Why Is My Webcam Not Working?

Even the best webcams on the market can run into problems. If you find yourself lamenting, “Why is my webcam not working?” you’re in luck. We have a few tricks up our sleeve we can share with you. So, let’s talk about the most common problems you might encounter.

Why Your Webcam Device Isn’t Working

If you’ve recently learned how to turn on a webcam, you’ll likely feel frustrated if you suddenly find yourself faced with the question, “What do I do if my built-in webcam is not working?” or something similar. Before you toss the whole thing out of the window, there are a few things you should look into.

App Permissions

The first thing you should check is your privacy settings or app permissions. Both of these might hold the key to activating your webcam. You’ll have to check your computer’s control panel to see if this is the issue. Once there, find where the webcam is in the device manager. From there, check to see if your privacy settings allow for the webcam to be used across all apps and programs. You might also need to give your webcam access within specific apps, like your browser.

Outdated Drivers

Another common problem is old device drivers. This is what allows your webcam to work correctly with your computer. If your driver software is out of date or downloaded incorrectly, you’ll have to update or reinstall them. You can generally find them on the webcam manufacturer’s website. Of course, you’ll need to know how to update a webcam driver to do this.

Hardware Issue

Sometimes it comes down to a physical problem with your webcam, which can be easily diagnosed if you know what you’re looking for. If you can’t fix your hardware issue, that’s okay. There are ways around not having an actual webcam, like learning how to use a Go Pro as a webcam. It’s also important to know what a webcam kill switch is and how it works. That said, it’s usually best to simply buy a new camera in this case, as fixing it is generally more expensive.