If you own a Pixel phone and a Nintendo Switch 2, it’s possible to use your Pixel phone’s camera as a webcam for your Nintendo Switch 2. With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 , there were several new features added to the hybrid console that Nintendo didn’t make available in the original Switch lineup. GameChat is one of these features, and it allows you to start video calls with people on your friends list while you play games . The Switch 2 needs an external USB webcam if you want to show your face while in a video call, and this is where Pixel phone owners have it a little easier than those with a different type of device.
All you have to do is plug your Pixel phone into the Nintendo Switch 2’s USB-C port with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and you’re basically good to go.
To use your Pixel phone as a Nintendo Switch 2 webcam, you’ll need to enable UVC
There is one small caveat before you can use your Pixel phone’s camera as a USB webcam for the Nintendo Switch 2. You will need to enable UVC for the phone’s USB mode. You can find this option in settings once you connect the phone to the Switch 2 with a USB-C cable.
Upon doing so, a notification will pop up for the USB settings, and you can tap that to swap between the different USB modes. If the option to set the USB mode to UVC is available for your Pixel phone, you’ll see an option called “webcam” that you can turn on. You should also see a notification on your Switch 2 that says a camera was enabled. At this point, you should be good to hit the GameChat button and start a call with your face showing via the Pixel phone’s camera.
As reported by Android Authority, it’s not clear when this feature was made usable on Pixel phones. The Nintendo Switch 2 wouldn’t recognize Pixel phones as a USB webcam when it launched. However, recently the feature began to work. This suggests that Google or Nintendo may have pushed an update to their hardware that quietly got this to work. Of course, you could simply use a dedicated webcam for GameChat when you’re at home, but this is a great solution for when you’re elsewhere since you won’t have to lug a webcam around with you.
