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:
- From the Start menu, select Settings.
- In the Settings window, click on Privacy.
- 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.
- Open the Registry Editor using the Windows + R keys and then type
regeditin the Run box. Press Enter or click the OK button. - 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.
- Next, locate the following registry entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\
{6BDD1FC6-810F-11D0-BEC7-08002BE2092F}\0000\VIDEOPROCAMP - With the key selected, change entry in the right-hand panel called
HFLIPfrom 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 theVFLIPentry 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.
- Click the up arrow in the Video button on the Zoom meeting window.
- Select the Video Settings option in the popup menu.
- In the Video settings pane, unmark the option Mirror my video.
- Close the Video settings pane.
- 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.
- Open the Registry Editor in Windows.
- Make a backup of the registry using the File -> Export option.
- Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform - Right-click in the left-hand pane and select New in the popup menu.
- Select DWORD (32-bit) Value and enter the
EnableFrameServerModeas the name. - The value should be zero (0) by default, if not, change it to zero (0) by double-clicking the new key.
- 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 - 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.
- Open the Settings from the Start menu.
- Select Bluetooth & devices in the left-hand pane.
- Click Cameras in the right-hand pane.
- Select your Camera (USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam in the example).
- 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.
When I connected the web cam directly to the pc without using a usb hub the improvement was tremendous. Thanks for the info guys
Michael
@Tom – Do you by any chance have a separate driver and utilities disk that came with the Samsung? I once had an older X10 model and it had a Windows system disk and a driver and utilities disk. When I reinstalled Windows on that I had to install a lot from the drivers and utilities disk.
In any case, if the device is listed in the device manager, and the driver software you downloaded does not find it, the driver software is not supporting the right webcam model. The best guarantee you have of getting things back to work is to use the original webcam driver that came with the system.
@Hans – In general I prefer a headset for audio over a webcam with built in microphone. There are two reasons for that: 1) there are many instances where audio over a USB port gives problems 2) with speakers and a webcam mic the audio quality is always inferior.
Since you mention that the audio stopped while you were using it, it can not be a software update or driver problem. I am not sure if you can use only the mic on the webcam, without the video.
First thing to do is make sure it is not the device itself by trying it on a different computer.
Hie, I just bought an A4Tech PK710-MJ webcam with integrated mic. Everything was good, and it works well offline and with the software given in both audio and video aspect. But when I initiated an online video call with my friend on Windows Live Messenger, the mic just gave up halfway and I needed to restart the whole video call to get it working again while the camera was perfectly fine. I thought it is my bandwidth problem (I am from Malaysia, where we are quite infamous for sucky bandwidth). Hence, I turned off the camera and left the mic functioning. However, the problem still persisted. Is there anything I can do technically, or it is the peripheral’s fault? Thanks.
@Anthony
Thanks for your reply. I just reformatted my computer so I’m pretty sure it’s not a virus. it is a built in webcam and when i went into systems to search for the driver under system — hardware, i looked under the imaging device and i only see USB video device. I don’t see a driver installed for the built in laptop and when I do try to install the device from the samsung site, all it says is that “Please make sure the camera is present, Or the setup may be failed.”
@nicole – First thing I suggest is you make sure your antivirus software is updated and to run a full scan, because you want to make sure this is not a virus.
If it is a USB webcam, try unplugging it, installing the webcam software / driver and then plug it back in.
@Tom – If it worked before, that means something got updated that caused the problem. You can first follow the same instructions that I gave to Nicole.
When you unplug the webcam, you might need to still uninstall the drivers first (view unplugged devices in the View menu of the Device Manager).
If it is a built in webcam, you can try uninstalling all webcam drivers and software, reboot and then reinstall it.
Hi I have a Samsung R70 laptop that has a built in camera. i have a similar problem with the poster above me. I had a working webcam that i rarely used and when i wanted to use it, all i get is a black screen. I’ve never tried using it on MSN before and I tried taking a couple of pictures way back when i first got it about a year ago. I went to the site to redownload the driver but it says the webcam is not connected and that i should connect it. Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks!
may i please ask on how to fix my webcam problem? it suddenly appeared black though it shows that someone is viewing my webcam. i un install the driver already, but when trying to install again the driver a message “no find device match, please insert camera first! can anyone help me please!
@Lauren B – There are more incompatibilities reported with the new Live Messenger version. Some webcams simply don’t appear to work with it.
You can try:
– making sure your friend has the exact same version of the Live Messenger
– try using an older version of MSN messenger
hey, I’ve been having problems with my web cam lately. i have an acer aspire 5735 laptop, and it works normally on the actual program, and i can take pictures and things, but when I try to go on cam on windows live messenger, it doesn’t let me. it says I haven’t got a web cam. can you please help?
@john quinn – Since Direct Draw and Direct3D are part of DirectX, my suggestion was at least in the right direction! Thanks for reporting back the details john, and glad to see everything is working for you now without the need to reinstall DirectX!
slight mistake,it should read
disable-Direct Draw Acceleration and Direct3D
I got in touch with Skype and they directed me through a simple solution.
Start-run-enter dxdiag-ok
display tab
disable-Direct Draw Acceleration and Ditect3D Acceleration
went back to my contact and “hey presto” problem sorted
You advised someone earlier to ask their provider,so I did
Thanks again Kyle. J Q
@john quinn – Never heard of that problem before. And I do expect it is a webcam problem. Do you get that with various chat programs or just one?
Only thing I would suggest is try updating or reinstalling DirectX.
@consonna – This might be a network problem. You should check your computer’s firewall and your router to allow the Yahoo messenger application and the webcam ports that Yahoo uses (see comment 9 on that).
If it still fails, you can try SplitCam as suggested in other comments.
oh and it always saids it wont connect to the sever
i have a philips cam and it wont work on yahoo messenger but it will on msn sometimes i have tryed evrything on yahoo messenger to get it to work is there anyway u can help me with this problem
P S. Mine is a Dell laptop and I’m using Skype.
Contacts get my image and voice OK.Their sound is good but I get an yellowy strip down the centre screen.Can it be sorted and is the problem mine ?Thanks
K that would make sence since my roomie’s pc that i tested it on is using vista….il look into it thanks
@Mars – At least make sure the camera is plugged in a USB port on the motherboard, not in a USB hub. Also check your bios settings for USB, and make sure it is set to USB 2.0.
Apart from that it could be related to the USB controller drivers, since you say the camera drivers are working fine. You can try uninstalling the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager. They will automatically be reinstalled upon reboot.
Other than that I can only contribute it to possible compatibility issues with Windows 7…
Hi there
Ive tried everything now to get this webcam working i just cant get it fixed mayby you can help…Its a D-link USB2.0 PC Camera (SN9C201)
1st of all in my device manager it shows the drivers are installed and working correctly..however when ever i try to switch it on it freezes the application that im using.For example il go into scype and turn on the cam and everything is fine,But as soon as I click the video button to start streaming video scype freezes…Ive tried it with msn and yahoo and same happens.It even does that with the video testing software i got with it.Ive tried it on my roomates computer and it works fine.Im using Windows 7 x86 rc1.Hope you can help..Thanks in advance
@Sam – Check what those websites are using for the webcam access. Most likely this is a flash plugin, so try reinstalling Adobe Flash to see if that helps. Also check the options in the online flash player for webcam access.
@Angelina – If you plug in a new device should be detected. DO you see the webcam device in the Device Manager? It could be under “unknown devices” or “other devices” if the driver is not installed yet.
If that does not happen, make sure you plug the webcam in the computer directly without a USB hub and try removing all other USB devices.
@Karl – I’d suggest you try uninstalling Youcam and the webcam driver and then reinstall both, starting with the webcam driver. If that does not help, you could consider using an application like SplitCam. That should solve it, even though you’d be using an additional application. There are other similar application of course.
thnx so much for your expert advice
i have a HP pavillion DV 6774tx running window vista home. the webcam has been working fine until recently when all of sudden cyberlink youcam refuse to refuse to show my hp built in webcam. when loaded, it says video device not detected. i have checked the device manager, driver is most updated, in fact i redolwnloaded from the HP official website again. the blue light next to my webcam does not lit up.
So i have downloaded a trial version of cyberlink youcam 3.0. this time round, the blue light is lit but still no image can be seen.
any suggestion? i almost give up and going to buy a usb plug in webcam if still no resolution
thanks
HEELLP!!!!!!!I
OK.. SO I HAVE A GENIUS EYE 101
AND I HAVE THE CD AND DID EVERYTHING IN THE INSTRUCTIONS
BUT THE COMPUTER DOES NOT DETECT THE WEB CAM
IT DOESNT WORK
I INSTALLED EVERYTHING
AND IT DOESNT WORK!!!!!!
WHY?
I have a new Dell with Windows Vista and a built-in webcam. I used the webcam for about two weeks, but then all of a sudden, it wouldn’t work with certain chatrooms… it’s fine on Yahoo Messenger, but on specific websites, it won’t work anymore. ???
@meg – You need to give a little more detail here. Does the webcam show up properly in the Device Manager? What program are you using to view the webcam and what is the message?
@Stephanie – What happens if you have a voice chat only, without the video?
There are two things I see as possible for now:
– the audio is set to the maximum and the distortion is causing the bad quality. Laptops are not know for good speakers. Just try lowering the volume. If you are using a headset this will not be the problem though.
– your network connection is intermittent or has insufficient bandwidth. Especially with wireless networks this is possible. Try being closer to the router or use a cabled connection to see if this is the cause.