Camera not working on laptop

[geek84]

Good Morning Folks

I hope you're all well. I have a 2 year old Lenovo ideapad 320 laptop and the camera is not working any more.

Do you think it is better if I get the camera repaired or shall I just buy a new laptop?

Thank You

[Mr Pointy]

Seriously? How about buying an external camera & plugging it into a USB port.

[geek84]

Thanks I'll try that

[familyguy1]

Have you checked computer management- device management ? Is there a device that has a red x? Try updating the drivers from here aswell.

Was the camera ever working ? Have you tried different apps ?

[Bill]

I assume you've switched it off and back on again?

[geek84]

Yes, of course.

[Jinx]

Some laptops (my alienware included) have a function key + F (9 in my case) that turns the camera on and off. This is outside of the OS and makes the camera disappear from the device manager. Have a look over the keyboard and see if there is a camera icon somewhere.

[xeny]

Jinx said:

Some laptops (my alienware included) have a function key + F (9 in my case) that turns the camera on and off. This is outside of the OS and makes the camera disappear from the device manager. Have a look over the keyboard and see if there is a camera icon somewhere.

Inspired by that, I hit google, and https://www.itsupportguides.com/knowledge-base/win... suggests the Lenovo Vantage app may also be able to toggle it on and off, and can itself be buggy.

[The_Doc]

In my experience, little cameras on laptops are small and robust and the hardware does not usually fail.

Try software causes, first port of call - driver update or replacement.

[geek84]

Thanks folks

[Buffalo]

If you have the Lenovo vantage app installed, also try that. Sometimes there is a management setting there that can stop camera (and microphone) stop working.

[louiebaby]

On the advice of a colleague, I got the webcam on my Lenovo working by going into the privacy settings, and setting every app and thing to being able to use access the camera, rebooting, then going in and switching off the ones I didn't want to access.

The alternative is to give everything access, and then have a physical cover over for privacy. Little sliding doors that stick over cost buttons from ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283964570191

[geek84]

Thanks folks. Much appreciated.