First, make sure you have a compatible phone to start with. It is mandatory to sync/register this camera with your phone. After that, you can use it without your phone. This is just the initial setup and requires your phone. The camera is amazing. Can reach 4K quality. I've noticed that the sound quality degrades a bit when you're recording in low light, but I can't fault it because it's a small mic. In general, there is a lot more good than bad. I would buy this multiple times. You get theβ¦