We're really doubling down on video calls at the moment. With the rise in remote working, video meetings, online presentations, and even video calls with family have become ingrained in our daily routine.
Unfortunately, webcam malfunctions are still one of the most common issues users experience. So, whether you use a Mac or a PC, and have an internal or external webcam, this guide will walk you through steps for troubleshooting and fixing your webcam, so you can show your face on screen again.
Wait, what's an internal webcam? 🤨
If you find the camera on Mac not working still and nothing of the above seems to help, you may try resetting what's known as the System Management Controller (SMC). The SMC manages a lot of hardware functions on your Mac and rebooting it may serve as a solution to your problems. To reset the SMC on MacBook (2017 or earlier). Check Windows 10 Camera Options. On Windows 10, the Settings app has a few switches. Open FaceTime on your Mac; Go to Menu - Video, select 'Facetime HD Camera (Display)' 4. Use The Activity Monitor App to Fix FaceTime Camera Not Working on Mac. After trying the methods above, if the MacBook camera still not working on FaceTime, you may need to quit the process with the Activity Monitor App completely. If the firmware is outdated, you may experience the MacBook camera not working green light flashing problem. If you are dealing with the MacBook Pro camera not working problem, you can try updating the Firmware. The Firmware is supposed to update automatically. However, you can download the iSight Updater and update it manually.
An internal webcam is one that's built-in to your computer or laptop's screen. An external webcam is one that's connected to your computer, usually over USB. Most laptops have built-in webcams, whereas many desktop PCs and Macs require external ones. You can also connect external webcams over Wi-Fi, but as that practice is much less common, we haven't included these in our guide.
Scroll through the whole guide for general tips, or click one of the links below for guidance on your specific set up.
There's got to be a better way!
We've recently created our own webcam software that uses your iPhone's beautiful camera for video calls on your computer. If you find that the solutions below don't work for you, or you'd like to improve the quality of your webcam, why not try Camo? 🤷♀️ It's free.
General Strategies for internal webcams
If you're using the camera that's built into your laptop or computer, it can be difficult to target what's actually causing webcam issues.
Before we get into Windows and Mac specifics, make sure you've tried all of the following:
1. Stop other apps from using your camera.
Zoom, Meet, Skype, Teams, Slack, Viber, Spike, WhatsApp, FaceTime, Photobooth - there are so many different apps with video conferencing capabilities, and we often have to juggle more than one to appease the various people in our lives. Switching between different platforms is usually fine, but if you forget to close one platform, you might not be able to get going on another one.
Here's how to make sure all your other video call apps are closed:On a Windows PC, press Ctrl
+ Alt
+ Delete
and open Task Manager. In the Processes
tab, scroll through all the Apps you have running, and close any that might use your camera.
On a Mac, hold ⌘ Cmd
+ , type ‘Activity' and select Activity Monitor
to open. Webcam settings mac app. Double click on all of the apps that might be using your camera, and select Quit
on the window that pops up.
If this doesn't work, or you're not sure which apps are using your webcam, you can close all of the running apps and try again. Make sure to save your work first!
2. Make sure your software is up to date (all of it)
Check your computer's software for general updates. Alternatively, if you find your webcam's no longer working after a recent software update, check the app you're using, to see if the software needs updating to run with your current OS. You may have to reinstall the app to update the software. You can also update your webcam driver (more on this below).
3. Restart your computer
An oldie but a goldie. Sometimes your computer just needs a restart to get things working again.
Fixing Mac internal webcams
Internal webcams on a Mac (often called the 'FaceTime' camera) include an extra wrinkle of complication, in that there's no default camera settings app for Macs. As such, your camera's settings are configured in various ways in each of your individual apps.
Error message: ‘There is no connected camera' - how can this be?
If the error message above is appearing, but you're using your Mac's internal camera, you'd be forgiven for assuming that this is caused by a hardware issue. Luckily, that's not often the case. Try the solutions below before taking your Mac in for repairs.
Force quit all video applications
Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working
If you don't have the time or inclination for a reboot, you can try a force quit. Most users find this fixes their webcam issues, and it's quick to do. Make sure to save any open projects before you do so.
- Quit all open apps that might try to use your FaceTime camera in your
Activity Monitor
. - Hold
⌘ Cmd
+ , type ‘Term' to openTerminal
. - Copy and paste the following into terminal
sudo killall VDCAssistant
, then hitEnter
. - You might need to enter your administrator password at this point.
- Relaunch your video call app.
Reset your System Management Controller (SMC)
Resetting your Mac's SMC can help if you're experiencing issues with a variety of features, including power, charging and fans and camera issues. The method for resetting your Mac's SMC depends on the type of Mac you're using.
To reset the SMC on Macbooks that have Apple T2 Security Chip:
- Turn off your Mac.
- On your keyboard, hold the following keys for seven seconds (this may turn your Mac on):
⌘ Cmd
+⌥ Option
+⇧ Shift
. - While still holding the three buttons, hold the power button. Continue holding all 4 keys for 7 seconds. If your Mac turned on, it will now turn off as you hold the keys.
- Wait a couple of seconds, then turn your Mac back on.
To reset the SMC on desktop Macs:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Unplug the power cable, wait 15 seconds, then plug it back in.
- Wait five seconds, then turn on your Mac.
To reset the SMC on all other Macs released 2010 or later:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Hold down
⌘ Cmd
+⌥ Option
+⇧ Shift
. - While continuing to hold these three keys, hold the power button, too. Hold all four keys for ten seconds.
- Turn on your Mac.
Check for physical damage.
Physical damage is more likely to occur on a macbook than a desktop computer, due to the general wear and tear caused by transporting it. If you have an external webcam to hand, try using that (remember, if you have an iPhone, you can download Camo, our free app to use your iPhone as a webcam. 💁♀️).
Fixing internal Windows webcams
Run the 'Hardware troubleshooter'
First, let's find out if your built in camera is visible to your PC. To do this:
- Click start, then type
device
in the search bar to open theDevice Manager
. You may need to enter your password, or provide administrator confirmation. - From your Device Manager, find your webcam. It may be stored in a variety of locations, including
Imaging Devices
andOther Devices
. In the screenshot below, we're using an external webcam.
- If you can see your webcam listed here, double click it. If it opens and works, your problem is likely caused by a permissions issue, or an issue with your video app. More on this below.
- If you can see your webcam listed, but it still doesn't work, try updating your driver.
Update your camera driver
- Click
⊞ Start
, then typedevice
in the search bar to open theDevice Manager
. You may need to enter your password, or provide administrator confirmation. - Find
Imaging Devices
and expand to find your camera. - Right click your camera and select
Update Driver software
- Follow the instructions, and select
Search automatically for updated driver software
when prompted.
- If your driver cannot find an update, you can also uninstall and reinstall your webcam driver.
Give your video conferencing apps camera permissions
Why Is My Mac Webcam Not Working
If your camera seems to be working until you come to use a specific app, make sure it has permission to access the camera.
- For general access, go to
⊞ Start
→Settings
→Privacy
→Camera
. - Under
Allow access to the camera on this device
selectChange
, then turn onCamera access for this device
, and also turn onAllow apps to access your computer
. - To grant camera access to specific apps, scroll down to
Choose which Microsoft Store apps can access your camera
and turn on the video conferencing app you're trying to use.
External webcams
If you're using an external webcam that connects to your computer via USB, the first thing to check is the USB connection.
Try switching to a different USB port, and if you have access to another computer, try plugging your webcam in there, to confirm there is no issue with the connection. If other computers also fail to recognize your webcam, the connection may not be working, or you may need to update the webcam's driver.
Update your camera driver
To update your webcam driver on Windows:
- Connect your webcam to your computer.
- Click start, then type
device
in the search bar to open theDevice Manager
. You may need to enter your password, or provide administrator confirmation. - Find your webcam in the list of devices.
- Right click your camera and select
Update Driver software
- Follow the instructions, and select
Search automatically for updated driver software
when prompted.
To update your webcam driver on Mac, you'll need to go to the website of your webcam supplier and check for updates there. Here are the webcam support pages for the Microsoft LifeCam and for Logitech.
We hope this article helped. If you're still experiencing webcam issues, take a look at our guide for improvising a webcam.
Many laptops and all-in-one PCs come with a decent webcam that is built in to the hardware. Other computers require an external solution for webcam requirements. Some chose to purchase a better quality webcam for the purposes of higher quality and performance. For this reason, users are drawn to Logitech webcams because they are highly reputable and sell for a moderate price. Users may prefer not to break the bank on peripheral devices, and that is where Logitech webcams excel.
So for PC users, the compatibility of of Logitech webcams is universal, but what about mac OS and OSx users? Will these great, cheap Logitech webcams work with mac? Yes, Logitech webcams are compatible with Mac OS, but they require some configuration.
HOW TO SET UP LOGITECH WEBCAM TO WORK WITH MAC OS
- Go to the Logitech Webcam Support page(link in Resources) and click your webcam.
- Click on the 'Downloads' tab.Select which Mac OS version you're using, if available. Download all componentsthat are available for your webcam. If no software is listed, then there isnone available.
- Double-click the installation files forthe software and drivers and follow the prompts on screen to complete theinstallation.
- Plug the webcam into an open USB port onthe MacBook. Clip the cam to the front of your screen.
MACLOGITECH CAMERA SETTINGS FOR LOGITECH WEBCAM C920 AND C930E
Some newer Logitech models such as the C920 and C930e of Logitech webcams have a Logitech webcam settings app available in the Apple App Store which allow a user to adjust Logitech webcam settings.
For those of us using a Logitech 920C and/or a 930e on a Mac, many ask the question, 'how do we get the picture to look better?' The secret after years of using one of these cameras on a Mac is to use the Logitech camera settings app available directly on the app store. After downloading the app, and tweaking the settings, the picture quality was quickly and easily increased. Before the adjustment, the screen looked very dull and washed out, but it is easy to get a clean crisp picture when using the Logitech webcam models listed below.
With the Logitech Camera Settings app available in the app store, the user can perform functionality not originally available to Mac OS, like the ability to zoom in and out, and change settings. Also, the function to adjust the focus using the app, allows for easy operation, the user can just slide the focus back and forth for easy focus adjustment. For some reason, the camera was not focusing correctly, so when the user would go closer or further from the camera, the camera would come out of focus and then try and autofocus again. After years of struggling with these Logitech webcams on a Mac, live streaming, the process is now much better quality and user friendly.
Previously it was thought that expensive webcams were necessary to provide good images on a Mac, this was because there were very few utilities configure and tweak settings. While the process is certainly easier on Windows, where the drivers and configuration occur almost automatically, on MacOS the webcam will only focus on a basic level. Before spending a large amount of money to get a better camera, consider a few tweaks and changes to increase the resolution and focus of your Logitech webcam.
Plug-N-Play Webcams For Mac That Work
Looking to buy adriver-free, fully Macintosh compatible webcam? Have USB 2.0, 3.0 or 3.1 ports?The external webcam models listed here are UVC – USB Video Classcompliant and are simply Plug and Play on modern Macs running MacOS Catalina,Mojave and Sierra, as well as OSX El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Lion, andLeopard. Some older cameras made for Windows PC's may not work on AppleMacintosh computers, or Mac web camera drivers may not exist.
Best-Selling AppleCompatible Logitech Webcams
Save yourself wastedmoney and frustration. Makecertain you have USB 2.0 speed or faster ports, OSX 10.5+, and a Mac fasterthan 1Ghz. You can then choose one of these known working and Applefriendly driverless UVC webcam models listed on this site.
PLUG-N-PLAY LOGITECH WEBCAM CHOICES
#1 Choice: Logitech C922(x)
Mac Compatible HD Webcam With Standard Tripod Mount
Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Zw03WU
Pro: Revised C920-series optimized for high frame-rate live streaming: 1080p @ 30FPS and 720p @ 60FPS with H.264 video compression. Optical quality glass lens. Stereo Dual microphones.
Con: Logitech packages two different confusing SKU's: The C922 model comes bundled with a mini-tripod, the C922X (x=without) model doesn't.
#2 CHOICE: Premium Logitech C930e HD
Incredible State-Of-The-Art Image Detail, Smooth Autofocus, H.264 Compression.
Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ZzPOBj
Pro: Tripod Mount. 1080p HD Webcam. Zeiss Optical Lens. Dual Microphones.
Con: You Might Not Prefer A 90 degree wide-angle view.
#3 CHOICE: Logitech C920S HD Pro Webcam
Mac Compatible, Budget Friendly, Logitech HD Webcam
Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HuB1kR
Pro: Excellent detail and clarity, Hardware Autofocus, H.264 Compression
Tripod Mounting Hole. Zeiss Glass Lens. Stereo Microphone. Privacy Shutter. Though superseded by the newer 922, this remains an excellent camera – especially at lower street price.
Con: Possibly outdated quicker than the C922, however no other cons for this model