Opening the camera app gives a black screen.

[SN20]

Hi,

I have bought this product three months back and only last week I found out that the webcam is not working. It gives a black screen after opening. I tried all the recommended troubleshooting starting from i) updating the driver, ii)uninstall-reinstall the driver but nothing fix the problem.

How can I solve this issue?

Thanks!

[Riddle_Decipher · Accepted solution]

@SN20 here's a few steps to resolve the issue, start with checking for the webcam kill switch (if available on your model) and ensure its turned on,

That said, If your webcam has stopped working after installing a new update, you should uninstall the update and roll back to the older version. You will have to open Device Manager > right-click on the device > select Properties > switch to Driver tab > click on Roll Back Driver button > select Yes on the next window. After that, you need to restart your PC to check whether it is working.

If that doesn't work or there were no updates before the issue occurred, you might need to uninstall the webcam driver.

To do this, open Device Manager > right-click on the device > select Properties > switch to Driver tab > click on Uninstall Device button.

Restart your computer and then open Device Manager again and click on Action > Scan for hardware changes. (this would automatically reinstall the best drivers for it)

Once done, I suggest you install all the latest pending Windows updates as below and check if it helps.

1. Go to “settings” and click on “update and security”.
2. Under tab “Windows update”, click on the icon “check for updates”.
3. Then once you find the pending updates install it and check.

FOR DETAILS & FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS, USE THIS LINK: CLICK HERE

(By the end of this article all the issues should be resolved)

P.S: Welcome to HP Community 🙂

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

[SN20]

@Riddle_Decipher,

Thanks for your response.

To address each of the probable solutions you suggested, following are my responses to them:

1. My laptop model is 15-dy1751ms and I didn't understand what did you mean by "webcam kill switch"! I didn't find any switch around the edges either.

2. The "roll back driver" button remains inactive in my system. So this option also didn't work for me.

3. Uninstall followed by reinstall and updating the windows also did not solve the issue. 

I am attaching the screenshot of my camera app along with this message. 

What else is left to fix this issue?

-Seema

[Riddle_Decipher]

@SN20 I appreciate the details, to confirm if this is an issue with the software or the webcam itself, you may want to check if it works on another applications:

To verify that the webcam is operating properly, use the YouCam software to record a video by performing the following steps:

1. Click the video camera icon  on the toolbar.

2. Click record  to begin recording.

3. Let YouCam record for a few seconds, then click stop  to stop the recording.

   NOTE: 

   The stop button only shows on the toolbar after you begin a recording.

4. To view the video clip, double-click the thumbnail image in the bottom panel.

5. To delete the video clip, right-click the thumbnail image in the bottom panel and select Delete Selected Media.

Testing the webcam by taking a picture

To take a picture, perform the following steps.

1. Click the camera icon  on the toolbar.

2. Click the shutter button  to take the picture.

3. To view the picture, click the thumbnail image in the bottom panel.

4. To delete the picture, right-click the thumbnail image in the bottom panel and select Delete Selected Media.

For more details: click here and let me know how that pans out.

If you wish to thank me for my efforts, you could click on "Accept as solution" on my post as the solution should help others too.

[SN20]

@Riddle_Decipher,

Thanks a lot for your response. The solutions you provided earlier did not seem to work till yesterday and I wrote my previous message. In response to that you provided the option to try YouCam app. I don't have the app in my system and need to install it. I tried to take pictures and the screen appeared black. So before trying the YouCam app, I opened the camera app already installed in my system (HP TrueVision HD Camera) and found out that it worked properly for few minutes though some lines appeared on the screen. However two error messages appeared after that.

1. 0xA00F4244<NoCamerasAreAttached>

2. 0xA00F4289<Active Camera Unplugged>

Since then either of these things are happening i.e. the camera works for few moments with lines kept on appearing or the above mentioned error messages. 

These days I have to be in Zoom meetings almost everyday and need to fix the camera the earliest. What can I do?

Seema

[Riddle_Decipher]

@SN20 Here's a few other things you can try:

• Open Settings.
• Click on Privacy.
• Click on Camera And click on Change button.
• Ensure that the Camera for this device toggle switch is turned on.

• Also Ensure that the Allow apps to access your camera toggle switch is on.
• Under “Choose which apps can access your camera,” make sure that the apps you want to have access to your microphone have the toggle switch turned on.
•  After completing the steps, apps should once again have access to your camera.

Start with basic first Disable Antivirus, Firewall or any third party to make sure security software not causing the issue.

Simply Right-click on the Antivirus Program icon from the system tray and select Disable.

To disable Firewall open control panel

• Click on System and Security then Windows Firewall
• Here on the left window pane click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off
• Select Turn off Windows Firewall and restart your PC.

We recommend to check and make sure the camera app is turned on.

• To do this open setting by press windows + I key then click on privacy.
• from the left-hand menu select Camera.
• Here Make sure the toggle below Camera which says “Let apps use my camera hardware” is turned ON.
• Close Settings and reboot your PC to save changes.
   

 

Rollback Webcam Driver

If you notice the problem started after the recent driver update. Or after recently update the camera app driver? Then may the installed driver is incompatible with the current windows version. That cause you can perform Roll back driver option to revert back to the previous driver version where the camera working perfectly.

• To Perform Roll back driver option Open Device manager by press windows + R, type devmgmt.msc and hit the enter key.
• Here on device manager Expand Imaging devices or Sound, video, and game controllers or Cameras and find your webcam listed under it.
• Right-click on your webcam and select Properties. Next Switch to Driver tab and if RollBack Driver option is available click on it.
• Select Yes to continue with the rollback and reboot your PC once the process is complete.
• After that check and open Camera app hope this time starts without any error.
• Note Rollback Driver option only available if you recently upgraded your driver.

Also, try to reset the Webcam app to its default setup, Which may fix if the problem started due to any wrong configuration on the camera app. To Reset the Camera app

• Press Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings,
• click on Apps and then from the left-hand menu select Apps & features.
• Find the Camera app in the list then click on it and select Advanced options. 
• Now click on Reset in order to reset the camera app to its default setup.
• Reboot your PC to save changes and again open the camera app.
• Hope this time you didn’t get any error like Windows can’t find or start the camera error.

Let me know how that goes,

Keep me posted.

[SN20]

@Riddle_Decipher,

Thanks a lot for all the help and support. The camera app is working, both the "take picture" and "take video" , only some lines are appearing on the screen while the video is on. I didn't try YouCam app. Talking about the camera app settings, the button was already in "On" mode and the apps requiring the camera function were also in "On" mode so I didn't change anything. 

Since the camera has started working, I didn't change any firewall or anti-virus setting.

If I face any issue, I will definitely knock you.

Thank you once again.

Seema

[Riddle_Decipher]

@SN20 That's awesome, I'm glad it worked,

Remember, if you ever need help related to your HP device,

We'll be right here and happy to help, take care and have an awesome day, ahead.

[SN20]

@Riddle_Decipher,

Thanks a lot! You also take care and stay safe!

Seema

[SN20]

@Riddle_Decipher,

The camera is again showing 0xA00F4289<ActiveCameraUnplugged> message and the screen became black!