Last updated 28 August 2026
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Find your guide by symptom
Camera faults look alike but divide cleanly once you know what to look for. This is the fastest route in.
| What you see | What it usually means | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Black image, no error | Shutter, another app, or darkness | Black screen |
| Camera missing from every list | Not detected at hardware level | Not detected |
| "Camera in use" error | Another program holds the device | In use by another app |
| No permission prompt appears | Previously denied, or blocked by the OS | Allow camera access |
| Works in a browser, not in an app | App device selection or per-app permission | App-specific fixes |
| Jerky or laggy video | Lighting, CPU or bandwidth | Lag and low frame rate |
| Nobody can hear you | Mute, wrong input, or permission | Microphone not working |
| You cannot hear anything | Output device or a muted tab | No sound in the browser |
Run the test first. Before working through any guide, press start on the webcam test or microphone test. A working result rules out hardware and driver faults immediately, and tells you the problem is inside whichever application is failing.
All troubleshooting guides
Guides for a specific app or device
If the fault is confined to one application or one operating system, the app and device guides go into the settings for each: Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord, Skype and WhatsApp, plus Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, iOS and Linux.
When nothing here helps
Two tests separate a broken device from a broken computer faster than any amount of settings work. Try the camera on a second computer, or try a second camera on this one. Whichever result changes tells you where the fault lives.
The full site index lists every page if you would rather browse than search. If you find a step here that no longer matches what you see, software has moved on since it was written. Tell us, and we will correct it.