Because of the different reasons responsible for causing trouble with camera in Mac, sometimes, it can be a bit difficult to overcome “Camera not working” issue in Mac computers. If you are also facing trouble accessing the camera on your Mac computer, you can follow the information provided below.
Steps to Fix “Camera Not Working” Issue
1.) Make Sure Your Camera Is Connected to The Mac Correctly
Sometimes, the reason for the malfunctioning of a camera can be as simple as a loose connection. So, before trying to fix the problem hard way, it is best to look for such negligible factors. Check whether or not the cables are properly inserted into the respective ports. As USB Type-A ports are not reversible, make sure that cable are plugged at correct end. Once the camera gets connected, it should get detected by the computer immediately. In case, the camera gets detected by your computer, you may need to install drivers from the camera’s manufacturer website.
2.) Turn On Camera On Your Mac
As the default iSight camera of Mac doesn’t come with an ON/OFF button (neither as a program nor as a physical one), you will need to turn on the camera by using a compatible application, for example, Photo Booth app. You can easily test the automatic activation of the camera by opening Finder, going to the Applications folder and selecting Photo Booth application. As the Photo Booth app will launch on your system, the LED on the iSight camera will start blinking, indicating that the camera is enabled.
3.) Enable Camera on Mac For FaceTime
Although camera on Mac generally gets activated when you open a compatible application, however, if you find that automatic process is not working when using FaceTime or any other application, you will need to open Terminal from Applications > Utilities. Next, click inside the terminal window, enter “sudo killall VDCAassistant” and press Enter. Enter the admin password (if prompted) and your camera should get enabled. You can open a compatible application to check if the camera is working or not.
NOTE: While you will not see any confirmation message for successful configuration, however, if an error occurs, you will see an error message in the terminal window.
4.) Camera Not Working on Mac in Skype
If you are unable to use the camera when placing a Skype call, the problem could be with your Skype application. One of the main reasons behind this issue is using an outdated version of Skype. So, simply update your Skype version and see if the problem is fixed or not. In case the problem persists, it is best to uninstall and reinstall the Skype app. On the other hand, if you are using a third-party external camera, make sure that it is compatible with Skype application.
5.) Check Mac Camera Settings
Mac computers don’t include any setting application for Camera. The Mac camera works according to the applications that use the camera and thus depends on the configuration of such apps. If you wish to adjust the settings in the camera for your Mac, you can install a third-party application and adjust various camera settings such as contrast, brightness, white balance, exposure time, saturation etc.
6.) Update iSight Firmware
The iSight application helps camera in communicating with other computer hardware. Any issue with iSight may also reflect in the functionality of the camera. Therefore, it is important to always keep the iSight application running with the latest updates available. While your computer should update the iSight apps automatically, however, if this is not the case, you can update it manually using iSight Updater utility. This tool will always keep your iSight app running with the latest version of updates whenever they are available.
So, these are some of the workarounds to help you overcome camera malfunction error in your Mac computer.
