When trying to make a video call using Facebook messenger in the browser, it sometimes complains about the hardware access error. The error pops up saying “You need to allow microphone and camera access for video calls on PC”. This may be because you may want to enable the camera and microphone access on your computer or because of outdated drivers, conflicting devices, site permission issues, etc. In this article, we have different solutions to solve this error. Let us start!
Method 1: Allow Desktop Apps To Access Your Camera And Microphone
Step 1: Open the Windows settings using Windows + I keys together
Step 2: Click on Privacy
Step 3: On the left side, scroll down and click on the microphone
Step 4: At the right enable the option Allow apps to access your microphone by clicking on the toggle bar below it (a blue color should appear in the toggle bar)
Step 5: Scroll down and choose which Microsoft store apps can access your microphone section, enable the applications that need the microphone access by clicking on the toggle bar beside them
Step 6: Now Enable the Allow desktop apps to access your microphone setting option by clicking on the toggle bar below it
Step 7: Repeat the same steps as for camera option as well. Now at the left click on the Camera option
Step 8: Then at the right side enable the option Allow apps to access your camera by clicking on the toggle bar below it (a blue color should appear in the toggle bar)
Step 9: Scroll down and at the choose which Microsoft store apps can access your camera section, enable the applications that need the camera access by clicking on the toggle bar beside them
Step 10: Now Enable the Allow desktop apps to access your camera setting option by clicking on the toggle bar below it
Method 2: Reset The Site Permission In The Browser
Step 1: In the browser address bar type the Facebook address and click on the lock symbol at the left of the Facebook address
Step 2: From the appeared list click on site settings
Step 3: Click on reset permissions
Step 4: Relaunch the browser and open the Facebook. If it is asking for camera and microphone access, allow it and check if it is working fine.
Method 3: Check For the Latest Windows Update
Step 1: Open the windows settings using Windows + I keys together
Step 2: Click on update & security
Step 3: In the windows update page, click on check for updates. If there are any updates it will be installed
Method 4: Update the Drivers
Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together
Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the device manager window
Step 3: Scroll down and expand the network adapter option
Step 4: Right click on the device that is troublesome and select update driver
Step 5: Click on search automatically for drivers
Step 6: If there are any new drivers available it will list and you can install it and then check if all works fine. If there is no available drivers then your device is up to date.
Method 5: Re-install The Problematic Drivers
Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together
Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the device manager window
Step 3: Expand the camera option and right click on your camera
Step 4: Then click on uninstall device
Step 5: Select the check box beside Delete the driver software for this device
Step 6: Click on the uninstall button and then restart your computer
Step 7: Once the restart is done the computer will automatically install the default driver
Step 8: Repeat and follow the same steps for microphone option as well. Then check if the issue is solved.
Method 6: Clean Boot Your System To Remove Conflicting Applications
Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together
Step 2: Type msconfig in the run prompt and hit enter. This will open the system configuration window
Step 3: Go to the services tab
Step 4: Tick the checkbox beside hide all Microsoft services at the bottom
Step 5: Then click on disable all button at the right side
Step 6: Click on apply and then ok to save the changes
Step 7: Go to the startup tab
Step 8: Click on open task manager link
Step 9: In the startup impact column check for high impact applications, select them and click on disable button. This only disables them from automatically starting up when the computer is rebooted
Step 10: Restart the system and it will start in the clean boot mode.
Method 7: Check If They Are Any Conflicting Devices And Disable them
Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together
Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the run prompt and hit enter
Step 3: Conflicting devices might be the secondary camera in your system or microphones or the bluetooth devices
Step 4: If you have them, disable them. for example, if you have secondary camera expand the camera option by clicking on the arrow beside it
Step 5: Right click on the camera option and click on disable device
Step 6: Similarly follow the same for other secondary devices and then check if all works fine. But if the issue still persist then make sure to enable them back.
Method 8: Create EnableFrameServerMode Key in Registry Editor
Note: Take the backup of the registry before moving forward with the below steps
Step 1: Open the run prompt using Windows + R keys together
Step 2: Type regedit.exe in the run prompt and hit enter
Step 3: A user account control window will appear click on yes. This will open the windows registry editor
Step 4: Navigate to the following path
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation
Step 5: From the left, click on platform. If it is not present create one by right clicking on the Windows Media Foundation then select new
Step 6: From the flyout option click on key and give the key name as platform
Step 7: Now click on platform then at the right side, right click on the empty space then click on new
Step 8: Select DWORD (32-bit) Value
Step 9: Now give the name as EnableFrameServerMode
Step 10: Double click on EnableFrameServerMode and in the value data give the value as 0
Step 11: Click on ok
Step 12: Close the registry editor and restart the system and check if the issue is resolved.
Method 9: Use Microsoft Store Messenger App
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Store. To do it type Microsoft store in the windows search bar and hit enter. Click on Microsoft store in the search results to open it
Step 2: In the Microsoft store app search bar type messenger and hit enter
Step 3: Go to the Facebook messenger and click on get button then install it
Step 4: Now open the messenger app and login with your credentials
Step 5: Start a video call and check if the camera and microphone is working as expected.
Method 10: Use The Incognito Mode Or Try Another Browser
Open the browser in incognito mode then login to the Facebook and try if all works fine. If not try other browsers than what you are currently using. For example if you are using Chrome, then try using Firefox, Edge, Opera etc.
Method 11: Start A Voice Call Then Switch To Video Call
Step 1: If nothing works then give it a try, open Facebook in your browser
Step 2: Try to do a voice call to any of your contact
Step 3: When the call is set and the persons in the call can hear each other, switch to video call by clicking on the video/camera icon.
That’s it! I hope the above information is helpful. Let us know which of the above method worked for you. Thank you!!