15-09-2021

Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working

Unlike older operating systems, Windows 10 provides built-in privacy settings to manage access to the device’s camera. Therefore, it often happens that the webcam, which used to work correctly, suddenly stopped working on this OS. When attempting to use the built in camera on a Lenovo laptop the camera does not work. Instead of seeing the image from the camera you see an image with a grey background and a white camera with a cross through it. The same image is seen with all applications. If your computer came with a built-in webcam, you can use the Camera app to record and share webcam video. The Camera app comes preinstalled on Windows 10 computers. It is also available to download for free in the Windows Store for Windows 10 and Windows 8.

  1. Computer Camera Not Working
  2. Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working With Microsoft Teams
  3. Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working Windows 10
  4. Built In Laptop Camera Not Working
  5. Windows 10 Camera Driver Download
  6. Laptop With Built-in Camera

Problem

When attempting to use the built in camera on a Lenovo laptop the camera does not work. Instead of seeing the image from the camera you see an image with a grey background and a white camera with a cross through it.

The same image is seen with all applications.

Solution

This issue appears to be a bug with the Lenovo software – where the camera’s “privacy mode” is enabled by default.

Solution 1: Check for a lens cover

  1. Look for where your camera is on the laptop – usually this is above the monitor on the frame
  2. Check if it has a lens cover and whether it is closed
  3. These are usually a small plastic strip that slides over

Solution 2: Enable using keyboard button

  1. Look on the laptop keyboard for a camera icon – this is usually around F8
  2. Press the key to see if it enables the camera
  3. If it doesn’t – try holding the ‘Fn’ key and the camera key

Solution 3: Enable using Lenovo Vantage app

To re-enable the camera:

  1. Open the Windows start menu, and type ‘Lenovo Vantage’ and open it (if you do not have Lenovo Vantage installed you can find it on the Windows App Store).
  2. Click on the menu icon at the top right and then click on ‘My Device Settings’
  3. At the top of the page, click on ‘Display & Camera’
  4. Scroll down until the ‘Camera’ section
  5. Set ‘Camera Privacy Mode’ to ‘OFF’

Help! This didnt work!

If these instructions didn’t help you, you could try …

1. Updating the Lenovo Settings Dependency Package software.

To do this you’ll need to

  1. go to the Lenovo website
  2. search for your model of Lenovo
  3. download and install the Lenovo Settings Dependency Package software.

After this has been done repeat solution 3 above.

2. Uninstalling the Lenovo Settings Dependency Package software

This is moderate risk – you may find that some hardware stops working correctly or that you need to use the software to manage settings, but cannot due to it being uninstalled. Having said this, on my Lenovo laptop I do not use this software (for both Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10) with no issues at all.

  1. To uninstall the software click on the Windows button on your keyboard,
  2. type ‘programs and features’ when you see it appear in the list – click on it.
  3. Search for “lenovo settings” select it from the list and click uninstall.
  4. Restart and the camera should be working again.

3. Replace device driver with generic Microsoft driver

  1. Click on the Windows button at the bottom left of the screen and type ‘Device Manager’
  2. From the list, expand ‘Imaging Devices’ and click on ‘Update Driver Software’
  3. Choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software’
  4. Click on ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’
  5. Make sure ‘USB Video Device‘ is selected and click ‘Next’
  6. The driver will now install. When finished click ‘Close’.
  7. Close the Device Manager windows.
  8. The camera should now be working with the generic device driver.

Go to Device manager/Imaging Device/Integrated Camera/Upgrade Driver/Browse my computer/Let me pick and chose USB Video Device (from Microsoft) doesn’t matter that you have integrated camera

If your integrated webcam is not working due to Windows 10 update, the problem is likely to be caused by faulty drivers or driver conflicts. To fix the problem, you can follow the instructions below.

First, go to Device Manager and see if there is a yellow mark next to the webcam device. The device may list under the entry Imaging devices or Other devices. Under Other devices, the device name could probably be Unknown Device.

If you see a yellow sign there, you can reinstall the driver or update the driver to fix the problem. If not, you can just disable and enable the device.

Reinstall the Driver

Follow these steps to reinstall the driver:

1. Right-click on the device and select Uninstall on the pop-up context menu. Following screenshot is for your reference.

2. Confirm Device Uninstall window will pop up. Click OK button to apply the uninstall.

3. Reboot your computer. After rebooting, Windows will reinstall the driver automatically.

4. Check to see if the webcam works.

Computer Camera Not Working

Update the Driver

Two ways to update the driver:

Way 1: Update the driver manually

Go to your PC manufacturer’s website to download the latest Windows 10 driver for the integrated webcam. Before you get started, ensure that you know the PC model and the specific operating system that you are using (See How to Get Operating System Version).

For some PC models, the manufacturer may not release Windows 10 driver. If you are in this situation, download the driver for Windows 7 or Windows 8, which is always compatible with Windows 10.

Usually, the downloaded driver file will be .zip file or .exe file. For .zip file, extract it completely then you will get the .exe file. To install the driver, just double-click on the .exe file and follow the on-screen instructions.

After installing the driver, if the problem persists, install the driver again in the Compatibility mode for Windows 7. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the webcam software program folder and find the executable file (.exe).
2. Right-click on the file and select Properties in the pop-up context menu.

3. Go to Compatibility tab and change the Compatibility mode to Windows 7 (See following screenshot). After that, click Apply -> OK to apply the changes.

4. Install the driver again.

5. Check to see if the webcam works.

Way 2: Update the driver automatically

If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update the webcam driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks:

1. Downloadand install Driver Easy.

2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.

Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working With Microsoft Teams

3. Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system (this requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).

Disable and Enable the Device

If you don’t see a yellow mark on the webcam device, you can disable and enable the device. Follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the device and select Uninstall on the pop-up context menu.

Windows 10 Built In Camera Not Working Windows 10

Windows 10 integrated camera not working lenovo

2. Right-click on the device again and select Enable on the pop-up context menu.

If the problem persists, you might need to reset the computer. Note while performing reset, ensure to select Keep my files so that your personal files will be saved.

Follow these steps to reset the computer:

1. Click Start menu icon in left bottom corner.

2. Click on Power button, hold down Shift key and click on Restart.

Built In Laptop Camera Not Working

Make sure you hold the Shift key down when Windows is restarting and don’t release it until you see the following screen.

3. Select Troubleshoot.

4.SelectReset this PC.

Windows 10 Camera Driver Download

5. Select Keep my files.

Laptop With Built-in Camera

Hopefully you find the article helpful. If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.