Bringus Studios Turns a Used Motorola Police Bodycam Into a Surprisingly Capable Gaming Device

A well-used Motorola bodycam arrived at Bringus Studios with visible signs of prior shifts, including residue that suggested long days clipped to an officer’s chest. Model N701A, it runs a version of Android from the mid-2010s labeled Motorola Incident Plus 17. Buttons include a red rocker for recording, a green push-to-talk key, and others that trigger photos or covert mode.

A micro USB connector and a headphone jack are situated on the edges, while the wide-angle lens and small screen face outward. After powering on, residual thumbnails of genuine film appeared, protected by a PIN that could be guessed before the device switched to independent mode for testing. Connecting a device to a PC via Android Debug Bridge immediately revealed a multitude of choices for moving stuff about. He circumvented the restrictive stock interface by installing a standard launcher, which let him to navigate the menus without relying entirely on physical buttons and controls. Bluetooth pairing went on without a hitch, and he was able to set a controller button to a back function despite the device’s lack of an obvious home or return button.

In terms of storage, it looks that there is around 64 GB accessible, but system files occupy the most of it, leaving only a little amount of space for any sideloaded APKs. Because there is no cellular SIM card installed, the device remains inactive unless we do local Bluetooth or USB data transfers. Attempting to root the device or unlock the bootloader failed, leaving him with the incident footage stored in locked files and unable to uncover anything more recorded by the previous owner.

He loaded the games via USB and experimented with screen resolution to ensure that the text did not get too small, eventually settling on a happy medium of around 540 by 960 pixels. An earlier version of Minecraft Pocket Edition could routinely achieve 60 frames per second, and even simple operations like placing and deleting blocks performed admirably. He also had some success with a Super Mario 64 decompilation port, which remained flawlessly locked at 60 frames per second while playing through the levels on 8-year-old hardware.

GTA Vice City Stories also ran at 60 frames per second, despite the fact that the handling was clumsy and the directional inputs made straight lines tough to navigate. He eventually got Assassin’s Creed Revelations and a version of Donkey Kong Country 2 up and running by figuring out our control mappings, which involved the buttons managing leaps in an unorthodox but effective way. Dolphin emulation for PSP titles barely managed 60% of its regular speed and had a few serious errors, such as missing screen parts or unskippable portions when we tried to use Wii-style controls. Even so, native Android titles took advantage of this aging chipset in unexpected ways.

However, audio proved to be the most serious issue. Volume simply rose above 125 decibels and reached around 130 with a tone generator, which was loud enough that we had to put on noise-canceling headphones and reboot the entire system via ADB to get a trapped signal to calm down. A few titles, such as Patapon, were blasting out at levels that were truly risking hearing harm, and the speaker itself proved to be far more powerful than what you’d ordinarily find in a phone.

Streaming using Steam Link for a while did, however, deliver Left 4 Dead 2 to the screen with only a small amount of input latency, allowing him to have decent sessions even if they didn’t feel as smooth as if he’d been playing it on native hardware. He was able to attach a PS5 controller for a few sessions, but the results were uneven, with certain keybinds simply crashing the apps.