Use a laptop or computer as a baby monitor

Two ways to use a computer

A computer can do either job, and you can mix devices freely:

• As the baby unit: a laptop with a built-in camera stays in your child's room and watches.
• As the parent device: any computer, with or without a camera, shows the live view and the alerts while you work or cook.
• You can mix freely: a laptop in the room with your phone, or a phone in the room with your computer.

What you need

• A laptop with a working camera and microphone. A desktop computer works with an external webcam or a headset.
• A current browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
• A second device for the parent: your phone, a tablet or another computer, on the same home Wi-Fi.
• A power cable long enough to plug the laptop in while keeping the cable out of your child's reach.

Set up the laptop as the baby unit

1. On the laptop, open meimeimonitor.com/app/ and choose “This device watches the child”.

2. Allow the camera and the microphone when the browser asks. If you use an external webcam or headset, choose it from the camera and microphone lists and check the preview.

3. The laptop shows a QR code and a pairing link. Keep this page open while you connect the parent device.

4. Go on to the placement check, confirm the distance and the cable, and start the session.

MeiMei asks for the camera and the microphone only on the baby unit. The parent device never needs them.

Pair with a phone or another computer

The parent device joins in one of two ways:

• On a phone or tablet, open MeiMei, choose that the device is for the parent and scan the QR code with the camera.
• On a computer, copy the pairing link on the laptop and open it in the browser there. You can send it to yourself in a message or e-mail.
• Handle the link like a key: anyone who has it can watch the camera while it is running, so open it only on your own parent device.

Once they are paired, the two devices agree on a secret key, and everything between them is encrypted with it.

Keep the laptop running

A laptop is built to save power and to sleep, and sleeping stops the watching. Before the night:

• Keep the lid open. Closing the lid stops watching.
• Plug the laptop in and turn off sleep in the power settings, for the screen and for the computer.
• Keep the browser tab open and in front. Watching stops when the tab is in the background.
• Turn off notifications and pop-ups that could cover the tab, and close other programs that use the camera or the microphone.

Test it for an hour during the day before you trust it overnight.

Placement and the cable

• Put the laptop high on a shelf or a sturdy piece of furniture, at least 1 m (3 ft) from the crib or bed and out of your child's reach. Never put it inside the crib or on its edge.
• A laptop used as the baby unit must stay open and plugged in, so its charging cable also needs a safe route. Keep any cable at least 1 m (3 ft) from every part of the crib and out of reach.
• Children who sit and stand reach further. Place the laptop higher and farther away than you think you need.
• A laptop has no infrared camera. A dim, warm night light, with its cord out of reach too, lets MeiMei see movement. Without it, MeiMei listens only.

What works for free

Without paying and without an account you get:

• Pairing, live view and talk-back.
• Crying, coughing and movement detection.
• Every alert, shown on the parent device's screen.
• The placement check before every session.

Nothing is saved without a plan: no clips and no sleep history. A free account adds alerts to a tab in the background or a locked phone, and keeps your devices in one household.

Browser limits

• Keep the tab open and the screen on. A browser cannot keep watching when the computer sleeps, the screen locks or the tab is hidden.
• Without an account, both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi, and alerts only reach a tab that is open.
• Browsers cannot pin the screen or tell when the device is moved, which the phone apps can.
• If the camera does not start, check that the page is open over https, that no other program is using the camera, and that you allowed access for the page.

The MeiMei apps for Android and iPhone are coming soon. They keep watching with the screen off and send alerts to a locked phone. MeiMei is not a medical device and does not replace watching your child yourself.