Using your phone as a second camera

Opening the phone camera page

When you set up the interview on your laptop, the Phone camera card shows a QR code, and we email a link to the address your invitation was sent to. Open either one on the phone you will use: scan the code with the phone’s camera, or tap the link in the email on the phone. There is nothing to sign in to.

Each link works once and only for a short time. If one has expired, scan the fresh code on your laptop or tap Resend there for a new email. Do not forward the link to anyone. If it opens inside another app, such as your email app, open it in Safari or Chrome instead.

Placing the phone

Stand the phone on its side (landscape), about 1 to 1.5 metres away and about 45 degrees to one side, level with you, so its camera shows you, your hands, your desk and your laptop. The page uses the phone’s front camera. Your laptop shows the phone camera’s picture live while you set up, so you can check the framing; if it can’t, the Phone camera card says so in words. Keep the room behind you out of view where you can.

Nothing checks the position for you: no automatic check looks at the phone’s picture, and the phone is ready once its camera is on and sending. Tick each setup step on the phone, make sure you, your hands and your laptop are in view, then leave the phone where it is.

Allowing the camera

The page asks for the camera only after you tap Start camera. It never asks for the microphone.

• Safari on iPhone or iPad: tap Allow. If you tapped Don’t Allow, tap the page menu in the address bar, choose Website Settings, set Camera to Allow, and reload the page.
• Chrome on iPhone or iPad: open the Settings app, choose Chrome, turn Camera on, then reload the page.
• Chrome on Android: tap Allow. If you blocked it, tap the icon to the left of the address, open Permissions, set Camera to Allow, and reload the page.
• Another app using the camera, such as a video call, can stop the page from starting it. Close that app and tap Try again.

Low Power Mode and Auto-Lock

Turn off Low Power Mode on an iPhone, or Battery Saver on Android, before you start: both can pause the camera to save power. The page keeps the screen awake while it is open, so leave it open and in front, and do not lock the phone or switch to another app during the interview. If the screen still turns off, set Auto-Lock to Never on an iPhone (Settings, then Display & Brightness, then Auto-Lock), or the longest Screen timeout on Android (Settings, then Display).

Charging

Keep the phone plugged in. Recording for an hour uses a lot of battery, and the page dims to a dark recording screen to save power. A phone that runs out of battery switches off without warning, and a phone that goes silent can leave the interview unranked (see “If the phone stops during the interview”).

Wi-Fi or mobile data

Use Wi-Fi if you can. The phone uploads its video during the interview, up to about 250 MB for an hour, and the laptop and the phone together need at least 2 Mbps of upload. On mobile data the upload counts against your data allowance.

Using the phone as the laptop’s hotspot

If your laptop connects through your phone’s hotspot, the two share the phone’s mobile connection, so its upload has to carry both: at least 2 Mbps. The hotspot also drains the battery faster, so keep the phone plugged in.

Private Browsing

Use a normal tab, not Private Browsing or Incognito. A private tab can limit the storage the page needs to hold video until it uploads, and closing it disconnects the phone from the interview.

If the phone stops during the interview

If the phone camera stops, the interviewer waits and your laptop shows a countdown of up to 90 seconds with a new QR code, and you can have a new link emailed; the interview clock keeps running. Open it on the same phone or another one to bring the camera back. If the camera is not back in time, the interview ends, and the organisation can offer you another attempt.

If the phone goes silent for 60 seconds without reporting that it stopped — for example it switches off or loses its connection — the interview is not ranked against the other candidates, even if the camera comes back. During that silence the interview cannot show that the phone camera was working, so it no longer meets the conditions every ranked interview meets. The organisation is told why.

“This camera was replaced”

Only one phone at a time can be the camera for an interview. This message means another phone opened a link for the same interview and was confirmed on your laptop, so this phone stopped being the camera. If you did not connect another phone, tell the organisation that invited you.

“Live preview unavailable on this network”

Before you start, your laptop tries to show the phone camera’s picture live, sent directly between the two devices and never recorded. Some networks block that: guest and office Wi-Fi that keeps devices apart, a phone on mobile data while the laptop is on Wi-Fi, or a VPN or firewall. The laptop then says the live preview is unavailable and goes on telling you whether the phone is recording.

This never stops you starting. Start depends on the phone camera recording, not on the live preview.

Requesting an accommodation

If using the phone camera is a barrier for you, choose Request an accommodation on the Phone camera card on your laptop when you set up the interview. You can ask to take part without the phone camera, or for an approved support person, such as an interpreter, to be in view. You do not need to give medical details. The organisation that invited you decides.