How to Fix Camera not Working on MS Teams

MS Teams is a reliable product offered by Microsoft like its other services but users have reported that Microsoft Teams can’t detect the camera or in case the camera works, it still won’t be available for add-ons, making it impossible to join a video conference. It wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that it is a hardware problem but in this kind of situation, it is mostly not. This problem is extremely frustrating as it restricts users from utilizing the platform with complete freedom. The camera seems to work just fine when tested outside the MS Teams application but the connected audience in MS Teams meeting is not able to see the user’s camera screen. This creates an unfavorable experience for end-users as it directly affects their work.

What Causes Camera Not Working on MS Teams?

We have listed down some of the causes of this problem after reviewing the user’s feedback and technical authorities in detail. This problem may arise due to any of the following reasons:

Pre-requisites:

Before jumping into the solutions, our advice is to go through these short but promising workarounds that helped many individuals online. If you are still facing the camera not working problem then jump to the solutions to get rid of this problem. Discussed workarounds are as follows:

1. Restart Microsoft Teams: Terminate Microsoft Teams and its processes from Task Manager. Once done then launch it back again to check whether the issue has been resolved or not.
2. Restart PC: A computer restart will clear your Random Access Memory (RAM). This practice will help Windows to initialize the camera device again. This gives your system a fresh start and your issue may get resolved.
3. Unplug and Plug-in Microphone: Sometimes when the user plugs in the device, the system may not recognize it due to a system error as discussed in the causes. Therefore, unplug the camera device and plug it back in.

Solution 1: Configure MS Teams Video Settings

There is a strong probability that your MS Teams video settings are not configured properly, meaning your Webcam or Camera Device is not selected under MS Teams video settings. It happens mostly when MS Teams fails to initialize Windows devices settings on startup. This was the case for many users online and their problem was resolved once they configured MS Teams video settings properly. Follow the steps given below:

1. Click Start, search Microsoft Teams in the search bar, and open it.

   

2. Left-click on your Avatar and then click Settings. This will take you to a window that contains all settings related to MS Teams i.e. General, Privacy, Notifications, etc.

   

3. Click on Devices and select your Connected Webcam or Camera Device under the Camera option. Your webcam device is ready to be used by MS Teams now.

   

4. Confirm with the preview that the camera is working. Now join or create a video conference to test your webcam practically with the application.

Solution 2: Allow Camera Access for Windows Applications

As discussed in the causes, the MS Teams application requires camera access along with microphone access to allow the user to make audio/video conferences with the connected audience. MS Teams application or any Windows applications won’t be able to access the camera device if Windows does not allow them. Therefore, we are going to enable privacy settings for the camera device so that it has the required permission to toggle on the camera in applications i.e. MS Teams. To enable settings properly follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type Settings, and open it. This will open a window that contains all the major settings for Windows 10 i.e. Privacy, Apps, Accounts, etc.

   

2. Click Privacy. This will take you to a window that contains all privacy-related settings i.e. Applications Access, Website Tokens, etc.

   

3. Click Camera > turn on the Allow apps to access your camera option. This will enable Windows to allow Windows Store applications to use your camera device. Although, you can still manually manage camera permissions for individual applications in the list at the bottom of the same screen.

   

4. Similarly, scroll down and turn on the Allow desktop apps to access your camera option. This will enable Windows to allow desktop applications to use your camera device i.e. MS Teams, Web Browsers, etc.

   

5. Now launch the MS Teams application and make a test call.

Solution 3: Re-Register Camera Device (Windows PowerShell)

As discussed in causes, sometimes Windows may fail to recognize a newly plugged-in device. This may be due to driver failures or the device is not properly registered as a Windows device under devices, ultimately causing the problem under consideration. Therefore, we are going to re-register the camera device using Windows PowerShell. This solution proved to be helpful for many users online. Follow these steps:

1. Press Windows +X keys together on your keyboard and select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Windows PowerShell is a windows tool that is focused on task automation and configuration management for Windows and its applications.

   

2. Copy-paste the following command in Windows PowerShell and press Enter. This will initiate Windows to first discard the camera device completely and then re-register it by successfully completing all the processes required to install the camera device. The procedure may take time so wait until it gets finished.

   Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.WindowsCamera | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

   

3. Once done, close Windows PowerShell and launch the MS Teams application and make a test call.

Solution 4: Reinstall Camera Drivers

If the above solution did not work for you then it is because of the failed driver versions, installed on your computer for your camera device. In this solution, we will uninstall the current corrupt drivers and then allow Windows to automatically find & install the latest drivers for your camera device from the internet. This helped many users online as driver failures are most common in peripherals. Follow the steps given below:

1. Press Windows + X keys together on your keyboard and select Device Manager. As the name suggests, the device manager is a Windows tool that is used to manage all Windows devices.

   

2. Select your Camera Device under Imaging/Camera devices, right-click and select Uninstall device. This will open a prompt aiming to provide uninstall options for your camera device.
3. Select Uninstall and click OK. This will initiate the uninstallation process. It may take time so wait until it gets finished.

   

4. Once done, click Action and select Scan for hardware changes. Now Windows will detect your connected camera device, find and install the latest drivers for it from the internet.

   

5. Close Device Manager and restart your PC.
6. Now launch the MS Teams application and make a test call.

Solution 5: Allow Camera Device Permissions (Web Browser)

If you’re using MS Teams through the web browser, your camera may not be working because your camera device access is not enabled in your web browser. Ninety percent of the users resolved this problem by allowing Microsoft Teams website to use the camera device from Web Browser privacy settings. Follow the steps given below:
Note: Microsoft Teams is currently supported to use in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer 11 only. In case, you are using some other browser i.e. Opera then consider switching to one of the mentioned web browsers. Furthermore, the following procedure is generic and steps may vary a little if you are using some browser other than Google Chrome.

1. Click Start, search Google Chrome and open it.

   

2. Click on the Customize & control Chrome icon (three dots) and select Settings. This will take you to a window that contains all the settings related to Chrome i.e. Search Engine, Safety Check, Privacy and security, etc.

   

3. Select Privacy and security > Site Settings. This will open device permissions settings for web pages.

   

4. Click on the Microphone option under Permissions.

   

5. Copy-paste the following website URL in the search bar on the top right corner, press Enter and select the searched link under the Allow section. This will help us to configure permissions & privacy settings specifically for the MS Teams website.

   teams.microsoft.com

   

6. Now under Permissions, select the Allow for Camera option. MS Teams website has been given permission to use your camera device for video input.
   Note: In case, your camera is not working either then you may allow the website to access your camera as well at this step.
7. Open MS Teams on Google Chrome, provide your login credentials, and join or create a meeting to test your camera.