Using an iPad as a baby monitor

The iPad that got replaced two Christmases ago is sitting in a drawer, and it has a bigger screen and a better camera than most dedicated baby monitors. The interesting question is which end of the setup you should put it on.

An iPad can be either unit. In my experience it is the better choice as the parent unit, for a reason that has nothing to do with specifications.

The short version

An iPad running iPadOS 17 or later works as either half of a baby monitor. As the parent unit it sits in a stand and shows the cot on a large screen. As the baby unit it streams video and audio from the nursery. You still need two devices, and the one in the nursery has to stay plugged in. Pairing is a QR code scanned once.

Which iPads qualify

Both devices need iPadOS 17 or later, or iOS 17 or later if one of them is an iPhone. That covers iPads from roughly 2018 onwards, including the iPad 6th generation, iPad Air 3rd generation, iPad mini 5 and the iPad Pro models from that era.

The reliable way to check is on the device itself. Open Settings, then General, then Software Update. If it offers iPadOS 17 or shows something higher already installed, you are fine. If it caps out at iPadOS 16, that iPad cannot run the app at either end.

Use an undamaged iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 17 or later, with a working screen, camera and microphone. Check the device and charger before use. A SIM is unnecessary when the device has working Wi-Fi. Do not use a damaged device or rely on a charger to compensate for a faulty battery.

Why an old iPad makes a good parent unit

The strongest argument for a dedicated baby monitor has always been that it is a single piece of hardware that does one job. It cannot ring, and nobody picks it up at 11pm to check a work email.

A retired iPad propped in a stand on the bedside table gets you most of that. It has one app open, it shows the cot, and it is not the device you use for anything else. You get the large screen and good camera of modern hardware while keeping the single-purpose feel.

Three settings turn a general-purpose tablet into a monitor screen:

• Stop it ringing. By default an iPad on the same Apple account will relay incoming calls from your iPhone. Settings, then FaceTime, then turn off Calls from iPhone. This is the setting people forget, and a FaceTime ring at 2am is a memorable way to discover it.
• Set a Focus. A Sleep or custom Focus on the iPad silences everything except the monitor's alerts. Allow notifications from the monitor app and block the rest.
• Turn the brightness down. A tablet at full brightness a metre from your face makes for a bad night. Drop it low, and use the display's dark appearance.

Check the parent iPad's charge and provide suitable power during use. Battery consumption depends on the display, video, connection and device condition; receiving a stream does not establish low battery use.

Using an iPad as the baby unit

This works, with two adjustments.

Use the rear camera. MonitorUltra starts on the back camera by default, which on any iPad is the better sensor. The front camera also sits on a different edge depending on the model year, which makes framing harder. If you have somehow ended up on the front camera, switch back.

Plan the mount around the iPad's size. A phone clamps to a shelf on a cheap gooseneck holder. An iPad is heavier and wider, so it wants a proper tablet stand or a wall mount with a real base. A tablet that slides off a shelf onto a hard floor at 3am wakes everyone in the house.

Placement rules are the same as for any camera in a nursery, and they matter more than the device. Aim for a view of the whole cot rather than a close-up of the face, mount above and angled down, and keep the charging cable well away from the cot. Standard safe-sleep guidance puts cords at least a metre from where a standing child can reach. Where to put a baby monitor covers height, angle and distance properly.

The baby unit must stay on mains power. An iPad streaming video continuously will drain in a few hours and get warm doing it, so treat it as a fixed appliance from the start.

The limitation worth planning around

Most iPads are Wi-Fi only. That has no effect on the baby unit, which sits in the nursery on your home Wi-Fi regardless. It matters for the parent unit.

MonitorUltra relays the stream rather than restricting it to one local network, so a parent unit works over cellular as well as Wi-Fi. A Wi-Fi-only iPad can use that anywhere it has a network, including a hotel or a relative's house, but it cannot fall back to mobile data in the garden or on the school run.

The practical arrangement in most households: the iPad is the bedside and kitchen screen, and your iPhone is the parent unit that leaves the house. Several parent devices can watch the same baby unit at once, and each one gets its own alerts, so you do not have to choose between them.

Two iPads, or one of each

Any combination of two devices on iOS or iPadOS 17 works. The common setups:

• Old iPad as baby unit, iPhone as parent unit. The most portable arrangement. Alerts follow you out of the house.
• Old iPhone as baby unit, iPad as parent unit. My preference. The phone is easier to mount at the right angle, and the iPad gives you the big bedside screen.
• Two iPads. Fine, if you own two. Check the cellular question above before committing to it.

Install MonitorUltra on both, pick the baby unit role on the nursery device, and scan the QR code it displays with the other one. That is the whole pairing step. There is no account to create on the baby unit and nothing to configure on your router.

What the iPad gives you that a monitor screen does not

Cry detection runs on the baby unit itself, using Apple's SoundAnalysis framework, so the audio is classified on the device instead of being uploaded for a server to analyse. The parent unit receives a push notification when crying is detected, with the app in the background or closed. How the cry detection behaves in practice goes through what sets it off.

On a large screen the practical difference is that you can leave the video visible while you read, and glance at it, without holding anything. A 5-inch dedicated monitor screen does not really allow that. The broader comparison with phone-based setups is in the iPhone baby monitor guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does the iPad need a SIM or cellular plan? No, at either end. The baby unit only needs Wi-Fi. A Wi-Fi-only parent unit works anywhere it can join a network, and an iPhone covers you when you are out of Wi-Fi range.

Will the screen stay on while I am watching? Yes. While a monitoring session is open, the app keeps the display awake rather than letting Auto-Lock kick in. Turn the brightness right down overnight.

Can an old iPad with a bad battery be the camera? Yes. It stays on mains power permanently in that role, so battery health is close to irrelevant.

Can two people watch the same iPad camera? Yes. Several parent devices can connect to one baby unit, each receiving its own notifications.

Does it work with an Android tablet? No. MonitorUltra runs on iOS and iPadOS only, on both ends, and there is no web viewer.