Can A USB Camera Be Used On An Android Tablet?

Odd Rain

Junior Member
Jan 14, 2022
2
0
Hello Everybody!

I am new on this forum and I am sure my question is not new.
Of course I did search for answers first on the forum before posting the problem, I did find some discussions, but still ...

For example, I found the discussion "Camera output onto tablet?" ( Camera output onto tablet?) in which the Thread Starter asks if it is possible to use an external camera on the tablets USB port.
At this question, J515OP (Super Moderator) said: "Hello mazza, unfortunately current tablets aren't very good at taking input."

My reaction to this is "current tablets aren't very good at taking input" seems to be an understatement. It seems to be (nearly) impossible!

It all started with me buying an endoscope (boroscope-) camera that worked out of the box at my Linux (Ubuntu) laptop, but it would not be recognized by my Lipa Android tablet.
I tried all kinds of apps that promised to solve the problem, but of course, none did the trick.

Now I want to know once and for all (I already lost lots of time) if there IS a way to make an external USB camera to work on an Android tablet or that I better can give up and buy a WiFi endoscope. I read an article on these WiFi endoscopes for Android (and one wired endoscope) at 10 Best Borescope For Androids of 2022 - Best Endoscopes, where I saw the Fantronics endoscope, wired for USB, advertised as being Android compatible (or is that a false claim?).

It would be so nice if someone can help me out with some clear answers, also as to why things are as they are....
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Traveller

Administrator
Staff member
Jun 16, 2012
2,858
982
When my roommate's aunt was in home hospice a couple of years ago I had set up a wireless camera in her room to monitor her. At the time money was a little tight so we went with the least expensive camera we could afford from Amazon, so no Nest or similar high-quality cameras. The camera provided a link to a companion app for use on smartphones and tablets. It did the job, but was not as easy to set up as it could have been. Given the sparse instructions it took quite a bit of experimentation to get it to work.

I am however unaware of ANY USB cameras that will work with Android. You'll have better luck with WiFi I feel: greater range and no wires to get tangled up in.
 
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