Whether you are a college student or working online, a laptop is a necessity for every individual nowadays. Some of you use it for the camera, and most use it for taking photos, audio, and video calls, among other uses.
If you use a laptop camera frequently, you might have a problem with the “laptop camera not working issue.” We understand that it is quite a frustrating error when you are in an important video conference with your clients.
However, it is easy to fix such issues when you have the proper guidance. And let’s discuss the fixes in detail.
Why Your Laptop Camera Isn’t Working?
You might be facing your laptop camera not working because of missing drivers after the latest update, and an antivirus program might be blocking the camera. Your privacy settings don’t allow certain apps to use a webcam. Or might the app you want to use have some issues? Whatever the issue, you can fix it by following the solutions we’ll mention.
1. Uninstall And Reinstall The Laptop Camera
The first step you need to take is to uninstall and reinstall it. To uninstall the camera, you need to take these steps:
- Right-tap on the start key, and choose Device Manager.
- Head to the Imaging devices and tap on the arrow to expand the list.
- Right-click on the laptop camera or integrated webcam, then uninstall it.
- Restart your PC.
- When you restart your PC, let it install the driver automatically. Reinstall the Laptop camera again and check if the issue is resolved.
- To reinstall the webcam on your laptop, you need to follow the above-listed steps.
2. Run The Hardware Troubleshooter
Running the hardware troubleshooter is a great fix to understand the issue. To do so, follow these steps:
- Right-tap on the start key, and choose the Control Panel.
- In the top right corner, Go to the View by option.
- Click on the drop-down arrow and choose Large Icons.
- Choose Troubleshooting and choose View all options located on the left pane.
- Choose Devices and Hardware, then click on Next.
After completing the mentioned steps, follow the on-screen instructions to run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter. This troubleshooting process will help you figure out detecting any issues.
If you’ve recently installed a device or any hardware on your laptop, you can also resolve such issues by running the hardware and device troubleshooter.
It assures you that new apps or hardware are accurately installed on your laptop and checks for usually occurring issues.
3. Update Your Laptop Camera Drive Driver
Outdated and older laptop cameras can also cause such issues. To avoid encountering these problems, keep everything up-to-date. To update your laptop camera, you need to follow these steps:
- Right-tap on Start and choose Device Manager.
- Go to Imaging Devices and tap to expand it.
- Click on the laptop camera or integrated webcam driver.
- Choose Update Drive Software.
- When you see the option of choosing how you want to search for a driver, tap on search automatically for updated driver software.
- If you see any latest driver on your PC, tap “Browse My Computer for driver Software” and select an accurate location for updates.
- Choose “Let me Pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.”
- Select USB Video Device.
- Click on Next, then follow the instructions displayed on the screen.
- Reboot your PC.
Remember that figuring out an accurate driver can be a daunting task. So, you need an automatic driver tool that helps you scan your PC for outdated and missing drivers and update them to the latest versions.
4. Check Your Antivirus Software
If you’re facing the issue of a laptop webcam not working and you cannot open it, or you might get an error saying that the camera can’t be found or you cannot start it, the reason behind causing such problems can be a third-party or antivirus software. This software either blocks the camera or the webcam driver is outdated.
In such situations, it’d be better to check your antivirus software and seek settings related to permissions to use your laptop camera or block access. Moreover, you can also check the antivirus company’s website you are using.
You can also turn off camera protection anti-software by following these steps:
- Go to your antivirus software.
- Look for the “Privacy Protection” option.
- Turn off the camera protection.
5. Check Your Webcam Privacy Settings
Another significant reason for causing your laptop camera not working is the camera’s privacy settings. You might have limited access permissions by yourself. You need to go to windows settings to change permission.
- Tap on Window Start and Head to Settings.
- In the search bar, type Webcam.
- Select the option of Camera Privacy Settings.
- Ensure to allow apps to access your camera or select apps to access your camera.
6. Rollback Camera Device Manager
To rollback the camera device manager, you need to follow the steps:
- Tap on Start and Choose “Device Manager.”
- Tap on Imaging devices and hit on the arrow to widen the list.
- Top on your laptop webcam.
- Select properties.
- Locate the Driver tab, and choose the Driver details button.
- Search for the file named with the stream.sys. If you successfully find this file on your PC, you need to replace it because it was designed before Windows 7.
- If you cannot find any such, then roll back your laptop camera by going to Roll Back Driver and following these steps:
- Choose Device Manager.
- Head to Imaging Devices and tap on the arrow to broaden the list.
- Tap on the webcam and select properties.
- Locate the Driver tab, and choose the option Roll Back Driver.
- Tap on Yes.
- After completing the process, reboot your laptop and try using the webcam again.
Also Check: How to Increase Laptop Battery Life? 12 Easy Ways
Final Thoughts
Many users encounter laptop webcams that aren’t working regularly. However, if the issue is minor, you can resolve it by following the solutions mentioned in this article. After trying all these suggestions, if you’re still facing a similar issue, then your PC has some deeper window problems. You need to install a tool to resolve window problems or take your laptop to the nearest store, so they can help you fix your problem.
Maryam has been teaching IT as a school teacher for over a decade, and her main subject of choice is Internet safety, especially helping parents keep their families safe and secure online. When Maryam is not teaching or writing she is a big fan of the outdoors, the complete opposite of staring at a computer screen for hours.
