In this remote era where everything from office work to learning happens online, video conferencing tools like Zoom have become popular. The platform had 10 million daily meeting participants in December 2019, and this number bolstered to 300 million in April 2020. If you use Zoom for meetings, you may sometimes see your Zoom camera not working.
Let’s discuss some common reasons for the Zoom camera not working, along with ways to fix it.
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What Is Zoom?
Zoom is a web conferencing platform that allows users to connect via audio and/or video conferencing. The platform lets you make unlimited voice and video calls over the internet, along with exciting features like sharing your screen, holding unlimited meetings, and recording audio and video calls.
Zoom lets free users add up to 100 users in a meeting, while paid plans support up to 1,000 participants. The platform is available on all major platforms, including web, Android, and iOS. It’s also available as a browser extension on all major browsers. It also integrates with several ERP, project management, and collaboration tools like Atlassian, Dropbox, Okta, Salesforce, and Slack.
Common Reasons for Zoom Camera Not Working
The underlying cause behind Zoom camera issues can vary from user to user and device to device. Some common reasons for camera issues are:
- You have not enabled your camera.
- You have not selected your external webcam.
- The device drivers are corrupt or outdated.
- There’s some problem with your hardware.
Additionally, Zoom has compatibility issues with some devices and platforms, like Lenovo PCs and macOS 10.7. If you have device-related compatibility issues, look for tutorials for those devices. If you want a quick fix for device-specific issues, you’ll find them in the final sections of this guide.
Quick Fixes for Zoom Camera Not Working
Having said that, let’s discuss how you can overcome the Zoom Camera not working issue. We’re sharing a few troubleshooting tips you can follow. Try these steps one by one in the same order as mentioned.
1. Turn Your Video On
When joining a meeting, Zoom gives you an option to turn your video off. If you’ve checked that option, your video won’t work. So, be sure to turn your video on. Also, check in the permissions section if you have disabled camera permissions for Zoom. To check it, go to Tasks settings and then to App permissions. Click on the Camera and make sure it’s turned on.
2. Close Other Programs
Another possible cause of camera issues is that some other program could be interfering with it. To fix that, close all other programs that use your camera. These include WhatsApp, Skype, Meet, or any other apps.
The reason behind doing this is that your camera works with only one program at a time. So, if some other program is using your camera, Zoom won’t be able to access it. Moreover, these programs could run in the background and still interfere with your Zoom camera. Therefore, it’s essential to close these apps.
You can do that by going to the Task Manager on your PC and ending the processes that could be using your camera.
3. Restart the Camera and the Zoom App
Sometimes, camera issues could be because of a glitch. The best way to fix that is to restart your camera. When in a Zoom Meeting, click on the camera icon to stop your video. Now, click on that icon again to start the video. If nothing happens, close your Zoom app and restart it. This will eliminate all the possible glitches.
4. Update Zoom
Outdated programs are another common cause of camera issues. And this doesn’t just apply to Zoom but also to your browser and operating system. So, check if everything is up to date.
- Update your Zoom app.
- Update your browser.
- Check for Windows or macOS updates.
After updating everything, open Zoom and see if the camera issue is resolved.
5. What’s Causing the Issue: Camera or Zoom?
If none of the previous steps work, the problem is probably bigger. Your first course of action should be to determine if the camera or Zoom is causing the issue.
A simple way to check is to use the camera on other apps. If your camera works fine on other apps like Meet and WhatsApp, the problem is likely with Zoom. If Zoom turns out to be the culprit, you most likely don’t have the right permissions. As mentioned, go to the app permissions to ensure you have provided camera access to apps and desktop apps.
For macOS, check your system permissions and allow Zoom to use the camera. The same goes for Android. Go to the application manager and grant camera access to Zoom.
If the camera is the culprit, changing the camera may help.
6. Fix for Lenovo and macOS Devices
If you’re facing camera issues on macOS 10.7, copy-paste this command in the command prompt:
sudo killall VDCAssistant
This command will kill all the processes that use the camera. You can also do this manually by going to the Finder, then Go to Folder, and then to /Library/QuickTime/. Delete Desktop Video Out 3ivx Video Codec, Sonix SN9C, and Video Glide components.
For Lenovo devices, head to Lenovo Vantage from the start menu and click on Hardware Settings. Click on Audio and Visual and disable the Camera Privacy Mode option. Windows 8 users will find this option in Lenovo Settings.
7. Reinstall Zoom
If none of the above steps work and you know that Zoom is causing the issue, you can uninstall and reinstall Zoom. If your camera is working fine and reinstalling Zoom doesn’t help, contacting Zoom support is your last resort.
Conclusion: Zoom Camera Not Working
With remote work being the norm, Zoom has become the lifeline of remote workforces. Hence, issues with the Zoom camera could be a nightmare. The good news is that you can easily fix the camera by using the troubleshooting steps discussed above.
If none of these methods work, you’re likely facing an issue outside the scope of this guide. In that case, contact Zoom support.
