The camera does not work on Skype - possible solutions to the problem. Why doesn't the webcam work on my laptop or PC? Detailed guide to setting up from scratch


Almost all laptops that are found on the market computer equipment, equipped with a built-in video camera. With it you can take photos and videos, conduct online broadcasts and make video calls. But what to do if the camera stops working?

If you are the owner of Windows 10, then after connecting to the Internet, the OS will independently download the drivers necessary for the device to work. The camera may not work, perhaps it is turned off by software and needs to be turned on.

Advice! You can turn on the webcam using hot keys. For manufacturers Asus, Acer, HP, most laptop models turn the camera on/off using the Fn+V key combinations (or Fn+ key with a camera icon). Lenovo models use the combination Fn+Esc.

Also, all connected peripherals are listed in the device manager:

  1. RMB on Start → Device Manager.
  2. Open the Sound, Game or Video Devices or Imaging Devices tab and find your webcam.
  3. Right-click on it and check if the “Enable” function is available. If so, turn on the camera and check its operation (using the Camera app in Windows 10 or Skype).
  4. Check for a yellow exclamation mark on the icon for your camera or other peripheral devices, which warns of problems.

Troubleshooting

Important! If you do not find your webcam in Device Manager or it is marked with a yellow exclamation mark, then you need to update the driver.

To find a driver suitable for your webcam, it is best to go to the website of the laptop model manufacturer and download the one you need.

Manufacturer Website
Asusasus.com
Aseracer.com
Delldell.com
HPsupport.hp.com
Lenovosupport.lenovo.com
MSIru.msi.com
Samsungsamsung.com
Sonysony.ru
Toshiba

If the camera does not turn on on Android, then the causes of the problem may lie in software errors or problems at the hardware level. The user can cope with errors in the operation of the system on his own, but replacing a failed component will require the intervention of a specialist.

This article is suitable for all brands that produce phones on Android 9/8/7/6: Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, Meizu, Fly, Alcatel, Xiaomi, Nokia and others. We are not responsible for your actions.

Possible reasons why the camera does not turn on

If you did not drop or hit your Android device, but at some point you discovered that the camera does not work, then most likely the reason for this is. It could be:

  • Incorrect setting cameras.
  • Application conflict.
  • Lack of memory.
  • Cache overflow.
  • Virus infection.
  • Incorrect firmware.

If everything is fine with the system, pay attention to the physical condition of the module. The camera may not turn on due to mechanical damage after an impact or fall, or contamination of the lens.

What to do

If the camera suddenly stops turning on, reboot your device. Restarting the system will help eliminate non-critical failures and return the application for taking photos and videos to a working state.

Increase

If the camera turns on but does not save photos, check its settings. Please note which save path is specified. It often happens that in the settings a memory card is selected that is currently removed from the device. Try resetting your camera settings to default (not all versions of Android have this option).

Increase

Pay attention to the state of the memory: if there is no space, then there is nowhere for photos and videos to be saved. The problem may not be with the camera itself, but with the application that powers it. To fix errors, clear the default program cache:

  1. Open settings.
  2. Go to the "Applications" section.
  3. Select standard application"Camera".
  4. Clear data and cache.
Increase

If the standard application does not work, download from Play Market another program with camera functions. However, keep in mind that the presence of such an application may be the reason why the camera will not turn on. Try different applications and configurations to see if they affect the functionality of the module.

Another reason could be. To rule out this option, install several antivirus utilities and scan your system. It will be useful to check the operation of the camera in safe mode Android. If it starts there, but not in normal mode, clean the system from viruses and suspicious applications.

Can be used. All data will be deleted from the memory, but you will know for sure that there are no conflicting or malicious applications on the phone.


Increase

If problems with the camera’s operation arose after updating the system or flashing the device, then the logical solution would be to roll back to the previous state. You will have to re-flash the device using a verified official build.

To maintain communication via the Internet, all modern laptops have a video camera on board. What should you do if suddenly the camera on your laptop doesn’t work? The user can fix some breakdowns on his own, while others will require a visit to the service center. Let's look at the reasons for the failure of this useful device.

There are two types of failures, as a result of which you will find that the camera on your laptop has stopped working . These are problems with hardware (the devices themselves) or problems with software (programs). However, the first thing to do is check if it is enabled. Check this by pressing the combination Fn and one of the F1-F12 keys (usually the required key is indicated in the laptop instructions).

Software failures

Problems with software ( software) can be easily removed by the user. There may be several of them.

  • Driver failure or missing.

The driver, the program that controls the camera, is not installed or has stopped working properly. If the web doesn't work laptop camera, First of all, check whether the driver is installed for it. Even if it is there, reinstall it and reboot the system. Most often, this will get rid of the problem until the next program crash.

  • Operating system features.

Older operating systems, such as Windows XP, showed the availability of the camera in the “My Computer” window. Windows 7 or Vista systems do not do this, which does not prevent the camera from working correctly. It will help to install Skype, which will become a program that works with the camera. You can see the device in the Control Panel tab, which is called “Scanners and Cameras”.

  • Search for new equipment.

Used if the previous two methods did not help. If the camera does not work on the laptop, then this auxiliary program will help you find the device and select suitable drivers for it from your computer or the Internet if there is no proprietary disk with them. There's an opportunity here manual selection driver folders to use. You can also go to tools-settings-video settings and install automatically receive video and display screen from anyone.

  • Installation of a special program from the manufacturer.

If the camera does not work on the laptop and Skype does not recognize the device, you can install a special program from the manufacturer’s website that services your camera model. In this case, it will work without using Skype.

  • Conflict with antivirus systems.

This could also be the reason why the camera on the laptop is not working. Some webcam drivers are identified by antivirus programs as potentially dangerous. In this case, the driver is inactivated and cannot perform its functions correctly. Reinstalling the driver will not help in this case. In this case, you will have to replace these programs or abandon them. There is also the troublesome option of disabling anti-virus protection while using video calling.

  • Problems with 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

If you have gone through all the steps, but the camera is still unstable and you regularly have to reinstall everything, it may be a conflict between the camera and the computer. This rarely happens in laptops, after replacing the original camera with a similar one, for example. A specialist should deal with such problems. You will either have to put up with it and regularly reinstall the driver, or contact a service center.

Hardware failures.

If your laptop webcam does not work, the reason for this may be hardware failure - the camera itself. Its cable may also fail. Repairing or replacing a camera is a task that is best done in service center. You can select and replace the cable yourself, but it is better to do this for those who have at least a little experience in disassembling laptops.

Most modern laptops have built-in webcams. This is very convenient, especially if the laptop owner uses such common programs as Instagram and Skype. When buying a laptop with all the drivers already installed, we are sure that the camera should work without problems, but there are also situations when the software is not fully installed, which is why the user begins to wonder why the webcam on the laptop does not work.

All kinds of problems

Very often, problems with webcams on laptops occur due to various software glitches. There are only two solutions to this difficult problem: call a specialist or do everything yourself. It’s simply stupid to talk specifically about a specific failure, because anything can happen to a laptop. If your webcam on your laptop has stopped working, the best way to solve this problem may be to simply return your device to the factory settings. To do this, you need to find a button on the device panel (it should be smaller than the power button).

Virus

This option also cannot be ruled out, especially if you do not have an antivirus installed on your PC. It will be very difficult to remove the virus yourself, so you will have to turn to various antivirus programs for help. The built-in webcam on your laptop isn't working? It could be a virus!

User error

Most often, the camera on a laptop is working and ready to work, but it’s simply not turned on, and the owner, not understanding what the problem is, begins to panic. How to check if the built-in camera is working? This can be done very simply: first of all, you need to turn on the camera by pressing the Fn button and a certain button from the F1-F12 row. Don't worry, there is a special sign on each button, we need to find the camera. Most often, the necessary button is hidden under number 6 or 10 (that is, F6 or F10).

There are also models in which the camera can be turned on using a special switch located on the back panel of the device. If the webcam on your ASUS laptop does not work, pay attention to the back of the PC, perhaps the necessary button is installed there.

Drivers

If the webcam does not work, it is likely that the reason for this is the lack of a driver necessary for the camera to work, which can be easily fixed. This problem is very common on new laptops, so no need to worry, everything will work. To check whether the problem is with the drivers, you need to find the camera built into the PC in the list of devices. If there is a small question mark next to the camera icon yellow, you should uninstall the webcam driver, then turn your computer off and on, and then download and install the necessary driver again. It is better, of course, not to download the driver from the Internet, but to install it from special disk Software that should come with the laptop. If for some reason there is no disk, download the driver only from the website of your laptop manufacturer.

It is often recommended to download one of the most latest versions drivers. On the one hand, this is correct, but on the other, unfortunately, it is not. The new version of the driver may not be 100 percent debugged, which will cause new failures in the PC system. Taking HP laptops as an example, we can go to the official website of the manufacturer and download the necessary driver there if, of course, the webcam on the HP laptop does not work or there are some other problems.

Software glitch

The camera is not in the list of devices on your laptop? Then, most likely, the cause of the breakdown was a software glitch. In such a situation, it is best to update the configuration of all PC hardware (to do this, you need to click on the appropriate button).

After these steps, the computer will detect the device, you will need to install it, and then update all the drivers for the webcam. If you have completed all these steps and there is no result - the question of why the webcam on the laptop does not work is still open, try completely reinstalling the system.

Problems with Skype

There is also a situation when both drivers and software work correctly, but the webcam itself does not function properly. special program to make video calls around the world - Skype.

If you find yourself in such a situation, you first need to check the settings of the program itself; most likely, you will have to uninstall it, and then download and install it again. You only need to download the program from the official website!

Marriage

Very often, when a person buys a laptop, he does not even check the camera, and then discovers that his webcam on the laptop does not work. So what should we do then? Perhaps the problem is not with the drivers and software, but with the camera itself. It may be defective, and after purchasing a laptop it will simply be impossible to prove this. What to do in such a situation? There’s nothing you can do about it: either buy a regular stationary webcam, or replace the built-in one at your own expense. Always check the condition of the webcam when purchasing a laptop.

PC hardware malfunction

If you find yourself in a situation where none of the options are suitable, then the problem is still in the hardware of your personal computer. Here you shouldn’t solve the problem yourself, because you can only make the situation worse. You will have to call a specialist or take your laptop to a service center yourself, who will try to fix this problem. It is even possible that the breakdown turns out to be much more complicated than it previously seemed; here, all the more, there is no point in trying to do something on your own.

However, if you are a risky person and your webcam on your laptop does not work, and you want to fix it yourself, follow the instructions below.

The device will have to be carefully disassembled, but this will need to be done in such a way that there are no unnecessary parts left later. Find a special booklet that should come with your laptop. Thanks to the management maintenance laptop of your model, you will disassemble it, but this is just the beginning - to assemble personal computer it will be much more difficult. The most common problem due to which the webcam on a laptop does not work is the hall of a special cable. It is possible that the problem lies not in this at all, but in the connector, which may be poorly inserted - pay attention to this.

There is one very important note! If the webcam on your laptop does not work, and you have tried all the ways to turn it on and suddenly remember that your laptop is on warranty service, do not disassemble it under any circumstances, otherwise the warranty will automatically be nullified. Simply put, you will simply lose the right to free warranty repairs by the service center that signed a contract with the company. If a laptop under warranty suddenly stops working, then, of course, you should take it to a service center to have it repaired completely free of charge or exchanged for a brand new laptop of the same model.

What are you waiting for? Try to repair your personal computer yourself, and if that doesn’t work, contact a service center.

The camera does not work in Skype on a laptop

Most modern laptops are equipped with web cameras. It’s very convenient: you don’t need to connect anything additional, the main thing is that you have the Internet - and you can video chat with friends and acquaintances. But it happens that the webcam stops working. Why does this happen and what to do in such a situation?

Join the discussion

The problem with the webcam can be either software or hardware. Software problems are related to the software, hardware problems are related to the “stuffing” of your laptop. First you need to check the version with software problem: Such problems can usually be solved on your own. If there is a hardware problem, the laptop will have to be taken in for repair.

Webcam is not enabled

The most common reason: the webcam is turned off, and you just need to turn on the webcam. In some laptops, you need to press the Fn key and one of the function keys F1-F12 (usually F10 or F6, this can be recognized by the icons next to the keys or from the instructions for the laptop).

Drivers are not installed for the webcam

Then check if the drivers are installed on your webcam. Let's say it happens that operating system did not “pick up” the device (this happens, for example, if you are on new laptop, which came out recently, put old version operating system; Drivers for a new device simply cannot be built into it). Or the driver was damaged due to some kind of system failure.

  • To check for drivers, go to Device Manager in the Control Panel and find the webcam in the list there.
  • If there is no camera, the system does not see it. If there is a camera, but there is a yellow question mark next to it, you need to remove the driver, followed by the device.
  • To remove the driver, right-click on the line with the webcam and select Properties in the context menu.
  • In the hardware properties window, go to the Driver tab and click the Remove button. If the system asks for confirmation of deletion, click OK.
  • When the driver is removed, delete the device (right-click on the device - Delete), then restart the laptop and install the driver for the webcam.
  • If the laptop came with a “native” driver disk, you can try to install the driver for the web camera from it.
  • If there is no disk, you need to go to the manufacturer’s website, select your laptop model and operating system, download and install the necessary driver.
  • You need to download drivers from the manufacturer’s website, and not from suspicious Warez portals! Choose drivers specifically for your OS version; drivers for Windows XP on Windows 7 are unlikely to help.

    If there are several versions of drivers, choose the latest one and start trying from there - perhaps in previous version there was some kind of error in the driver, which was fixed in new version. But sometimes it happens that just in new versions there are some shortcomings that are not in the old ones. Therefore, if installing a new driver version does not help, try installing an older one (before that, of course, uninstalling the previously installed one; installing one driver on top of another is unlikely to be effective).

    The webcam built into the laptop does not work on Skype

    How can I check if the webcam is working after installing the drivers? If you have an operating room Windows system XP, you will most likely be able to find the camera directly in the My Computer window. In some laptop models, when installing drivers, a special utility for working with the web camera is installed; you need to run this utility.

    If you can’t find the camera anywhere, and you can’t find a special utility either, install Skype or any other program that requires working with the camera, and check the camera’s functionality using it.

    Hardware reasons

    If reinstalling the drivers did not help, the reason that the laptop's webcam may not be working is due to hardware reasons. There are two main reasons: a breakdown of the camera itself or a breakdown of the cable connecting the camera to motherboard. In both cases, only the service center can help you. We advise you to first take your laptop for diagnostics and find out the preliminary cost of repairs: it may be cheaper and easier to buy an external web camera connected via USB than to repair the built-in one.

    When your laptop's webcam doesn't work, don't panic. In most cases, it’s possible to get by with a little expense—reinstalling the drivers.

    Why doesn't the camera work in Skype on a laptop?