Many users are reporting that they were not able to start their integrated webcam after the Windows 10 update. The integrated webcam is crucial hardware for some people who have daily video conference meetings with their colleagues.
Mostly, this type of error happens due to missing or faulty webcam driver. Here, We have gathered some solutions that will help you to re-enable your integrated webcam.
Method 1 – Locate Physical camera switch on keyboard
Some Laptop manufacturers add a camera kill switch on keyboard or side area of the laptop. Look closely on the keyboard and side area of laptop and find if there are any key or button wioth camera icon. Try to press that once and check again.
Method-2 Adjust Camera privacy settings
Allowing apps to access your camera may solve this problem.
1. Type “Camera privacy settings” in the Search box just beside the Windows icon.
2. Now, click on “Camera privacy settings” in the elevated search result.
Case 1 – For Windows 11
3 – Turn Camera Access On.
4 – Turn On Let apps access your camera.
Case 2 – For Windows 10
3. Under ‘Allow access to the camera on this device‘, click on “Change“.
4. Turn the ‘Camera access for this device‘ “On“.
5. Scroll down in Settings, turn the ‘Allow apps to access your camera‘ settings “On“.
6. Same way, scroll down and toggle ‘Allow desktop apps to access your camera‘ settings to “On“.
Close Settings window. Check you can use the webcam or not.
Method-3 Modify registry-
Altering some registry keys on your computer may solve this issue.
NOTE–
But, before going ahead to the main process, we strongly suggest you create a backup of the registry on your computer. After opening Registry Editor, click on “File” > “Export” to create the backup.
If anything goes wrong you can retrieve your registry by simply importing the backup.
1. Click on the Search box and then type “regedit“.
2. Now, click on “Registry Editor” from the search results to open it on your computer.
3. In Registry Editor window, on the left-hand side, navigate to this location-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform
4. On the right-hand side of Registry Editor, right-click on space and then click on “New>” and then click on “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
5. Now, right-click on “New Value #1” and then click on “Rename“.
6. Set the name as “EnableFrameServerMode“.
7. Now, double click on the “EnableFrameServerMode” key to modify it.
8. Make sure that the ‘Value data:‘ is set to “0“.
9. Click on “OK” to save the changes.
NOTE–
(ONLY FOR 64-bit USERS)
If you are using a 64-bit Windows, you need to follow these steps also.
1. In Registry Editor window, on the left-hand side, navigate to this location-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform
2. On the right-hand side of Registry Editor, right-click on space and then click on “New>” and then click on “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
3. Set the new name for the key as “EnableFrameServerMode“.
4. Now, double click on the “EnableFrameServerMode” key to modify it.
5. Make sure that the ‘Value data:‘ is set to “0“.
6. Click on “OK” to save the changes.
Close Registry Editor window. Reboot your computer.
After rebooting your computer, the webcam will work just fine.
Method 4- Reinstall the Driver
If your device driver is faulty then it is the cause of your non-working integrated web camera. We will uninstall your driver from the computer to remove the faulty driver.
STEP 1 – Right Click on the Start button and select Device Manager. It will open the Device Manager window.
STEP 2 – Locate your camera device from the devices list, it should be under Camera or Imaging devices. Right Click on it and select Uninstall Device.
STEP 3 – Click Uninstall to confirm.
Now, Restart your computer and it will automatically install your integrated webcam driver again. This method will most likely solve your problem if you had faulty drivers.
Method 5 – Disable and Enable Device
Sometimes simple things also work in big problems. If the error does not solve by updating the drivers try to disable and enable it. Follow these steps to do the same.
STEP 1 – Right Click on the Start button and select Device Manager.
STEP 2 – Locate your device in the devices manager list. Right Click on it and select Disable device.
Note:- If it shows disabled, just enable it and you are good to go. Your problem will be solved. If this is not the case, follow the steps given below.
STEP 3 – Click Yes to confirm.
STEP 4 – Wait for a minute and again select Enable Device.
Check now the Webcam is working or not. If not then resetting PC is the only option for you.
Method 6- Update Drivers Manually
If Reinstalling drivers did not work for you then you have to update your current drivers to the latest version. Visit your PC manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for the integrated webcam of your model. Make sure that you are downloading drivers for Windows 10.
If your manufacturer did not publish drivers specifically for Windows 10 then you can download for Windows 8 or Windows 7 also.
Extract the downloaded file if it is in Zip format and look for the EXE file. Open that file and follow the instruction given in the installation wizard.
After successful updating, the driver checks that error is solved or not.
Method 7 – Reset your PC
If none of the above methods has worked for you then reset your PC is the last option for you. Resetting will uninstall windows from your PC and install it again. All of your programs also get uninstalled but with that, all of your errors also be vanished. You can also opt for keeping your files safe. Follow the below steps to reset your PC.
STEP 1 – Search Reset this PC in Windows search box and click on the search result.
Step 2- Now, click on Reset PC.
STEP 2 – Follow on screen Instruction to reset the PC.
Choose Keep my file option to avoid loosing your files.
Plugin the power if you have a laptop and wait for the reset to be complete. Your integrated webcam will start working after resetting your computer.