Fix: My Webcam Doesn’t Work on Windows 10

Your webcam may not work on Windows 10 for several reasons. The usual troubleshooting steps apply, but Windows 10 has a new system-wide option that completely disables your webcam in all applications.

Check Windows 10 Camera Options

On Windows 10, the Settings app has a few switches that disable your webcam in all applications. If you disable your webcam here, even desktop applications won7;t be able to use it.

This is a little confusing. In general, the app permissions options under Settings > Privacy mostly affect new Windows 10 apps from the Store, also known as UWP apps. But the webcam options also affect desktop apps.

If your webcam isn7;t working, head to Settings > Privacy > Camera.

At the top of the window, ensure it says ;Camera access for this device is on.; If it says camera access is off, click the ;Change; button and set it to ;On.; If camera access is off, Windows and applications on your system won7;t be able to use the webcam. Not even Windows Hello sign-in will work.

Just under that, ensure ;Allow apps to access your camera; is also set to ;On.; If it7;s set to Off, no applications on your system2;including desktop applications2;can see or use your camera. However, the Windows operating system can still use your camera for features like Windows Hello.

This option was changed with the release of Windows 107;s April 2018 Update. Previously, it only affected UWP apps and didn7;t affect traditional desktop applications.

Under ;Choose which apps can access your camera,; ensure the app that wants to access your camera isn7;t listed and set to ;Off.; If it appears in this list, set it to ;On.;

Note that traditional desktop applications don7;t appear on this list. Only Store applications appear here. Traditional desktop applications can always access your webcam as long as you7;ve enabled the system-wide ;Allow access to the camera on this device; and ;Allow apps to access your camera; options.

As long as the above options are set correctly, Windows 10 shouldn7;t be getting in the way. That just leaves the traditional webcam troubleshooting steps.

Ensure Your Webcam Isn7;t Disabled In Other Ways

We7;ve covered some other ways to disable your webcam in the past. Aside from simply unplugging it, you can disable the webcam in the BIOS or UEFI firmware settings screen on some laptops. This option is found more often on business laptops since it gives businesses a way to disable webcam access securely. If you7;ve previously disabled your webcam in the BIOS or UEFI firmware, you7;ll need to re-enable it from there.

It7;s also possible to disable the webcam device in the Windows Device Manager. This will prevent it from functioning until you re-enable it. If you7;re previously disabled your webcam in this way, you7;ll need to return to the Device Manager and re-enable the device.