Need to know how to fix Windows 10 camera problems on your laptop, desktop or tablet? This sounds like a minor problem, but sudden issues with your camera can be very frustrating when you're just trying to use it to learn how to fix common problems.
Almost every Windows 10 PC has a network camera. Laptops and desktop computers have front cameras, so you can video chat with friends and family. Tablets and hydrides often have a second camera so you can photograph the world around you. When all is well, both cameras work flawlessly with the Windows 10 Camera app and any other app that needs access to the device's camera.
Windows 10 camera problems may make you less productive or cause you to miss out important point. Windows 10 laptop owners may try to join a conference call, only to realize that their device's camera is not working. The same thing can happen with the Surface Pro 4, as well as other tablets that run on Win 10, when someone tries to use the main camera. Some users receive an error message every time they open the Camera app.
Here's how to properly operate the camera and fix Windows 10 camera problems.
Setting camera permissions on Windows 10
You must grant access permission to any camera or sensors on your PC. In most cases, this process is useless because apps that require access to cameras will ask you for permissions when you open them. However, it's easy to miss the pop-up request window. And without proper resolution, the app will only show a black screen.
Click Windows key on your keyboard or the Start button in the lower left corner of the screen.
Tap the cog on the left edge of the screen or Start screen to open the Settings app. You can also access the Settings app from Action Center. Just swipe left from right side touch screen devices. Then click on the All Settings shortcut at the bottom of the Action Center.
Tap the Privacy icon in the Settings app. It is in the third row and has a padlock icon.
Select the "Camera" section from the menu on the left side of the screen.
There's a toggle at the top of the Camera section area. If it's turned off, click on it to turn it on.
Every app you try to use with your device's camera must also have permission. Use the list of apps at the bottom of this area to make sure your most frequently used apps, like Instagram and Facebook, have the camera access they need.
Switch and close apps to fix camera problems in Windows 10
Often, Windows 10 camera problems occur due to users who have more than one application sharing the camera at the same time. For example, if you open an app that requires Windows Hello access, the Camera app can't access that app so you can take a photo.
When this happens to you, close everything open applications, which may require access to the camera. Then go back to the app you are trying to use. Close this application and open it again. If this doesn't help and the camera still doesn't work, restart your Windows 10 computer from the Start menu.
Change camera settings to fix camera problems in Windows 10
Sometimes an app may access your device's cameras but not reset the camera settings to get a bright and clear photo. If this happens to you, go to the Start menu and open the Camera app from the alphabetical list on the left side of the screen.
Use the controls at the top of the Camera app. Now use the controls to change the brightness and contrast. Close the Camera app and open the app you were trying to use the camera with.
These fixes should help you resolve any Windows 10 camera issues you have. We will continue to add new solutions as new problems are identified.
If you have a webcam on your laptop, but for some reason it does not work, then we recommend that you get acquainted with in simple ways how to turn it on. We also shared information on how to check the functionality of the webcam.
Today it is difficult to find a laptop that does not have a built-in camera. However, it is enabled by default and does not need to be configured separately. As happens with the same Bluetooth adapter or Wi-Fi module. But there are situations in which this device may not work. In this case, you will probably want to know the answer to the question of how to turn on the camera on a laptop and what actions should be taken to do this.
There is no need to panic here. It’s just that, most likely, you just need to further configure it in the system or select this device as the default. In fact, these devices break very rarely, so it's all a matter of correct configuration.
How to turn on the camera on a laptop and check its functionality
To check the functionality of the webcam of your laptop computer, you can use a special web service. Just type “Webcam&mic Test” in any search engine. The first line in the search results will be the site you need, when you go to it you should see a large “Check webcam” button. By clicking on it, you may be asked for permission to access it. This will already mean that your device is functioning normally. If you click "Allow", you will be able to see the image from the webcam. When a completely different message appears on the screen. Then you will have to understand the problem in more detail.
To begin a serious check of the performance of such equipment, you should go to the remote control. To do this, you can call the system interpreter and enter “devmgmt.msc” in it. Open the section with image processing devices in the Manager and examine its contents:
- If it is not in the remote control, then the webcam may be hardware disabled or physically broken;
- When the camera name is not in the list, but there is an unknown device, then you will need to install the appropriate drivers for it;
- If its name has a yellow triangle, then you will have to turn on the camera on the laptop using the OS.
Sometimes it is possible to launch your video capture device directly from the keyboard. Examine it. If you find special character, depicting a camera, you can turn on the webcam by pressing this button and the “FN” key. When this doesn’t help, your device may actually be broken. As for installing drivers, there is nothing complicated in this procedure. Download them latest version from the manufacturer's website and install.
Please note that without drivers, not a single hardware component will work correctly. Therefore, feel free to download the drivers as well, they are also available on our website.
Now I’ll show you how to quickly check whether your camera is working on Windows 10, if it doesn’t work, see if it’s turned on, and we’ll show you how to install drivers for a webcam.
Microsoft introduced in Windows 10 special program“Camera”, which we will use to test it.
Click on the “Start” button (lower left corner of the screen) and select “All applications.
The list sorts applications alphabetically, so we find the letter “K” and go to “Camera”.
In the window that appears requesting access to the camera, select “Settings”.
You can also go to settings through “Start - Settings - Privacy” and here on the left we find “Camera”.
Select this item and in the “Allow applications to use the camera” column, move the switch to the “On” position.
Now go to “Start – Applications – Camera” again and everything should work and you will see the image from the webcam.
IN this application There are buttons for viewing photos (top left), adjusting brightness (top center), and a button to take photos and record videos (right).
This way we can check whether the webcam will work in other applications.
If any problems arise, there are several options for solving them.
Older laptops often have camera buttons or switches of some kind.
The buttons are usually located near the power button and are marked with a schematic image of the camera, and the switches are usually placed on the end near the TouchPad.
In the device manager we find “Imaging device”, clicking on it, you can see your webcam.
To enable or disable it, you need to click on it right click mouse, select “Enable”/“Disable”.
If the webcam is not present in the file manager in the “Imaging device”, but will not be displayed specific device With exclamation point, it is possible that it does not have drivers.
On this site you can find descriptions of how you can install all the drivers for most laptops, as well as for specific models.
You can also go to the official website of the laptop manufacturer. In our case, Acer (acer.ru).
Usually there are Russian sites, and there are European ones, and there are more European drivers. Therefore, if you did not find the drivers on the Russian site, try looking for them on the European one.
On the website we find the “Services – Drivers and Manuals” tab. We go to this page and here you can find drivers by serial number or laptop model.
If there are no drivers for Windows 10, you can look for them for Windows 8, 7; they are usually compatible.
You can also search for drivers by hardware id. To do this, go to “Device Manager” and right-click on the device, select properties.
Go to the “Details” tab, click on the “Device Description” drop-down list and select “Hardware ID”.
Your equipment ID will appear in the window. We copy it and enter it into any search engine with the note “...download drivers.” The search engine will return several sites where you can download drivers.
If it does not find it using the full ID, you can delete a couple of sectors in the ID.
As a result, you can determine the following options why the camera does not work.
- The switch/shortcut is not enabled on some older laptops.
- There are no drivers, or the wrong ones.
- Problem with Windows.
The camera is not working properly or the cable to it is damaged. This can happen when replacing matrices.
Windows "Camera" one of the default applications in Windows 10. The application is not as functional as third party applications, but supports high-quality video recording and photography.
If the Camera app closes when you launch it or while shooting, it's not responding, and it can't record videos or take photos, you can easily fix the app by resetting it. Most common issues are resolved by resetting the Camera app.
If the problem persists even after resetting the Camera app, you can go ahead and reinstall the Camera app. Reinstalling applications in Windows 10 is not difficult. You just need to uninstall the Camera app and then install a new copy from the Windows Store.
In this guide, we'll look at how to reset and reinstall the Camera app on Windows 10.
IMPORTANT: If you are having problems with the camera on your PC, we recommend that you update the camera device driver or reinstall it before attempting to reset or reinstall the Camera app. If the built-in camera does not work, check that it is not disabled in Device Manager.
- Method 1 of 2
Reset the Camera app
To reinstall, refer to the instructions in Method 2 below.
Step 1. Open the application " Options» Go Applications → Applications and features.
Step 2: Find the Camera app and tap on it. You should now see a link " Extra options".
Step 4: Finally, click the button "Reset". A confirmation pop-up window will appear, click the button "Reset" one more time to do full reset Camera applications.
Now you can launch the Camera app and check if it fixed your problem.
- Method 2 of 2
Reinstalling the Camera app using Windows PowerShell
Reinstall the Camera app if the problem persists even after resetting the app.
Unlike other default apps, the Camera app cannot be uninstalled using " Windows Settings" We will use Windows PowerShell to uninstall the Camera app, and then install a new copy from the Windows Store. Here's how it's done.
Step 1. Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator. For this right click on button"Start" and select " Windows PowerShell ( administrator )» .
Step 2. In the PowerShell window, copy and paste the following command.
Press the Enter key to execute the command.
Step 3: Now find the application entry Microsoft.WindowsCamera.
Step 4: Copy the contents of a string PackageFullName, use hotkey Ctrl + C to copy the selected text to the clipboard.
Step 5: Run the following command to uninstall the Camera app.
Remove-AppxPackage PackageFullName
In the above command, replace PackageFullName to the contents of the PackageFullName line that you copied in the previous step.
In my case it is - Microsoft.WindowsCamera_2017.619.10.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
You can close the PowerShell window.
Step 6: Finally, open the Store app, search for the app Windows Camera and install it.
I hope you find this guide useful!
All owners of computers and laptops have a camera. Some have it built-in, others connect via USB. For modern life, this is a very convenient thing that allows you to conduct negotiations, webinars, make online calls and more. But it happens that the web camera may not work after Windows 10 has downloaded new updates, or after it has been completely reinstalled.
When such a “breakdown” occurs, users often search for search engines new drivers for your PC, but usually they must be on the computer, and the reason for the camera not working is completely different. We will try to help you solve the problem in this article by describing several configuration methods.
Checking if the camera is turned on on the PC
Typically, Windows 10 automatically installs all drivers for the device, so your webcam may not work at all. trivial reason, maybe it is disabled.
You can check its activation using the Device Manager, which can be called by right-clicking on the Start menu.
You will see a whole list of different types of devices connected to your PC, but you are looking for the “Imaging devices” tab (usually it is located at the very bottom). Clicking on it will show you your camera.
By right-clicking on the line with the camera name and clicking on “Properties”, you can find out whether the function called “Enable”/“Enable” is active.
If you see that the camera is in shutdown mode, you need to turn it on, after which the system will prompt you to restart your computer. This should be the end of your troubles with the camera. If everything is in order and the web device is turned on, then the problem may be different.
Uninstall and update webcam drivers through Device Manager
In order to perform manipulations to remove a camera, you need to go to the already familiar “Task Manager”, find your camera and go to its properties. In the same window that contained the Engage/Enable button, there is a Delete button. You need to press it.
After the removal operation is successful, you need to install it again. To do this, we select from the provided "Device Manager" menu the function called "Action".
After that, click on “Update configuration”.
All drivers related to the camera should be back on the PC. Check if the camera is working now. If yes, then further instructions you don't need to perform.
Installing new drivers for the camera
Another option is to install drivers that are slightly different from what Windows installed on your PC. If your web device is shown in Device Manager, then you can follow the next option.
Right-click on the line with the web device and select “Update drivers”, and then select “Search for drivers”.
In the new window, click on “Select a driver from the list of already installed drivers.”
Among the options presented, you need to find a common driver for your video device. Click on it and install.
If you do not find cameras among the list in Imaging Devices, then you should look in Other Devices.
If there Unknown device, then you should try installing it. If nothing is displayed at this point, then you have a direct path to the official website of the developer of your PC. There you need to find information about the drivers for the web camera. Perhaps they are available, but they are not suitable for Windows 10, then you need to try installing them through compatibility mode.
You should also know that everything may be fine with the drivers and the camera is working correctly, but in programs such as Skype or similar, something may not function. Then the cause may not be problems in the camera program settings, but in the application itself. Then you need to change the settings in the program itself.