Lenovo camera not working? Here’s how you fix it

More and more of us are relying on our laptops to use for work. Not only do we need to use our laptops, but some of us have to use the webcam on the device too.

Whether it’s Zoom, Skype or another video calling software, connecting with others online is as important as ever. However, some people with Lenovo devices have had difficulties with the webcam that’s installed in the laptop, and they can’t get the camera working.

In certain cases, there may be damage to the camera that is stopping it from working. In the vast majority of circumstances though, there will be something that you can do to get the camera back up and working properly.

Lenovo camera not working

You should start out by making sure that it is your Lenovo camera that is having problems and not the app that you’re using. It may just be a case that you’re having issues with the particular software, whether that be Zoom, Google Hangouts or Skype.

The best way to do this is to simply try a different software. The best one to use is actually the Camera app that’s installed on your Lenovo device. This will let you know where the problem lies – the software itself, or your camera.

There are a couple of other things to check here too. Firstly, ensure that the camera cover isn’t blocking your camera from working properly. This is a simple yet common mistake. Some models have a simple camera cover slide that you can toggle over the camera itself for security purposes.

You should also definitely check that you haven’t got the camera disabled. With a Lenovo laptop, you can do turn the Easy Camera option on and off by simply pressing the F8 button. If the camera is disabled, then you can easily toggle it back on, so that’s another potential fix to the issue here too.

If you’ve worked out that the issue is across all different softwares that you try, then here’s what you should do next.

Check Lenovo Vantage

vantage

The next thing that you should do if your camera isn’t working is to check the Lenovo Vantage app. Some people uninstall Vantage straight away, but it’s an easy way to edit your Lenovo settings.

Essentially, this is actually quite a helpful software that can be used to diagnose any problems with your laptop, and run any updates that you need to as well.

The problem here is that not everything even knows the app exists. Whilst it does make things easier, it’s not exactly a necessity, as you can do everything you need to without it.

If you actually look in the Lenovo Vantage settings, then you’ll see that you can enable and disable your webcam from there. In many cases, this can be the problem. You’d be surprised by the amount of people that end up finding that this is their issue (after hours of troubleshooting online first!).

If you do this and it doesn’t get your camera back working properly, then there are more things that you can do to try and get your camera working again.

Look at your privacy settings

lenovo

As well as Lenovo Vantage, there’s another simple reason that may potentially be stopping your camera from recording you. You’ll need to go into your Camera Privacy Settings to check this.

Here, you should actually be able to find your privacy mode. If this is switched on, then your camera is disabled, and it won’t work as it should. You can do this by going into Settings, then Privacy, and finally into Camera.

Making sure that your Camera Privacy mode settings aren’t stopping your camera from working is something you’ll want to do before running through a software check.

Go into your Device Manager

The Device Manager is where you’ll be able to manage all of the different devices; it’s very similar to your control panel. Any hardware that you use with your laptop will come up in your device manager, including your laptop’s webcam.

Here, you’ll be able to find your Lenovo camera by looking into the section Imaging Devices, or it may simply be named Integrated Camera (it depends on the ages of the laptop you’re using).

camera-device-settings

It should be able to tell you whether your camera is on and working as normal. Make sure that your camera is enabled in these settings, and that it’s properly installed on your device.

You’ll also be able to verify that your laptop or computer actually has a working built-in camera by doing this too.

Update your drivers

You’ll also want to check that your drivers are updated. Basically, your webcam drivers are what allows the camera to communicate with your laptop properly. If they’re not updated, then this could be the reason why your camera won’t turn on.

You can do this by going into your device manager, and into the Imaging Devices or Integrated Camera just like you did when you checked that the camera was enabled. Here, when you right click on your webcam, it should give you the option for you to update your webcam drivers.

camera-driver

There are some caveats to this. If you’ve just updated your drivers and they’ve stopped working, then try reverting back to the previous version to see if there’s a difference.

If you want to install a completely new driver, then you can head over to Lenovo’s website to download the Realtek Integrated Camera Driver. This could be worth trying if you have a particularly old laptop.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many different reasons why you may be having issues with your Lenovo camera. Just because it’s not working, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is completely broken.

Between the Lenovo Camera app, Lenovo Vantage and your actual computer settings, it is pretty confusing to say the least. When a problem occurs with your webcam, you’ll need to check in these different apps to fix the problem.

If you have run through all of the above to no avail, then it may be a problem with the camera hardware itself. If this is the case, you’ll have no choice but to take it to a technician to get it fixed.

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About Steve

Hi, I'm Steve. I've worked for the past 8 years in a major furniture retailer in the UK, so I know my way around a desk or two. On the weekends, I spend time with my kids or I'm probably outside in the garden doing something or other!

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