A phone’s projector can be expensive. The cost range is between 40$( for a cardboard one) to 450$(for an electronic one). You can make one at home for almost nothing by following these steps.

You need:

A shoebox or a big box

A paperclip

Your smartphone

A magnifying glass (1$ at the dollar store) or an aperture lens

An X-acto knife or something to cut through cardboard

Electrical or black tape

Matte black spray paint or black paper (optional)

Step 1: Prepare the box.

If the inside of your box is white or a bright colour, you may spray paint or tape the inside of the box in black for a better image quality.When your box is ready, trace the outer edge of your magnifying glass(or lens) onto one of the short side of the box.

Step 2: Cut the hole.

Cut out the inside of the circle you just made. Try not to cut the circle too large because we don’t want light leaking inside of it.On the other side of the box , cut a tiny hole for your power cord.

Step 3: Attach the lens.

Now that you have your hole , it is time to attach your lens.If your magnifying glass has a handle , you may want to remove it.Line up your lens with the hole and tape all around it. Make sure that it is securely taped and that there is no gap around it.

Step 4: Make the stand.

Take your paperclip and unfold it to make a straight piece of metal. Fold it to make squared “u” shape. Then fold the ends a little bit to make a grip for the phone.(Video tutorial)

Step 5: Flip the screen.

When the light passes through a lens, it get flipped. So the picture is going to be upside down.To fix that you can rotate your screen. For the Iphone got to Setting>General>Accessibility and turn on AssistiveTouch.A white dot is going to appear, click on it then go to Device>Rotate Screen and click on the opposite side that your going to put your phone.Android users can download an app called Ultimate Rotation Control

Step 6: Finding Focus.

For the screen you can use a white wall (if you have one), a white bed sheet, a white poster or a white curtain.Place your projector on a table or on a stand, position your phone and move it forward and backward until you find the perfect spot for the picture to be clear.

Step 7:Brightness.

For best viewing, turn the screen brightness all the way up and turn off the auto-brightness. Turn off the light and enjoy the experience. You can show pictures by going into the photos app and put it to slide show mode or put a movie from Youtube or Netflix!!