camera is not working

[angies55]

When I try to access my camera on my laptop, it says that it is blocked by another app. I have already went to the settings & the camera is not blocked or used by any other application. I have done everything already from restarting the camera, all the way to power washing my chromebook & nothing seems to be working. 

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

@angies55,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

Since you've already tried restarting, checking permissions, and even power washing your HP Chromebook x360 without success, let's try a few additional troubleshooting steps.
 

Check Chrome Flags (Experimental Features)

• Open Chrome and go to:
  chrome://flags/#enable-vulkan
• Disable Vulkan if it is enabled.
• Restart your Chromebook and check if the camera works.

Check for Background Processes Using the Camera

Even though no app seems to be using the camera, a hidden process might be blocking it.

• Press Search + Esc to open the Task Manager.
• Look for any processes related to the camera (such as "VideoCapture" or "Camera App").
• Select it and click End Process.
• Try using the camera again.

Check for System Updates

Even if you've reset your Chromebook, there might be a pending update.

• Go to Settings > About Chrome OS > Check for updates.
• If an update is available, install it and restart.

Test the Camera in Guest Mode

• Sign out of your account.
• Click Browse as Guest.
• Open the camera app and check if it works.
  • If it works in Guest Mode, your user profile may be corrupted. You might need to create a new user profile.

Use the Camera Tester

Chromebooks have a built-in camera diagnostic tool:

• Open Chrome and go to:
  chrome://diagnostics
• Scroll down to the Camera Test section and run the test.
• If it fails, your camera hardware might be faulty.

Try Linux Mode (Advanced)

If you have Linux (Beta) enabled, you can check if the camera works in a Linux environment.

• Open Terminal and run:
  cheese
  If the camera works in Linux mode, it’s likely a Chrome OS software issue. 

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

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