Use Your Phone as a Microphone on Linux

Micstream is a small background service. It adds a virtual microphone to PipeWire, the audio system of all current Linux distributions.

You need three things:

A distribution with PipeWire (Ubuntu 22.10+/Fedora 36+/Debian 12+/Arch)
An Android phone or iPhone
Both devices on the same Wi-Fi network

Setup

1
Download Micstream
Download the package for your distribution:
- micstream-amd64.deb — Debian, Ubuntu, Mint
- micstream-x86_64.rpm — Fedora
- micstream-linux-x64.tar.gz — Arch and any other distro
2
Install the Linux client
Debian/Ubuntu/Mint:
```
sudo apt install ~/Downloads/micstream-amd64.deb
```
Fedora:
```
sudo dnf install ~/Downloads/micstream-x86_64.rpm
```
On Arch and other distributions, use the tarball. It contains install.sh, which installs Micstream in your home folder without root. On Arch, PipeWire's audio plugins are a separate package, so install it first:
```
sudo pacman -S --needed pipewire-audio
```
3
Start the service
Turn on the service. It then also starts every time you log in:
```
systemctl --user enable --now micstream
```
If you installed from the tarball, install.sh has already done this.
4

Install the phone app

Get it on Google Play or the App Store. You don't need an account.
5

Connect the phone

Open the app. It finds your PC by itself if both are on the same network. On iPhone, allow Local Network access when asked. Without it, the app can't see your PC.
6

Pick Micstream as the input

Select Micstream in your app's microphone settings. To use it everywhere, make it the default input (GNOME: Settings → Sound → Input; KDE: System Settings → Sound). Every app sees it as a normal microphone.

Discord and OBS ignore the system default and use their own setting, so select Micstream there. There are separate guides for Discord and OBS.

Noise cancellation

The client comes with DeepFilterNet, an AI noise-cancellation model. It's on by default. To turn it off:

micstream set noise-suppression=off

The change works right away and stays after a reboot. The louder the noise, the more it removes, up to 15 dB by default. If you still hear noise, raise the limit:

micstream set attenuation-limit=20

Processing runs on the computer, not on the phone, so it does not affect the phone's battery.

Configuration

The settings are in ~/.config/micstream/micstream.conf. Each line is one KEY=value pair. Everything after a # is a comment.

After editing the file, restart the service:

systemctl --user restart micstream

Only noise-suppression and attenuation-limit can change live with micstream set. Other settings need a restart.

Key	Default	What it does
`noise-suppression`	`on`	DeepFilterNet noise cancellation, `on` or `off`.
`attenuation-limit`	`15`	How many dB of noise the suppression may remove at most (10–25).
`noise-model`	`standard`	`low-latency` switches to a faster model, which isn't bundled: put `DeepFilterNet3_ll_onnx.tar.gz` into `~/.local/share/micstream`.
`update-check`	`on`	Checks once a day for a new release and shows a notification. Updates are never installed automatically.
`telemetry`	`on`	Sends reliability statistics (packet counters, never audio) under a random ID. `off` turns it off.

Everyday use

The client has no window and no tray icon. It runs in the background. To check its state:

micstream status

micstream 1.0.0
phone:       connected (192.168.0.42)
virtual mic: live — an app is capturing
noise:       active (standard model, limit 15 dB)
buffer:      61 ms buffered, 0 underruns, 0 trims
session:     84210 packets, 3 late, 2 concealed, 0 decode errors

It shows whether a phone is connected, whether an app is using the microphone, and what noise cancellation is doing. You also get a desktop notification when the phone connects or disconnects. The only other commands are --version and --help.

The service

The client is a normal systemd user service, so the usual commands work:

# restart (needed after hand-editing the config file)
systemctl --user restart micstream

# stop, or stop and keep it off after reboots
systemctl --user stop micstream
systemctl --user disable --now micstream

# follow the logs
journalctl --user -u micstream -f

Updates

The client doesn't update itself. When a new version comes out, you get a desktop notification. Download the new package below and install it like the first time: sudo apt install ~/Downloads/micstream-amd64.deb (or the rpm) updates it. Then run systemctl --user restart micstream to start the new version. The tarball's install.sh restarts the service for you.

Troubleshooting

Micstream isn't in the input device list

Check that the service is running: systemctl --user status micstream.

If it says PipeWire is unreachable, your system probably still uses PulseAudio. Micstream needs PipeWire (the default since Ubuntu 22.10, Fedora 36 and Debian 12).
If the log shows pw_stream_connect failed, PipeWire's audio plugins are missing. On Arch, install the pipewire-audio package.
If Micstream is there but an app still uses another mic, select Micstream in that app and restart the app. Many apps only look for new devices when they start.

The app can't find your computer

Make sure the phone is on the same Wi-Fi as the computer, not on mobile data.
Don't use a guest network. Guest networks often stop devices from seeing each other.
If you use a firewall, allow UDP ports 37718–37720. With ufw: sudo ufw allow 37718:37720/udp. With firewalld, add the ports to your active zone.

Audio is choppy or delayed

This is almost always the network, not the microphone. Move closer to the router, or connect the computer with an Ethernet cable. The client keeps the delay low by itself: it hides short dropouts and catches up automatically after the network was slow.

Common questions

Is it free?

Yes, with ads: watching a short ad gives you streaming time. A Pro subscription removes the ads and the time limit.

Which distributions are supported?

Any distribution with PipeWire and systemd, on x86-64: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Mint, Arch and their derivatives.

What is the audio quality?

PipeWire receives the audio as 32-bit float at 48 kHz, in stereo. If network packets get lost, the codec's error correction hides the gaps.

Does it have noise suppression?

Yes. DeepFilterNet is included in every package and on by default. See Noise cancellation above.

Can I use the phone while it's streaming?

Yes. The app runs in the background.

Downloads

micstream-amd64.deb Debian, Ubuntu, Mint
micstream-x86_64.rpm Fedora
micstream-linux-x64.tar.gz Arch & any distro, installs to your home directory
SHA-256 checksums

And the app:

Download Windows Client Get Android App