Teams camera not working: how to fix it on Windows 11

Applies to: the new Microsoft Teams app (work or school and personal accounts) on Windows 11, with most steps also valid on Windows 10, plus Teams in a web browser and a short note for Mac. Classic Teams has been retired, so its old menus aren’t covered here.

A camera that fails only in Teams is usually a Teams or permission setting. A camera that fails in every app is a Windows, driver or hardware problem, and the fixes below test that early so you don’t reset Teams for nothing. If others can’t hear you rather than see you, our Teams microphone guide covers the audio side; several Windows privacy steps are similar, but the device settings and causes differ.

Match your symptom

What you see	Likely cause	Start with
Camera button is greyed out or the camera list in Teams is empty	Windows is blocking camera access, or the camera is disabled	Fix 2, Fix 4
Preview is black but the camera is listed	Lens shutter closed, wrong camera picked, or another app has it	Quick checks, Fix 1, Fix 3
Camera works in the Windows Camera app but not in Teams	Teams setting, desktop app permission or a stale Teams cache	Fix 1, Fix 2, Fix 7
Camera fails in every app	Driver, disabled device or hardware	Fix 4, Fix 6
Video freezes or Teams struggles when background effects are on	Camera plug-in or effects software interfering	Fix 5
Only Teams in the browser has no video	Browser site permission	Teams on the web
Windows shows error 0xA00F4244	Windows can’t find a camera at all	Our 0xA00F4244 guide

Quick checks first

• Lens shutter and camera key. Many laptops have a sliding cover over the lens, a dedicated camera key, or a camera function on an Fn key. Microsoft’s Windows camera page lists these as the first thing to check, because a closed shutter gives a black picture even when everything else works.
• Cable and port. For a USB webcam, unplug it and plug it into a different USB port on the PC itself rather than a hub or dock.
• Restart properly. Quit Teams from its icon in the system tray, then restart the PC from Start > Power > Restart. Microsoft points out that waking a PC from sleep isn’t the same as a restart.
• Turn video on in the meeting. The camera is off by default in many meetings. Select Camera in the meeting controls; if an organiser has turned off attendee video, the button can’t be used and nothing on your PC will change that.

Fix 1: Choose the camera in Teams

Teams keeps its own camera choice. After you plug in a webcam or dock a laptop, it may keep using the built-in camera, or pick a virtual camera installed by other software.

1. Select Settings and more (the three dots next to your profile picture), then Settings > Devices.
2. Under the video settings on that page, choose your camera from the Camera dropdown. Microsoft’s device settings page says the preview on the same page shows your video, so you can confirm it straight away.
3. If the preview looks too dark rather than missing, the same page has options such as Adjust brightness and Soft focus. These change the picture, not whether the camera works.

During a meeting, the camera options next to the Camera button also let you switch devices without leaving the call; the exact layout of the meeting controls changes from time to time with Teams updates. If your camera doesn’t appear in the list at all, the cause is below Teams, so carry on with Fix 2.

Microsoft’s Teams camera page also mentions Make a test call under Settings > Devices. It’s mainly an audio test, it’s available in English only and not in Teams on the web, so the device preview is the more direct check for video.

Fix 2: Allow camera access in Windows 11

Windows 11 has three separate switches, and any one of them can stop Teams from seeing the camera. Open Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Camera.

1. Turn on Camera access. If it’s greyed out, Microsoft says an administrator has to change it, which is common on work PCs.
2. Turn on Let apps access your camera, and in the list below it make sure Microsoft Teams is on if it appears there. Microsoft’s Teams page refers to the entry as Microsoft Teams (work or school).
3. Turn on Let desktop apps access your camera. Microsoft’s camera permissions page names browsers such as Edge and video calling apps such as Microsoft Teams as apps that need this switch.
4. If everything is already on, switch the Teams entry off and on again, close your apps and restart the PC, as Microsoft’s Teams page suggests.

Microsoft also notes that desktop apps can’t be allowed or blocked one at a time, and that they may not show up in the app list at all. So if Teams isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it’s blocked; the desktop apps switch is what matters for it.

Third-party security software can block the webcam on top of these settings. Microsoft’s Windows camera page suggests checking your antivirus or firewall for a webcam protection option. If you turn protection off briefly to test, turn it back on straight afterwards.

Fix 3: Close apps that are using the camera

Some cameras can only be used by one app at a time. Another video app, a recording tool or the Windows Camera app left open in the background can keep hold of it, and Teams then shows a black preview or no camera.

• Close other video apps fully, including from the system tray. Microsoft’s Teams page gives Skype and FaceTime as examples.
• If you can’t tell which app has it, right-click the taskbar, select Task Manager, right-click the app that might be using the camera and choose End Task. This is the method Microsoft describes on its Windows camera page.
• Rejoin the meeting or reopen the Teams device settings and check the preview again.

Fix 4: Test the camera outside Teams

This step tells you whether to keep working on Teams or move on to Windows and the driver.

• Open Start > Camera. If the camera works there but not in Teams, Microsoft says the problem is likely the other app’s settings, so go back to Fix 1, Fix 2 and Fix 7.
• If it fails in the Camera app too, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras. Look under Disabled cameras; if your camera is there, select it and choose Enable (this needs administrator rights).
• On the same page, select your camera and choose Troubleshoot to open the camera troubleshooter in the Get Help app. Microsoft also lists it under Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.

If Windows can’t find any camera and shows error 0xA00F4244, follow our guide to camera error 0xA00F4244, which covers Device Manager, BIOS settings and resetting the Camera app in detail.

Fix 5: Turn on Basic camera (Windows 11 24H2 and later)

Windows 11 version 24H2 added a troubleshooting mode called Basic camera. According to Microsoft’s camera settings page, it turns off hardware acceleration and, where possible, camera maker plug-ins that can stop a camera from working. It’s worth trying when the camera shows up but freezes, shows a black picture, or fails once effects are on.

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras and select your camera.
2. Under Advanced camera options, select Edit and turn on Basic camera.
3. Restart Teams and check the preview in the Teams device settings.

Microsoft notes that Windows Studio Effects don’t work while Basic camera is on, and that it also turns on multi-app camera mode. Your organisation may manage these options on a work PC. If the camera works in Basic camera, an update from the PC or camera maker is the longer-term fix, and you can switch the mode off again afterwards.

Fix 6: Update or reinstall the camera driver

If the camera fails in every app, the driver is the next suspect. Microsoft’s Windows camera page sets out these steps:

• Windows Update. Open Settings > Windows Update, select Check for updates, then look under Advanced options > Optional updates for a camera driver.
• Roll back. In Device Manager, find the camera under Cameras, Imaging devices or Sound, video and game controllers. Open Properties, go to the Driver tab and choose Roll Back Driver if it’s available. This helps when the problem started after a driver update.
• Reinstall. On the same tab, select Uninstall Device, then Action > Scan for hardware changes and restart.
• External USB webcam: Microsoft describes switching to the built-in USB Video Device driver through Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.

Before you change drivers: these steps need administrator rights, and Microsoft warns that the built-in USB Video Device driver may not support every feature of your camera. Windows Hello face sign-in may stop working if it relied on the maker’s own driver. The full walkthrough, including BIOS checks, is in our 0xA00F4244 guide.

Fix 7: Reset new Teams or clear its cache

If the camera works in the Windows Camera app but Teams still won’t show it, Teams’ saved app data may be the problem. Microsoft’s Learn article on clearing the Teams cache gives two methods for new Teams on Windows.

Warning: a reset deletes Teams app data on the PC, including personal settings, so you’ll need to pick your camera, microphone and other preferences again. Chats and files are stored online.

• Reset: open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, search for Microsoft Teams, select the three dots, choose Advanced options and then Reset. Restart Teams.
• Clear the cache only: quit Teams, press Windows key + R, enter the folder path below, select OK, delete everything inside the folder, then start Teams again.

%userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams

Also check for a Teams update from Settings and more and install any pending Windows updates; Microsoft lists both on its Teams camera page. If Teams can’t sign in or join meetings at all, see Microsoft Teams not connecting instead. If you’re somehow still on the old client, move to new Teams first, as fixes now target the new app.

On a virtual desktop (VDI) or a remote session, the camera is passed through by your organisation’s setup. Microsoft’s Teams page says to contact your IT admin in that case.

Teams on the web

In a browser, Teams needs the browser’s permission to use the camera, and the browser itself needs the Windows desktop apps switch from Fix 2. Microsoft’s page Troubleshoot device features in Microsoft Teams on the web lists Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox as supported and gives these paths:

• Microsoft Edge: Settings and more > Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Camera. Keep Ask before accessing (recommended) on; Microsoft warns that Edge blocks the camera when it’s off.
• Google Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Permissions > Camera. Check the right camera is selected at the top, and choose Sites can ask to use your camera.
• Firefox: Settings > Privacy & security, find Camera under Permissions, select Settings and make sure Teams is allowed.
• Inside Teams: Microsoft also describes More options > App permissions in Teams on the web, where you can turn on device access and then refresh the page.

Save anything you’re working on before you refresh. If a setting is greyed out, your organisation may manage it.

Teams on a Mac

On macOS, Microsoft’s Teams page says to open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera, make sure Microsoft Teams is allowed, then close your apps and restart. Choosing the camera inside Teams works the same way as in Fix 1.

Known issues in 2026

We checked Microsoft’s Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notifications page on November 8, 2026 (last updated November 5, 2026; it also covers 26H2). It lists no open or recent issue affecting cameras or webcams. The one device issue on it, USB audio devices failing to start or produce sound after the September 2026 update (status Mitigated), concerns audio, so it may affect a webcam’s built-in microphone but not its video; the Teams microphone guide covers that side.

Microsoft’s Teams camera troubleshooting page (updated September 24, 2026) doesn’t list a current camera bug either, so if your camera stopped working recently, a driver update or a camera maker’s effects software is the likelier cause than Teams itself. Known issues change, so recheck the release health page if the problem started right after a Windows update.

Related guides

• Teams microphone not working: how to fix it on Windows 11
• Camera error 0xA00F4244 (NoCamerasAreAttached): how to fix it
• Microsoft Teams not connecting: how to fix it
• Teams classic: why it’s gone and how to switch to new Teams
• Teams screen sharing not working: how to fix it on Windows 11

Official sources

• Microsoft: My camera isn’t working in Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft: Manage app permissions for a camera in Windows
• Microsoft: Camera doesn’t work in Windows