How to Fix Discord Camera not Working

Your system/device’s camera might not work in Discord (standard and PTB) if the OS of your system/device is outdated. Moreover, corrupt camera drivers or corrupt installation of Discord may also cause the camera not to work.

The issue arises when the user tries to use the system/device camera in Discord but the camera does not work (sometimes the affected user just sees a black or green screen). The other party cannot see the user but just a black screen with a never-ending loading screen. The issue is reported on all major operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, etc.) with all the variants of cameras (built-in or external).

Before moving on with the solutions to fix the Discord camera problem, restart your device/system to rule out any temporary glitch. Moreover, check if your camera is working fine in other applications (especially the default camera application). Furthermore, the privacy settings of your device/system allow the usage of cameras in Discord.

Solution 1: Update the OS of Your System/Device to the Latest Build

The OS of your device/system is regularly updated to add new features to it and patch its known bugs. You may encounter the issue at hand if the OS of your device/system is outdated which can create incompatibility between the camera and OS. In this case, updating the OS of your system to the latest build may solve the problem. For elucidation, we will discuss how to update the OS of Windows; you may follow the instructions pertinent to the OS of your device/system.

1. Press Windows + R, type “update” in the dialogue box, and open the Settings application related to updating.
2. Once in the settings, click on Check for Updates.

   

3. After the updates are installed, restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved and you can access the Camera properly.

Solution 2: Rearrange Your USB Devices (USB Camera Only)

Your system’s camera might not work if your USB ports are overcrowded as every USB port can handle a limited number of endpoints and if the number of endpoints exceeds what the USB can handle, it may lead to the error under discussion (some users encountered the error message of Not enough USB controller resources). In this case, rearranging the USB devices may solve the problem.

1. Exit Discord (even from the system tray) and make sure no process related to it is operating in the Task Manager of your system.
2. Now, disconnect all the devices from the USB ports and restart your system.
3. Upon restart, only connect your camera to a USB port (preferably 3.0) and check if the issue is resolved. If not, then try on all other ports to check if the USB endpoints were causing the issue.

   

Solution 3: Launch the Discord Application with Administrator Privileges

With every new version of Windows, Microsoft is greatly enhancing the safety/security features and one such feature is the requirement of administrative privileges to access protected Windows resources (like the mic, camera, etc.). In this context, launching the Discord application with administrative privileges may solve the problem.

1. Click in the Windows Search box (just beside the Windows button) and type Discord.
2. Then, in the results shown, right-click Discord and then select Run as Administrator.

   

3. Now, after launching Discord, check if it is operating fine.

Solution 4: Reinstall the Camera Driver

Your camera might not work in Discord if the camera driver is not properly configured, outdated (that may cause compatibility issues between the camera and Discord), or is corrupt. In this scenario, updating or reinstalling the driver may solve the problem.

1. Update your system drivers and Windows (many OEM prefer to use Windows Update Channel to update drivers) to the latest build.
2. Now, check if Discord is operating fine. If not, exit it and make sure no process related to it is running in the Task Manager of your system.
3. Now, disconnect your camera from the system. Then click in the Windows Search box and type: This PC.
4. Then, in the results, right-click on This PC and, in the sub-menu, select Manage.

   

5. Now select Device Manager (in the left pane of the window) and then (in the right pane of the window), expand Imaging Devices.
6. Now, right-click on your Camera and then, in the sub-menu, select Uninstall Device.

   

7. Then check the option of Delete the Driver Software for this Device and click on the Uninstall button.

   

8. Now, restart your system and install the latest driver of your camera (it is better to use the OEM website to download the latest version of the camera driver).
9. Then, connect the camera to your system and then configure it (if asked to).
10. Now, launch Discord and check if the camera issue is resolved.
11. If not, then download and install the Snap Camera application by Snapchat (you can use another application that creates a virtual camera driver). Then use this virtual camera with Discord to check if the issue is resolved.

    

Solution 5: Change Your Default Camera

You may fail to use your camera in Discord if it is set as the default camera because it can be used in the background by some other application and may not be available to Discord. In this case, changing your default camera to another one (that you do not want to use) may solve the problem.

1. Exit Discord and make sure no process related to it is operating in the Task Manager of your system.
2. Change your default camera to another one (that you do not want to use).
3. Now launch Discord and check if it can use the camera normally.

Solution 6: Reinstall the Discord Application

If none of the solutions was effective in resolving the issue, then the issue could be a result of a corrupt installation of the Discord application. In this case, reinstalling the Discord application may solve the problem. For elucidation, we will discuss how to reinstall Discord on a Windows PC.

1. Exit Discord (even from the system’s tray) and then make sure none of its processes are running in the Task Manager of your system.
2. Now, right-click on the Windows button, and in the resulting menu, select the option of Apps & Features (usually the first option).

   

3. Then expand Discord and click on the Uninstall button.

   

4. Now follow the prompts on your screen to uninstall Discord and then restart your system.
5. Upon restart, launch your system’s File Explorer and navigate to the following path:

   %appdata%

   

6. Now, delete the Discord folder.

   

7. Then navigate to the following path:

   %LocalAppData%

   

8. Then delete the Discord folder and restart your system.
9. Upon restart, reinstall the latest version of the Discord application and hopefully, the camera issue is resolved.

If the issue pursues, either reset your system/device to the factory defaults or use Discord in a web browser till the issue is sorted out.