Remote jobs have been gaining popularity, especially in the past two years. For the employees to keep in touch and communicate better, connecting through a video call has become a requisite. There might be various reasons if your camera is not working on a Windows 10 laptop. However, privacy settings, missing drivers, and antivirus software could be the common reasons your laptop camera is not working on windows 11. This article lists the possible solutions for camera malfunctioning issues on windows 10 and 11.
Check for camera privacy settings:
- Press the Windows key and type “camera privacy settings” in the search bar. You can also change camera settings by clicking settings-> privacy and security-> camera.
- On the camera access option, make sure the toggle is turned on. If your laptop camera is still not working, turn the toggle on and off. Repeat the same procedure for the “let apps access your camera” option.
- Check the list of apps and turn on the toggle for which the camera is not working on the Windows 10 laptop. If the toggle is on and still the camera is not working, we recommend turning on and off the toggle once. It acts as a reset.
- Eventually, turn the toggle to “let desktop apps access your camera.” This applies to all programs made using the classic win32 framework. This option should be turned on to access the camera for Google Chrome, Edge, Outlook, Microsoft teams, and Zoom. This also shows recent apps that accessed the camera.
Update the camera driver :
- To update the camera driver, press the Windows key + X and select device manager. Alternatively, go to the search bar and type device manager to open the device manager.
- Move to the camera option and select the camera driver.
- Right-click the camera driver and select the “update driver.”
- Select “search automatically for drivers.” The windows will update the driver and install it automatically.
- If you want to update the driver manually, select “browse my computer for drivers” and click next.
- Once it is done, restart your PC. If the camera is still not working on the windows 10 laptop, proceed to the next solution.
Reinstall the camera device:
- Open the device manager by using Windows+X or by searching through the search bar.
- Scroll down to the camera and select the driver.
- Right-click on the driver and select uninstall. The windows will uninstall the driver.
- After uninstalling the device, go to the action tab and select “scan for hardware changes.”
- Once the process is complete, restart your laptop. The windows will automatically reinstall the driver. If the camera is not working on Laptop, the procedure for installing and installing is the same on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
- However, for windows 10 camera not working issue, you can select the action tab->right click, and “select scan for hardware changes.” Selecting this option will reinstall the driver on Windows 10. After following this step, if the camera is not working on the laptop, process with the next step.
Repair the camera app:
If your camera is not working on windows 10, try resetting your camera app on your laptop.
- To open the camera app, search the “camera” on the search app. Click the camera option to open the camera app. You can also open the camera app by right-clicking the windows key->apps and features. “Search camera” on the app list.
- Select the three dots on the right corner and choose advanced options. Scroll down and select the repair option. Windows will try to repair the camera and rectify the error. If the camera is still not working on Windows 10 or Windows 11, Proceed with the reset option.
- Select reset. A popup window will appear. Select reset again. Once the procedure is complete, check if the camera works. If the camera is still not working, follow the next solution.
Change settings in the antivirus software :
- Every antivirus software has privacy settings that block or limit the regular operation of the camera. To check if the antivirus software is creating the problem, temporarily disable the antivirus software and check if the camera works.
- If the camera is working on the laptop after disabling the antivirus software, Check for privacy protection in the antivirus software and turn it off. If your laptop camera is not working on the windows 10 laptop
Check for windows updates:
Windows updates are capable of fixing minor bugs and errors. These bugs can also make your laptop camera malfunction. To check for windows updates,
- Click the start button on your taskbar and select settings.
- On the left panel, select windows update.
- If it shows “update available to download,” click the “download now” button. Else, choose “check for updates.”
- Additionally, select advanced options -> optional updates.
- Check if there are any updates for the driver for the camera. If yes, click download and install.
- Restart your laptop and open the camera app to check if the update works.
Check if the camera button is available :
Laptop and external cameras have physical switches to turn on and off the camera. Check if the physical switches are turned on. While typing faster, you may turn off the camera by pressing the camera key. The same problem happens with a touchpad. People often turn off the touchpad by mistake and look for solutions. Modern-day laptops have F keys as camera turn-on or turn-off buttons. My computer has an F10 key as a camera button.
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshooting is one of the easiest solutions to solve Laptop camera issues.
- Go to the control panel and type troubleshooting on the search panel available in the top left corner.
- Select troubleshooting and click hardware and sound.
- Select the camera from the list and click next.
- The windows will check and troubleshoot if there are any issues with the camera.
Summary
If your laptop camera is not working on windows 10 or windows 11 after following these steps, it is better to consult a laptop technician or head towards a laptop service center. There is a high possibility that your laptop has a hardware issue. Apart from these solutions, if you use an external camera try changing the USB port. A faulty USB could be a problem.
You can also download the driver from the manufacturer’s website. If your laptop camera is not working on windows 10 Lenovo, Asus, Dell, or HP We recommend visiting their website and downloading the latest driver. There are also other third-party tools that can do the job easier.
