Connect OBS to your phone

One TCP connection carries video, camera controls, clock sync and status — over your local network or the USB cable. Nothing touches the internet.

The short version#

On the phone
Open LensLink, pick lens, resolution, frame rate and codec, then tap Start camera stream. The Setup screen shows the phone's Wi-Fi address; tap it to copy.

With Remote start from OBS on (the default), leaving the app open and idle is enough — OBS starts the camera itself.
In OBS
Sources → + → LensLink Camera. One source per phone.
Point it at the phone
Wi-Fi: pick your device in the Phone dropdown, or type the IP the app shows.

USB: plug in and set Connection to USB cable.

Video appears in a second or two. Backgrounding the app blanks the source — iOS suspends camera capture for apps that aren't on screen.

Wi-Fi#

Both devices must be on the same network, and it must allow device-to-device traffic. Guest networks, access points with client isolation, and many office or campus networks block it; a phone hotspot with the computer joined to it does not.

Finding the phone by name#

The app advertises itself over Bonjour while it's open, and the Phone dropdown lists what it finds. If your phone is missing from the list but typing its IP works, the app lacks the Local Network permission that iOS requires for the broadcast: allow it when asked, or in Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network → LensLink.

Phones also get new DHCP leases, which is the other reason to pick by name. If you prefer typing addresses, reserve one in your router.

USB#

Use USB for anything that matters: no network involved, the steadiest latency, and the phone charges while it encodes — which is worth having, since encoding video is among the hardest things a phone does.

Windows only: install iTunes
It supplies Apple's device driver. Without it, no cable works.
Plug in and tap Trust
The phone must be unlocked for the prompt, and it must be a data cable.
Set Connection to "USB cable"
Leave USB device on Auto unless you run more than one phone.

With several phones plugged in, set each source's USB device to a specific device instead of Auto. The same phone then always feeds the same source, whatever order things were plugged in. A source pinned to an absent device waits and says so.

Several phones at once#

One LensLink Camera source per phone. Each has its own connection, controls and health readout, and the browser panel grows a tab per source.

One phone feeds one source at a time. A second source aimed at the same device says it's already in use. Exception: with Disconnect when this source isn't shown anywhere, a hidden source releases the phone — so a Camera source in one scene and a Screen source in another can share it.

Reading the Status field#

Every LensLink source has a Status line at the top of its properties, and it names the exact stage that is failing.

Status	Meaning
Connected: …	Streaming. Carries device, format and measured latency.
Connected — the camera is idle	Standby: app reachable, not capturing. Start it here, from the browser panel, or on the phone.
Starting the phone's camera…	Remote start sent; the camera is coming up.
Trying to reach the phone at …	Wrong or unreachable address, or the app isn't in the foreground.
Enter the phone's IP address	No host set on a Wi-Fi source.
No device detected on USB	Check the cable and tap Trust. On Windows, check iTunes is installed.
Device found, but the LensLink app isn't reachable	Cable is fine. Unlock the phone and bring the app to the foreground.
Waiting for the selected USB device	Pinned to a device that isn't connected.
This device is already used by another LensLink source	Two sources, one phone. See above.
Disconnected — reconnecting	Link dropped; the source is redialing.
Paused — source is hidden	Disconnect when this source isn't shown anywhere is on and nothing shows the source.
Phone is sending a screen broadcast	Wrong source type — use a LensLink Screen source for a broadcast.
Connected, but this OBS build can't decode the stream	No HEVC decoder in that build. Switch the app to H.264.

Keeping it healthy#

Watch the numbers. OBS's status bar shows a line per phone — LensLink: iPhone 60 fps · 11.9 Mb/s · 43 ms — and View → Docks → LensLink is the same thing as a panel.
Congestion handles itself. The app briefly lowers quality and recovers rather than accumulating latency.
Save battery with Disconnect when this source isn't shown anywhere: the phone stops encoding whenever the source is hidden.
The stream is unencrypted on your network — meant for trusted home and studio networks.

If it won't connect#

Is the app on screen, on an unlocked phone?
Wi-Fi: same network — not one device on a guest SSID?
USB: data cable, and Trust tapped?
Otherwise, follow the row your Status field matches above.

Still stuck: Troubleshooting.