How to turn on the camera on a laptop (Windows)

Check the laptop itself first

Microsoft points out that some laptops have a physical switch or button that turns the camera on or off. When it’s off, Windows may not see a camera at all, or apps may show a picture of a camera with a slash through it. Depending on the laptop, it can be:

• A key on the keyboard that works together with the Fn key.
• A camera key of its own on the keyboard.
• A sliding switch on the side of the laptop.
• A small slider for a shutter, built right into the camera.

These are easy to miss, so look over the keyboard, the sides of the laptop and the area around the camera before you change any settings.

Turn on camera access in Windows

1. Select Start, then Settings, then Privacy & security, then Camera. On Windows 10 it’s Start, then Settings, Privacy, Camera.
2. Turn on Camera access. If it’s off and greyed out, an administrator on the device has to turn it on for you.
3. Turn on Let desktop apps access your camera. This is the switch your browser needs: Microsoft counts browsers such as Edge as desktop apps, and desktop apps can’t be switched on one by one.
4. Let apps access your camera covers apps from the Microsoft Store. Turn it on too if you use any of those with the camera.

The list of individual apps on that page only shows Microsoft Store apps, so don’t worry if your browser isn’t in it. To be heard as well, go to Privacy & security, then Microphone, and make sure Microphone access is on and desktop apps are allowed to use the microphone.

Test it in the Camera app

1. Select Start, type Camera, and open it from the results.
2. If Windows asks whether to allow access to the camera, select Yes.
3. Check that you see a live picture. If your laptop has a camera light, it comes on while the camera is in use; if it doesn’t have one, Windows shows a notification when the camera turns on or off.

Microsoft’s rule of thumb: if the camera works in one app but not another, the problem is with the other app’s settings. So if the Camera app shows you but a website doesn’t, check your browser’s permission for that site next.

Let the website use it in your browser

Windows letting your browser use the camera isn’t the last step. Each website still needs the browser’s own permission.

• Microsoft Edge: when a site asks to use your camera, select Allow. Sites you’ve allowed or blocked are listed under Settings and more, then Settings, Privacy, search, and services, then Site permissions, then All sites, where each one has its own Camera drop-down.
• Chrome: when a site asks, choose Allow while visiting the site or Allow this time. If you blocked the site earlier, go to More, then Settings, Privacy and security, Site settings, Camera. Under the sites that aren’t allowed to use your camera, select the site and change its camera permission to Allow.
• External webcam: on that same Camera page in Chrome, you can choose which camera Chrome uses from the camera drop-down.

→How to allow camera access in Chrome, step by step

Still not turning on? Microsoft’s next steps

• Restart the laptop: select Start, then Power, then Restart. Waking it from sleep isn’t the same thing.
• Check for updates. On Windows 11: Start, then Settings, Windows Update, Check for updates, and under Advanced options, then Optional updates, look for a driver update for your camera.
• Run the camera troubleshooter. On Windows 11: Start, then Settings, System, Troubleshoot, Other troubleshooters, then Run next to Camera. Microsoft also suggests the camera troubleshooter in the Get Help app on Windows 11.
• Check your antivirus or firewall. Microsoft notes that some security software can block the camera; the software maker’s support site can help you check its settings.
• External webcam? Try a different USB port first.
• Look in Device Manager: select Start, type device manager, and find your camera under Cameras, Imaging devices, or Sound, video and game controllers. If it isn’t there, select Action, then Scan for hardware changes. Let the scan finish, restart the laptop, then test again in the Camera app.

What LustMatch asks for on a laptop

LustMatch runs in your browser with nothing to install, so it uses the permissions above. What it asks for depends on the mode you choose before you match:

• Video: the camera and the microphone, as soon as you enter matching, so you can see your own preview while you wait.
• Voice: the microphone only. The camera stays off.
• Text: nothing at all.

Still can’t use the camera? Voice and text work without it.