Turn an Old Phone into a Dedicated Tally Light Display

April 2026 · 5 min read

An old Android or iPhone on permanent USB power makes a better tally display than a $40 dedicated hardware unit — it's brighter, larger, and costs nothing if you already have the phone. This guide covers the exact settings to make it permanent: always-on screen, automatic Wake Lock, and mount placement so talent can see it without breaking eye contact with the camera.

Which phones work

Step-by-step setup

1. Plug in USB power Connect the phone to a USB charger or power bank. For permanent installs, use a short cable and cable clip to keep it tidy. The phone charges and stays on indefinitely — battery health is irrelevant since it's always on charge.
2. Disable Auto-Lock / Screen Timeout Wake Lock handles this automatically in supported browsers — but set it manually as a failsafe.
3. Set brightness to maximum For stage or lit environments, full brightness ensures the tally colour is visible at a glance. On Android: pull down notification shade → brightness slider → max. On iPhone: Control Centre → brightness → max.
4. Open Cue Light in the correct browser Android → Chrome. iPhone → Safari. Open the display link shared from the controller.
5. Add to home screen (optional) On Android (Chrome): tap ⋮ → "Add to Home Screen." On iPhone (Safari): tap Share → "Add to Home Screen." This lets you reopen the display with one tap after a reboot.
6. Mount next to the camera lens Position so talent sees the tally colour in peripheral vision when looking at the lens. See mounting options below.

Screen timeout settings

The $50 dedicated display option

Mounting options

Camera viewfinder tally

Camera operators using an eyepiece viewfinder can't see a phone mounted next to the lens while they're shooting. Cuebi sells a dedicated fiber-optic accessory for this. With Cue Light, the practical alternatives are:

• Mount the display phone on top of the camera — the operator glances up briefly. Works for most productions where the operator has time between cuts.
• Small monitor with phone arm — mount a second small display on the camera rig at a position visible when pulling back from the eyepiece.
• Bluetooth earpiece — for productions where the TD communicates verbally alongside visual tally. Cue Light handles the visual signal; the TD calls critical cuts verbally on the earpiece.
• Camera-mounted LED indicator — for operators who genuinely need a physical in-eyepiece tally, a hardware solution like Cuebi's fiber-optic accessory is the right tool. Cue Light is a phone screen — it won't fit in a viewfinder eyepiece.

For most productions — church, events, podcasting, weddings — camera operators can see a phone display mounted above or beside the lens without interrupting their shot. In-eyepiece tally is primarily a broadcast studio concern.

Network: WiFi or cellular hotspot

The dedicated display phone needs an internet connection. Options:

• Venue WiFi — simplest, but check reliability before the production
• Cellular data — most reliable. Enable data on the phone's SIM or use a data-only SIM. Cue Light uses under 5MB/hour.
• Hotspot from the TD's phone — create a personal hotspot and connect all display phones to it. Completely independent of venue infrastructure.