There are few things more frustrating than when a Windows 10 camera stops working properly. Whether you have an integrated webcam, like on Microsoft Surface devices, or a separate piece of hardware, there are a variety of tips and tricks you can use to fix it.According to Lifewire, a webcam that is not working on a Windows 10 computer, tablet, or laptop is usually the result of faulty or out-of-date drivers.
Restart your computer. It’s a trick as old as time, but it’s one that works. Restarting a Windows 10 computer, laptop or tablet can often fix a variety of problems including a broken webcam. If you don’t have another computer, laptop, or webcam-compatible tablet, try connecting the webcam to an Xbox One console.
Check the webcam software’s settings. Some webcams come with software that manages the device’s settings. The Lenovo Settings app, for example, has a Privacy Mode setting which completely disables the webcam. Update the webcam’s driver. Device drivers keep things running correctly, and updates are often required to maintain compatibility with that latest versions of Windows. To check for a new driver for your webcam, locate your webcam in Device Manager once again, right-click on it, click on Update driver > Search automatically for updated driver software.
If it doesn’t, simply navigate to My Computer, or This PC on Windows 10 via the desktop search or Start Menu, and click on your CD drive to get it to run the files on the disk.Many times, hardware will come with no disk for drivers to install at all. There can be all kinds of reasons for this, but the biggest is, Windows has a great talent for recognizing and installing hardware with no software needed.
Of course, absolutely nothing might happen when you plug it in, and Windows might not be able to find the drivers. In that case, you’ll probably want to read the instruction manual or visit the manufacturer’s website to locate some driver software for the webcam. This is also what you should do if you’ve lost or thrown away the disc that came with your webcam.