mislaid.
- Low, predictable latency, because the video never leaves the house.
- It keeps working in an internet outage, as long as both ends have power.
A phone cannot match the first and the last of those. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
What a phone adds
- Watch from anywhere, on any device with a browser, without a separate parent unit.
- Room temperature and light readings on the same screen as the video.
- Sound-level alerts and motion zones, so the phone tells you when the room gets loud or something moves.
- Two-way audio and text-to-speech, for a calm phrase without entering the room.
- Optional recording with 7 days of history on Standard or 30 on Pro, so you can look back at a bad night.
- Scheduled sounds and messages for a consistent bedtime cue.
Side-by-side comparison
| Old phone with AndrIoT | Dedicated baby monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Link | Your Wi-Fi and the internet | Its own radio link |
| Watch from outside the house | Yes, any browser | Usually no, or only through a vendor app |
| Internet outage | Remote viewing stops | Usually keeps working |
| Parent unit | None: use your phone or laptop | Included |
| Night vision | None: no IR emitter, so use a dim night light | Usually infrared |
| Temperature | Phone sensor reading, warmer on a charger | Often built in |
| Sound alerts | Yes, on Standard and Pro | Usually a sound light or threshold |
| Motion zones | Yes, drawn in the dashboard | Rare |
| Recording | Optional, plan retention of 7 or 30 days | Usually none |
| Cost | Your old phone plus a plan | One purchase, no subscription |
What the alerts actually mean
Alerts are generated on the phone, stored server-side and shown in the dashboard. On Standard and Pro they can also be forwarded to Telegram; webhooks and MQTT are on Pro. Forwarding keeps working with the browser closed, but the phone must be online, so a dead Wi-Fi network means a silent monitor.
That is the most important sentence on this page. A phone monitor is only as reliable as the network it sits on and the charger it is plugged into. Check both weekly, and treat a missed alert as a fault to investigate rather than bad luck.
Sound level and temperature, read as trends
The sound reading comes from the phone's microphone and is a relative level, not a calibrated sound pressure measurement. It answers "is it louder than usual?", which is genuinely useful at 3 a.m., and it is not a substitute for a sound-level meter or for any medical assessment.
The temperature reading is the phone's own sensor. On a charger the phone runs warmer than the room, so compare it once with a room thermometer, note the offset, and then watch the trend rather than the absolute number.
Retention, privacy and who can watch
Nothing is recorded unless you enable it; live video is streamed, not stored. If you do record, clips are kept for 7 days on Standard or 30 on Pro and deleted at the end of that window. Account data is stored in the EU, there are no ads, and Google sign-in uses only openid, email and profile. Use a strong unique password or Google sign-in, and do not share the dashboard login with people who do not need it. The Privacy Policy and Terms cover the rest.
Setup in brief
- Sign in at app.andriot.net, or open the demo first to look around.
- Install the Android app on the phone, or the Legacy app on Android 4.1 to 4.4.
- Run the six-step wizard and enter the 6-letter pairing code, or scan the QR code.
- Exempt AndrIoT from battery saver so Android does not stop it overnight.
- Place the phone, open the live view, and test the picture with the lights off.
The setup guide has the full walkthrough, and keeping a phone plugged in 24/7 covers the battery side.
Safety and the one-metre rule
- Keep the phone and its charging cable at least 1 metre from the cot, and never inside it.
- Do not attach the phone to the cot rail. Use a wall shelf or a high dresser, with the cable secured along the wall.
- Never use a phone with a swollen battery. Check the back cover and the screen edge monthly.
- Follow your local safe-sleep guidance. The monitor adds a view; it does not make a risky setup safe.
- Check weekly: online, charging, pointed at the cot, not hot.
This is a helper, not a medical device. It does not detect breathing, it is not certified for anything, and it must not be relied on for medical or safety-critical monitoring.
Decision table
| If you need | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The lowest cost for a nursery view | Old phone | No hardware to buy |
| A parent unit that works without internet | Dedicated monitor | Its own radio link |
| To watch from work | Old phone | Any browser, any network |
| Night vision in a fully dark room | Dedicated monitor, or phone plus night light | Phones have no IR emitter |
| Temperature and sound trends | Old phone | Sensors and alerts in one dashboard |
| A week of history to review | Old phone on Standard | 7 days of retention |
| No subscription at all | Dedicated monitor | One purchase |
| Anything medical | Neither | Use certified medical equipment |
Sources of truth and honest limits
The limits are real and worth restating. There is no dedicated 2.4 GHz FHSS or DECT link, so reliability depends on your Wi-Fi, router and internet connection. The phone must stay powered and online. There is no infrared camera, so a dark room needs a night light. Sound levels are relative readings from a phone microphone, not calibrated measurements. And the whole setup is a convenience tool with no medical-grade reliability claims. AndrIoT's facts are on the home page, in the Privacy Policy and the Terms. Plan numbers: Standard $4.99 a month or $49.90 a year for up to 5 phones with 7 days of history; Pro $9.99 or $99.90 for 10 phones and 30 days; the demo is free with four virtual phones, 12 hours and 480p. For the alert plumbing see Telegram, webhook and MQTT forwarding, and for the architecture see who can see your video.
FAQ
Is an old phone a safe baby monitor?
It can be a useful helper if the phone and cable are kept well away from the cot, the battery is healthy and nothing covers the phone. It is not a medical device and does not replace safe-sleep practice.
Does it alert me when the baby cries?
It can alert when the sound level passes a threshold you set, on Standard or Pro. That is loudness, not cry detection, and other noises will trigger it too.
Can I see the room in the dark?
Not without light. Phones have no infrared emitter, so use a dim night light placed away from the lens.
Can I watch from another house?
Yes, in a browser, as long as the phone is online. If your Wi-Fi or internet is down, remote viewing stops.
Is anything recorded?
Only if you enable recording. Clips are kept for your plan's retention: 12 hours on the demo, 7 days on Standard, 30 days on Pro.