How To Fix Webcam Problems

With broadband internet widely available, many PC users are actively using their webcams for video chatting and online meetings. Not only does the increased bandwidth facilitate the use of video over the internet, but improved webcams and better video compression also help a lot. But if your hardware is not working as it should be, a webcam is not much fun. So dealing with webcam problems can be a necessary evil. Webcam problems often simply mean there is no image to be seen, but in other cases, you might actually get an error message or will not be able to select the webcam as the video source in your programs.

In Windows Live Messenger, for example, you might get webcam error 0x8a70013, indicating a problem with the webcam device.

Steps to solve the webcam problems

Check the webcam connection

One of the very first steps is of course to check your webcam connection. Most webcams use the USB port to connect to the PC, so check if your USB cable is properly plugged in. For built-in webcams, these steps of course do not apply. Many new laptops have a built-in webcam. Also, try connecting your webcam directly to your PC instead of through a USB hub (if you are using one).

Enable the webcam

But don’t forget to check if you need to manually activate your webcam. In most cases, the webcam will be automatically activated by software that can use the webcam, but for some computer brands, it is necessary to press a certain key combination to activate the webcam (it will be a Function key, either with Alt or Ctrl or the Fn key, but check the laptop manual for details).

Some known key combinations:

<Fn> + <F9> (Alienware laptop webcams)
<Fn> + <F6> (Packard Bell laptops, MSI laptops, Lenovo laptops)
<Fn> + <F10> (Neo laptops, some Asus laptops)

Check the webcam in the Device Manager

The next thing to do is to check your Windows Device Manager and see if all hardware is recognized and installed properly. Use the Scan for hardware changes in the Action menu to make sure Windows lists all available hardware devices.

It might be that the hardware is recognized as a camera, but the right drivers are not installed. The yellow exclamation mark will indicate a problem.

If the device is not recognized in Windows, it will be listed under Other Devices.

In either case, you can try to update the drivers. Right-click the device, and in the popup menu select Update Driver Software (in Windows 11 – Update driver). Then follow the instructions on screen, but make sure you allow Windows to search the web for updated drivers.

In case no driver for the webcam can be found, you can try a third-party driver-finding program that scans your PC for installed hardware and allows you to install missing drivers.

Reinstall the webcam software

If this fails, the next step would be to uninstall the software that came with your webcam. Use the Add or Remove Programs feature in the Control Panel. If that does not work you can use a third party uninstaller.

After uninstalling the software, restart your PC and then reinstall the webcam software. In most cases, this will solve the problems. Depending on the software, you might need to unplug your webcam during the software installation. For many HP systems, you need to install the CyberLink YouCam software, which can be downloaded from the HP site (for Windows 7 and Windows 8). This program allows you to check the webcam feed to see if it is working.

Check the software settings

If the drivers and webcam software are correctly installed, and you still cannot see any video, there can be a problem with the program settings. Most chat and meeting software have a configuration option to select the video source for the webcam feature. If you have multiple devices that qualify for video, you might need to select your webcam device as the source for the webcam feature in that program.

Some webcams and programs require additional software, although that should be installed with the webcam if things are right. But is does not harm to check if your Java, Flash (discontinued in 2019) and Quicktime software (version 7.6) are installed and up to date. But certainly check your DirectX software, since all video applications, including webcams, use DirectX for video processing. Try downloading the latest DirectX version and install it (Windows XP: DirectX 9.0c – Windows Vista: DirectX 10 (version 11 for Vista with SP2) – Windows 7: DirectX 11 – Windows 8, 8.1: DirectX 11.2 is only available through the Windows Update function – Windows 10: DirectX 11.3 and 12 are included with Windows and updates are only available through Windows update).

Manual focus correction

Lastly, if your webcam’s image is not sharp, check to see if it has a focus ring. A blurry image can sometimes simply mean the webcam is not in focus. Adjusting the focus through the ring can solve that problem.

Adjust video capture quality

Other picture quality problems with webcams can be addressed by changing the video capture properties for the webcam. Most programs that can use a webcam will have the option to access the properties of the video source, which will bring up the video capture properties window.

Do keep in mind that not all settings will be enabled depending on the webcam and the webcam driver installed on your computer. In the example, you can see that some settings are disabled. The example shows the video capture properties for an Acer Crystal Eye webcam.

In Windows 11 the Camera properties look different. Access them by opening Settings from the Start menu, then select Bluetooth & devices in the left-hand pane, click Cameras in the right-hand pane, and then click your camera.

Camera Privacy Settings Causing Webcam Problems

Starting with Windows 8.1 (and Windows 10) there is a privacy setting in Windows that allows (or blocks) access to the camera. If access to the camera is blocked to Apps, your webcam will not work in certain applications.

Here are the steps to ensure that the camera is not blocked in Windows 10:

1. From the Start menu, select Settings.
2. In the Settings window, click on Privacy.
3. Make sure that the setting for Let my apps use my camera is turned On.
   

Fix Flipped Camera Issues

Having the image from the camera shown as mirrored or upside down has been a long-time problem on some Windows-compatible webcams. In most cases, the right device driver for the camera will fix the issue.

If the camera image is not showing correctly, or changes to an incorrect image when using it to capture video, try the options below to fix it.

Registry tweak to flip camera

Although this solution is not applicable to all webcams, it is good to check if it is applicable in your case.

1. Open the Registry Editor using the Windows + R keys and then type regedit in the Run box. Press Enter or click the OK button.
2. In the Registry Editor, select the top-level entry (Computer), and then use the File menu Export option to make a backup of the registry.
3. Next, locate the following registry entry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\
{6BDD1FC6-810F-11D0-BEC7-08002BE2092F}\0000\VIDEOPROCAMP
4. With the key selected, change entry in the right-hand panel called HFLIP from 0 to 1 (or from 1 to zero, depending on the current value). If the entry does not exist, you can create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value with that name.
   Note: Use the VFLIP entry for a vertical flip.

If you cannot find the key, this option probably will not work for your webcam.

Use software settings to flip the camera

If you cannot get the webcam image corrected in Windows itself, using the driver, settings, or registry tweak, you can often use program settings to correct the webcam image.

Do keep in mind that many video chat programs show you the mirrored image of the webcam while people on the other end see the correct image of you. So consider if it is really something that needs to be addressed!

In Zoom you can toggle video mirroring to change the image.

1. Click the up arrow in the Video button on the Zoom meeting window.
   
2. Select the Video Settings option in the popup menu.
3. In the Video settings pane, unmark the option Mirror my video.
   
4. Close the Video settings pane.
5. Close and restart Zoom (close it completely from the Taskbar icon).

If you prefer working with web-based interfaces for online meeting and chat programs like Zoom, Google Meet, and others, installing a browser plugin or extension is the better way to go. For Chrome, there is VideoMirror, which is free and supports camera mirroring. There are others, but make sure to check that the mirror function is available in the free version before you install it.

If you are using your webcam for instant messaging / video chatting with one of the popular chat programs, have a look at ManyCam, which allows you to record your webcam but also allows screen recording, which allows you to record any video stream! Third-party programs like ManyCam act as a virtual webcam and even work to mirror the camera image in Discord, which is not otherwise possible.

Windows 10 Camera Problems

In one of the initial Windows 10 updates, a camera problem was introduced that needed a specific fix. The update causes the camera to stop working in most apps trying to use it. The update pertained to the Windows Frame Server Mode for processing webcam images. Microsoft disabled support for webcams using MJPEG and H264 compression. The way to address this is to disable the Frame Server Mode to allow it to work.

1. Open the Registry Editor in Windows.
2. Make a backup of the registry using the File -> Export option.
3. Navigate to the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform
4. Right-click in the left-hand pane and select New in the popup menu.
   
5. Select DWORD (32-bit) Value and enter the EnableFrameServerMode as the name.
6. The value should be zero (0) by default, if not, change it to zero (0) by double-clicking the new key.
   
7. If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows, you need to repeat these steps for the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform
8. Close the Registry Editor and check if the camera issue is fixed.

A restart of Windows should not be required, but if the fix does not work, restart Windows to make sure the changes take effect.

Realtek Webcam Problems

If your Windows system is using a webcam that is using Realtek components, a specific problem can occur. The Windows service host will report errors that report the camera frame service terminated unexpectedly. The error is caused by a Realtek driver file (RsProvider.dll). The file resides in the path: C:\Program Files\Realtek\RsProviders\RsProvider.dll (unless your system drive is not the C-drive).

You can either delete or rename the RsProviders folder or try a registry option to disable it. Lenovo provides a patch for its affected systems to disable it. The patch removes the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Analog\Providers\RsProvider

Before you change the registry, make a backup! If you decide to delete the RsProvider folder, also make a backup first (the better option is to try and rename it first).

Windows 11 Camera Troubleshooter

Microsoft has included a troubleshooter feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11 that can help fix common problems. So, if you experience a camera-related problem in one of these Windows versions, run the Camera Troubleshooter first.

1. Open the Settings from the Start menu.
2. Select Bluetooth & devices in the left-hand pane.
3. Click Cameras in the right-hand pane.
4. Select your Camera (USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam in the example).
5. Click the Troubleshoot button.
   

Errors that can be solved this way include the 0xA00F4244 error showing NoCamerasAreAttached. The Camera window will show the message “We can’t find your camera“.

A second frequent error in Windows 10 and Windows 11 relating to the webcam is error 0xA00F429F WindowsShowFailed. The message, in this case, is “Can’t start your camera“.

In most cases, this is an App access issue (permissions), but just run the troubleshooter to see if it can be fixed by Windows automatically.