I have a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10. The laptop was working fine until today when I tried to Skype call someone I wasn’t able to do that. There are some issues with the webcam. I tried looking for a solution but didn’t find much. I have also read about some cases where there is a crossed-out camera icon on the screen or some stupid settings related to privacy but the problem has not been solved yet. Help me!
I have a Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and I had issues with the camera as well. I have seen that people using Z70 also faced similar issues.
Before trying to dig deeper to find out what’s causing the issue, first check if the specific app you’re using is allowed to use the camera. Go to Settings>Privacy>App Permissions>Camera. First of all, check if Camera Access is turned on. If it’s not turned on, do it and then check if camera access is allowed for the app you use. Once you have done that, get back to the app you use for video calls or meeting and see. If it still doesn’t work, proceed to the next steps.
- Go to Device Manager and look for Imaging Devices/Cameras
You should find Lenovo EasyCamera or Integrated Camera. - Check if the camera is enabled. If it’s enabled and still the problem persists, see if there is an exclamation sign.
- If there is an exclamation sign, then there might be issues with the driver. In that case, get the latest camera drivers for your laptop and install them.
- Once the latest driver is installed, restart your system and check. The issue should be resolved.
- If the issue is not resolved yet, contact Lenovo and get help as in case of any hardware issue the problem can not be fixed in this way.
Here are the links for Lenovo Z70 & Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro camera drivers.
Have you got that crossed out camera icon? I have faced the same issue. It’s kinda irritating. When the user tries to use any app that requires camera access, there is no preview. Instead, there is a crossed-out camera icon on the screen on a grey background. Though the camera light turns on, indicating that there might not be any hardware issue, the user is unable to use the camera. But I guess I can help you out.
First of all, check if the camera is working properly by going into Device Manager. If it’s fine and there is no warning sign, then follow these steps.
- Open Lenovo Think Vantage Utilities>Web Conferencing>Camera Settings and click ‘Show My Video Image’ and see if you’re able to see the preview now.
- If the camera light turns on and now after making these changes you can see yourself in preview then the camera is working fine.
On my Lenovo Thinkpad T530, even after trying everything like updating drivers and BIOS, the camera was not working but then someone in some random forums suggested a simple tweak to try. However, if the problem is not resolved by using this method, you must get help from Lenovo, rather than trying to open your notebook. Just remember to troubleshoot in the following order.
- Check whether the driver is correctly installed.
- Turn the settings of privacy off by press Fn+F6. Set it to ‘Normal’. If you are not able to see this option, then jump to the 4th step and continue.
- Check whether a third-party app can use the camera (I used Discord).
- Check BIOS I/O access and see whether the integrated camera is disabled. If it’s not disabled then you should get professional help from Lenovo because it is a problem related to the internal connection.
On my Lenovo Yoga 510-14ISK, the camera issue was solved with a simple toggle. Maybe you should try that.
Download & install the latest drives from Lenovo. Here’s the link to get drivers for Yoga 510. Once the drivers are installed restart your system. Now on the keyboard of your notebook, press the camera button (Usually F8). Now see if you are able to use your webcam.
On the Lenovo Thinkpad E530 I have the problem was caused by that Private Mode. Open Settings, select the Camera option and make sure it is set to Normal. This should make the camera work as it should.
My Lenovo T430s was making me mad with the same issue but accidentally when I opened Skype and roamed around a bit, the problem was solved.
Open Skype->Tools->Options->Video setting ->Webcam settings , then *uncheck* Privacy
On X230, I got the issue but it was solved with a simple toggle. Apparently, I clicked on the privacy settings for the camera yesterday and I forgot about it. On my laptop it is Fn+F6. Pretty weird that I could not find this menu in any other place in the settings.
Could you check if the toggle switch for the camera is turned off? Just press F8 or FN+F8.
You could check also the privacy if it is turned ON in Lenovo Vantage app or Lenovo Settings. Disable Privacy and try this toggle, the issue should be resolved.
Go to Control panel-> device manager -> Imaging devices and check if there is any driver with a yellow mark. Check in BIOS if integrated camera is enabled there.
Press FN+F6 to open the Communications settings window and press Show my video image button to enable the camera.
Go into Lenovo Settings App on Metro view, and select camera.
There will be the options of Private and Normal. Select Normal.
Also, in Settings > Permissions, make sure that Skype and other similar apps have permission to access the Webcam or Microphone.
My Miix 510 Camera also had issues and the device was throwing up STATUS_DEVICE_POWER_FAILURE. But well, luckily Lenovo released an updated driver and after installing it, the issue was gone! Here’s the link to the driver.
In Device Manager, look for the camera (Scanners & Cameras) and Lenovo Easycamera. Delete Lenovo Easycamera and reboot the PC. It will rediscover the camera at reboot and Skype will rediscover it too.
It’s kinda funny to see that Lenovo has made such a mess of its QC. While many people coudln’t get the problem solved, for me, the camera ON/OFF toggle worked. Try pressing FN+F6 or FN+F8 and see if the issue is solved.
I had faced issues with the camera, but I was also getting the messsage that ‘Camera is in use by another app’. Try these steps.
- Download the troubleshooter app from this link
- Save the file and once the application is downloaded, run the executable file
- After the troubleshoot application is finished, reboot the system.
- Try using the camera and see if the issue is resolved.
If you are still facing issues, try ths troubleshooting guide.
If the camera is enabled in the BIOS, but it is not visible in Device Manager, then I think the camera is disconnected from the systemboard in the computer, probably due to a loose wire. This can only be repaired by opening up the system and checking the connection. If your system is in warranty, I would recommend taking it to a service center.
On my Lenovo W550s also I faced that crossed out camera icon on grey background with no previews visible. Well the fix is simple actually, You have to change the setting for Lenovo web-conferencing utility from Control Panel and there you have to click on ‘Show my video image’.
