Camera not working after Windows 11 update

Hey All,

so my internal camera (Lenovo T14s G5) didn't work after the latest Windows Update since beginning of April. I did several things but I had always to use an external camera. This things include roll back, driver updates (not available), exiting Windows Insider Preview, several other Windows Updates: No result - Windows Hello not working with camera and no App can use the camera including preview of Camera in Windows settings.

Now I solved it:

• Go to device manager and uninstall camera including driver
• It wants to restart the device and just do it
• Windows restarts - Windows Hello directly logs me in via camera
• In Device Manager Camera is back again (Windows do it automatically when an uninstalled devices is found)
• Now Camera preview is working in Windows Settings and the camera is working in all apps

I will test this now in my company because the camera problems with Windows 11 are really annoying. Not this specific one but that the internal camera is not working in Teams happens very, very often: not possible to turn it on. To get it working again you definitely need the new setting that the camera can be accessed from different apps parallel and constant Teams Cache clearing. That Microsoft is causing so much problems with their own apps and OS is really strange. Many people hate Teams just because it's a constant problem with camera and audio etc.

Found a solution!

Hello all,

I hope this helps anyone experiencing the same issue. I found a solution to the problem, and now my camera works just as it did before the specific Windows 11 update. That said, your mileage may vary (YMMV). Note: I would also recommend creating a restore point and name it 'pre driver update' incase anything doesn't work or gets worse. That way you can always roll back to this restore point.

For context, this issue occurred on my work laptop (a Dell running the latest version of Windows 11). Since my organization requires mandatory Windows Updates, I don’t have the option to turn them off. The problem: I was encountering the same 'Camera not found' error when opening the Camera app or navigating to Settings > Camera. My device wasn’t being detected by Windows at all.

I initially tried the usual troubleshooting steps:

1. Opened Device Manager and searched for driver updates for the camera. However, I kept receiving the message "The latest drivers are already installed."
2. I found a temporary workaround by rolling back to a previous update using a restore point in the system. This restored the camera’s functionality. However, since my organization enforces updates, the issue reoccurred as soon as the new Windows update was applied. This confirmed the update itself was causing the problem. Microsoft needs to address this issue urgently.

The solution -

Since Device Manager couldn’t identify any available driver updates, I manually downloaded the driver update. Here's how:

1. Verify the Current Driver Version
   • Go to Device Manager > Camera > Intel AVStream Camera.
   • Right-click on it and select Properties.
   • Note the Driver Version listed under the Driver tab.
2. Find the Latest Driver
   • Google Intel AVStream Camera driver.
   • Click the link to the Microsoft Update Catalog (it’s usually the first result).
   • Sort the results by date (click Last Updated twice).
   • Compare the driver version listed in the Title field with the version installed on your system.
   If a newer driver is available—or even if the version matches—it’s worth downloading and reinstalling the update manually.
3. Download and Extract the Driver
   • Click Download next to the latest driver version that applies to Windows 11.
   • The file will download as a .cab (cabinet) file.
   • Use a compression tool (like 7-Zip or WinRAR) to extract the .cab file.
   • Create a folder on your desktop (e.g., "camera driver") and extract the files there.
4. Install the Driver Manually
   • Return to Device Manager > Camera > Intel AVStream Camera.
   • Right-click and choose Update Driver > Browse my computer for drivers.
   • Locate the folder where you extracted the driver files and select it.
   • Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
5. Restart Your Computer
   • After installation, make sure you restart your computer and check if the camera works.

This process isn’t limited to Intel cameras; the same method applies to most camera drivers. I hope this guide helps anyone facing this frustrating issue! Let’s hope Microsoft addresses it in future updates to prevent further inconvenience.

Feel free to ask questions if you need further clarification. Good luck!

Direct link to Intel(R) AVStream Camera Driver Updates:

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=Intel%28R%29+AVStream+Camera&scol=DateComputed&sdir=desc

Same here. My webcam is a ZECHIN C93 webcam.

It shows up in device manager as "Studio HD Webcam"

Listed on Amazon with title: "ZECHIN Studio 5-in-1 Full HD 1080P Webcam with Light, Microphone & Speakers, Computer Camera with Fill Light & Privacy Protection, Web Cam Supports Clear Stereo Audio, HD Light Correction"

Works fine on my Windows 11 laptop, but not on my Windows 11 desktop which has received the latest system update.

Device status:

"This device cannot start. (Code 10)

{Operation Failed}

The requested operation was unsuccessful."

I contacted Microsoft Support and apparently there are no really work arounds about it

So the solution they gave me was to reinstall fresh windows 11 then force stop/pause updates as stated by Yuhao.L in the replies

The steps are

• Download Windows 11 Iso from Microsoft website ( https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11 )
• Open the Iso after download then it will open file manager
• there will be a setup.exe just run it and follow the steps it will not wipe the apps and files you have, unless you select the option for clean install

After the installation of the new windows just follow the ways you can pause/stop the update from Yuhao.L's reply

* This is the only solution I found for the cam to work, updating with the current patch would just return your problem and make the camera not work again

You may also try this way to pause the update:

How do I permanently disable windows update under Windows 10- for - Microsoft Community