RE: Camera failed to start again due to MediaCaptureFailedEvent

Question

RE: Camera failed to start again due to MediaCaptureFailedEvent

megaTheBIKE 0

Hello and good day! I hope this question finds you well.

I have updated from Windows 11 25H2 to a preview release of 26H2 just recently. My Windows Camera app works for a long time, until it didn't. The camera kept blinking a black screen until this message pops up:

0xA00F4271 MediaCaptureFailedEvent (0x80004001)

Screenshot 2026-08-02 115145

I spent many hours of fixing this by conventional means, such as

Removing and reinstalling my camera driver (Acer HD User Facing, model is Acer Aspire A515-57)
Running /sfc and DISM
Create a value in the Registry Editor
Reregister yet again via PowerShell

and yet nothing worked.

What's even strange is that the camera worked for other apps, most notably:

Discord
Zoom
OBS Studio
etc.

all while permissions for the default Windows Camera are checked.

Screenshot 2026-08-02 120225

How do I fix this problem? I needed immediate assistance.

Thank you very much.

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1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Lucus-V 10,435 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi megaTheBIKE,

As a troubleshooting step, please revert your Windows to the stable Windows 25H2 release and check whether the issue persists.

Please note that Windows 26H2 is currently a preview release and may contain known or unknown bugs, performance issues, or compatibility problems. Because preview builds are still under development and testing, they may not provide the same level of stability as the generally available 25H2 release.

If you have further information, please feel free to let me know.

megaTheBIKE 0 Reputation points

2026-08-02T18:01:38.63+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion.

I did roll back to safer version of Windows 25H2 a few months ago. But, somewhere in July, the Camera malfunctioned. The hardware is still in intact, but the software isn't.
Lucus-V 10,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-03T15:25:27.48+00:00

Hi megaTheBIKE,

For clarification, could you confirm your current Windows version? If you're using Windows 26H2, please let us know whether rolling back to Windows 25H2 resolves the problem.
Edy Rojas 0 Reputation points

2026-08-05T21:16:29.2166667+00:00

Same error here, but I never update the windows to 26h2 version, I still on 25h2.
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Lucus-V 10,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-06T13:04:58.9666667+00:00

Hi megaTheBIKE,

I hope everything is going well on your end. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going for you lately, anything you'd like to share or discuss?
megaTheBIKE 0 Reputation points

2026-08-06T13:06:43.83+00:00

Hi @Lucus-V ,

I have reverted back to Windows 25H2, and sadly, the problem still persists.
Lucus-V 10,435 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-06T13:16:57.63+00:00

Hi megaTheBIKE and Edy Rojas,

Please try fixing issues by reinstalling the current version of Windows following this article: Fix issues by reinstalling the current version of Windows.