MacBook Camera Not Working? Try These 9 Fixes

Nowadays, using MacBook built-in FaceTime camera to make video calls or have a teleconference has become an integral part of our daily life. However, it could be a real pain if the MacBook camera not working.

When you have your MacBook camera not working properly, it'll say disconnected or unavailable. The "There is no connected camera" error might surprise you anytime with any app. Luckily, here we conclude 9 useful methods to resolve the problem. You can try them one by one.

Mac camera not working: Check the webcam's permissions

If you are experiencing camera issues on your MacBook when using an app to make video calls or recordings, you should check the webcam's permissions first. You may have denied the camera access before and then forgotten about it.

Here's how to check the permissions for webcam use:

If the box is empty, it means the permission was denied. You can click the padlock icon at the bottom of the screen, and authenticate with your administrator password, Touch ID, or Apple Watch. Then, check the box next to the app and try the camera again.

Mac camera not working: Reset your Mac's camera with Terminal 

VCDAssistant process and AppleCameraAssistant process perform webcam duties that run in the background on your Mac. Sometimes, these two processes did not quit properly though you've closed the app using the camera. This means your MacBook camera is not ready for the new app to use under this circumstance.

To make your macOS built-in webcam available again, you need to reset or restart it manually by doing the following:

MacBook pro camera not working: Force quit conflicting apps 

Only one app at a time can use your MacBook Pro camera. If you try to use it with multiple apps simultaneously, you'll be denied permission. To resolve the MacBook Pro camera not working problem, you need to force quit those conflicting apps.

Here's how to force quit app on Mac:

MacBook camera not working: Restart your Mac 

If killing all the processes that might be using the camera didn't work, try killing the whole operating system instead. Some webcam problems are caused when multiple apps try to use it simultaneously. You can restart your MacBook to resolve it, and not open all the same apps when it boots.

To do this, simply click the Apple logo, and then click Restart. When a window appears, uncheck the box next to the "Reopen windows when logging back in" option.

Click Restart again, wait for your Mac to power cycle, and then log in again when prompted. Relaunch the app that was trying to use your webcam and see if the problem is resolved.

MacBook Pro camera not working: Update or Reinstall the app

If you constantly face problems with an app and Mac's camera, such as FaceTime camera not working on Mac, try to update it for better compatibility. You can update apps by opening the App Store and going to the Updates section.

If the update is useless for fixing the MacBook camera not working issue, try to uninstall the app on Mac and reinstall it.

MacBook camera not working: Check the Mac Screen Time permissions 

On macOS Catalina and later, you can restrict your Mac's camera via Screen Time. Follow the steps below to ensure your Mac's camera is not restricted via Screen Time:

MacBook Pro camera not working: Reset your Mac's SMC 

The System Management Controller (SMC) is responsible for low-level settings, like fans and LEDs, but it might also impact your internal webcam. If your Mac camera isn't working, it could be fixed by resetting the SMC.

To reset the SMC in early Macs, make sure your MacBook is connected to a power source and shut it down. When it's completely off, hold the Shift + Control + Option + Power buttons until your Mac reboots.

Source from: Apple.com

If you own a newer Mac with a T2 security chip (2018 and later), the process is a bit different:

MacBook camera not working: Check if the Camera is detected by Mac 

Your camera should be detected by Mac or MacBook to work properly. If Mac does not detect it, it could be a hardware issue.

Steps to check if the camera is detected by Mac:

You should see something like "FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)" listed, along with a bunch of numbers and model IDs. If you don't find this information, it means Mac does not detect your camera. That's the reason why your MacBook camera is not working. Try to contact Apple to fix the issue.

Mac camera not working: Run Apple Diagnostics 

Another handy solution to identify the MacBook camera not working hardware problem is by running Apple Diagnostics. Apple Diagnostics is capable of helping you find which hardware component might be faulty.

Start Apple Diagnostics on Intel MacBook:

Run Apple Diagnostics on M1 Mac:

Once the diagnostics are finished, you'll get a report on your Mac screen with one or more diagnostics codes. If the error codes begin with N, that means you have a problem with the camera. To resolve this problem, you'd better take your MacBook to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for help.

External webcam not working on Mac, how to fix

MacBooks, iMacs, and the iMac Pro all have internal cameras. However, you might need to buy an external webcam for some Mac models, like the Mac mini or Mac Pro. If your external webcam not working on your Mac, there might be a physical problem with that connection.

There are a few things you should check:

If the connection has no problem, try to use the above-mentioned ways to fix the problem. If none of these solutions works, go to the professional lab for help.