Troubleshoot and fix camera/webcam problems in Windows

Here are a couple of solutions to troubleshoot and fix camera problems for PCs with Windows. This guide will be updated if other possible solutions are discovered.

1. If you are on Windows 10 or Windows 11, check first that camera is allowed to be accessed by applications

Follow Fix camera/webcam not working after Windows 10 1803/1809/1903 update guide.

2. Verify if you camera works in other applications

1. Test it webcamtest.com website. Also try with a different web browser. If you receive an error like: "It seems your web camera streams video as a static image. Either the webcam hangs, or as a video source, it uses regular image." you should roll back the drivers(see section 4.1-4.3) or install different drivers (see section 5).
2. On Windows 10/11 you can also test it with the built in camera app, go to Taskbar or Start Menu Search and type: camera
3. If camera works in the previous steps, open that specific application that does not work, go to it's settings/preferences and check that under Camera/Video device the proper camera device is selected.
   • A couple of examples where these settings are in different applications:
     • For Discord: User Settings > Voice & Video.
     • For Skype: Settings > Audio & Video > Camera.
     • For Microsoft Teams: Click your profile picture at the top of Teams and go to Settings > Devices > Camera.

3. Verify that the camera is not turned off

Some cameras have a hardware button to turn them on or off. Some notebooks might have a keyboard button or key combination (FN + one of the F buttons) to turn on/off the camera. For some notebooks such an option could be found in BIOS.

4. Check if camera drivers are properly installed

1. Open Device Manager (press Win+R or search and copy-paste: devmgmt.msc or right-click on This PC/Computer icon > select Manage > select Device Manager)
2. Camera devices if have a proper driver are placed under Cameras or Imaging devices categories. Expand these categories.
3. If you have a device there, double click on it and check if under "Device status" if it's stated "Device is working properly".
4. Try first to revert to the previous driver version. In the opened Proprieties window, select Driver tab, click on "Roll Back Driver" button if it's enabled. Test the camera again (close and reopen the test application each time you try). If it works and you are on Windows 10, you should probably prevent Windows Update from updating the drivers, as at some point it could load the buggy drivers again. Check this guide on how to do this.
5. If you have multiple devices under Cameras or Imaging devices categories, it's possible that some other device or a different camera sensor is being considered as default. You could try to disable all other devices but one at a time (with right click -> Disable) and retest the camera in an application (close and reopen it each time you try), you can keep the Device Manager window open.

5. Install a different driver.

1. Look for drivers on the manufacturer website (eg. Logitech, Microsoft etc.). If you have a notebook with a integrated camera search for your notebook's drivers on the manufacturer's website (eg. Dell, HP, Acer, ASUS).
2. Most drivers have a automated installer. Others may require you to manually install the driver through Device Manager:
   1. Extract the files if the driver files are placed in an archive (.zip, .cab, self extracting .exe).
   2. Launch Device Manager  (press Win+R or search and copy-paste: devmgmt.msc or right-click on This PC/Computer icon > select Manage > select Device Manager)
   3. If your camera already has drivers installed, look under Cameras or Imaging devices categories for the camera and  If it does not, it will show up as a "Unknown device" or similar and has a yellow icon with an exclamation mark.
   4. Double click on it.
   5. Go to Driver tab and and click on Update Driver...
   6. Choose "Browse my computer for driver software" and in the next screen select Browse.
   7. Within the browse window navigate to the folder where you have extracted the driver files from the downloaded archive. Click OK.
   8. Click Next, and wait for the confirmation that the drivers installed correctly.
3. If you are on Windows 10, you should prevent Windows Update from updating the drivers, as at some point it could load the buggy drivers again. Check "Disable all automatic Windows driver updates from installing" from  this guide on how to do this.

6. Check if camera is faulty

• If you have an external camera, check it connected to another PC or try with a different camera on your current PC. On that other PC you may also need to do the solutions presented above.
• If you are on a notebook with a integrated camera, try connecting an external camera. You will have to disable the integrated camera per instructions in section 4.4.

As different external camera you could use your phone camera with your PC. For example see this guide for android phones.