My camera is not appearing anywhere in device manager and it seems that I have uninstalled it, it is a built-in camera on my laptop, how do I fix this

Question

My camera is not appearing anywhere in device manager and it seems that I have uninstalled it, it is a built-in camera on my laptop, how do I fix this

Answer 1

Hi! Let me help you.

Have you tried a hard reset?

Turn off the laptop.

Unplug the charger.

Remove all USB devices.

If the battery is removable → remove the battery.

Press and hold the Power button for 30–60 seconds.

Reinsert the battery (if removed).

Plug in the charger.

Turn the laptop on.

Answer 2

For a built-in laptop camera that no longer appears in Device Manager, use this order:

1. Check for a hardware camera switch, shutter, or keyboard key
   • Many laptops have a physical camera on/off control.
   • Check for:
     • a keyboard camera key, sometimes used with Fn
     • a side switch
     • a built-in privacy shutter near the webcam
   • If this is off, Windows may not detect the camera at all.
2. Run the camera troubleshooter
   • On Windows 11, start with the automated camera troubleshooter in the Get Help app: Run the troubleshooter in Get Help
3. Scan for hardware changes in Device Manager
   • Open Device Manager.
   • Look under Cameras, Imaging devices, or Sound, video and game controllers.
   • If the camera is missing, select Action > Scan for hardware changes.
   • Restart the device and test the Camera app again.
4. If the camera appears but is disabled, enable it
   • In Device Manager, expand Cameras.
   • Right-click the camera.
   • If Enable device appears, select it.
5. If the camera appears after scanning, reinstall the driver
   • In Device Manager, right-click the camera and select Properties.
   • Open the Driver tab.
   • Select Uninstall Device.
   • If shown, select the checkbox to remove or delete the driver software.
   • Select OK.
   • In Device Manager, select Action > Scan for hardware changes.
   • Restart the PC.
6. If the issue started after an update, try driver rollback
   • In Device Manager, right-click the camera > Properties > Driver.
   • Select Roll Back Driver if available.
   • Restart the device.
7. Check camera privacy settings
   • If the camera is detected again but still does not work, make sure camera access is allowed.
   • For desktop apps such as browsers and Microsoft Teams, Let desktop apps access your camera must be turned on.
8. If it is an older camera device, check compatibility
   • In Device Manager, open the camera Properties > Driver > Driver Details.
   • If a file name includes stream.sys, the camera was designed before Windows 7 and must be replaced with a newer camera.
9. If it is an external USB webcam, switch to the in-box UVC driver
   • This applies only to USB webcams, not a built-in laptop camera.
   • In Device Manager > webcam > Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers > Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer > USB Video Device.
   • Note: this can reduce features such as Windows Hello face recognition.

If the built-in camera still does not appear anywhere in Device Manager after checking the hardware switch and running Scan for hardware changes, Windows is not detecting the hardware. At that point, the remaining supported step is to get the correct camera-related driver from the laptop manufacturer or check the manufacturer’s support guidance for the device.

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