Why is the camera on MacBook not working? With new versions of macOS, it is possible to share a camera between different applications, but sometimes the applications take full control of the device. The quick fix when the camera is not working is to restart the MacBook and start the app again. If you see the dreaded ‘No camera connected’ or ‘No camera available’ message appear as you’re using your Mac - whether it's Photobooth or Facetime - don't w.

1. Apple Macbook Air Camera Not Working
2. Camera Not Working On Macbook Air
3. Macbook Air No Camera Detected

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We can’t imagine our Macs without cameras anymore. But as any tech customer support specialist will tell you, they also create the most common issues customers complain about. Although Mac camera not working is no doubt upsetting, it’s luckily quite easy to fix on your own in most cases.

Most Macs today come with a built-in front-facing camera, often referred to as the FaceTime camera. It’s located near the top edge of the screen and turns on when you open an app that is able to take pictures, record videos, or make video calls. Since FaceTime activates automatically, there’s no need to wonder how to connect camera on Mac. However, the activation process sometimes fails and it’s good to know what to do to get the connection back.

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Possible Reasons For Webcam Not Working On Mac

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 if it finds your camera not working on MacBook. But don’t rush to assume that now you need to somehow “connect” the camera back on or that there’s a hardware issue that requires warranty service:

• macOS doesn’t come with a camera settings app. Most apps that use the Mac camera come with their own configuration options, so there’s no on-and-off switch — neither physical nor software.

• Even if you think it might be a hardware issue, you can usually resolve the problem of Mac camera not working quite quickly on your own with the help of a few little tricks

Below is a comprehensive guide to the tips you can use to get your camera back up and running should it misbehave.

Check for apps using the camera simultaneously

We know that Mac camera is turned on automatically by the apps that use it. But what’s also important to note is that only a single app can utilize the camera at the same time. So when you have your Mac webcam not working, make sure you’re not being denied access to the camera because some other app is using it at the moment:

1. Launch Activity Monitor from Applications

2. Quit all other open apps or utilities that might be using the camera (e.g. Skype, FaceTime, and Photo Booth)

3. If you’re not sure which applications might be accessing your camera, save your work and close all the open apps to rule everything out

Simply restart your Mac

If quitting apps didn’t help, there might be a chance that some processes are using the camera in the background. A restart will almost certainly resolve the issue, giving you full access to the camera once again. To restart your Mac:

1. Select the Apple icon in the top menu bar

2. Click Restart…

Use Force Quit with FaceTime not working on Mac

As effective as restart is, it takes time and halts everything you’re doing. Which might not be an option when you’re in the middle of an important FaceTime call. Fortunately, for FaceTime not working on Mac, there’s another trick that doesn’t require a reboot and fixes the problem immediately. That is using a command line to Force Quit the process:

1. Go to Applications ➙ Utilities ➙ Terminal

2. Click inside the terminal window and type sudo killall VDCAssistant

3. Hit Return on your keyboard and enter your admin password if prompted

Relaunch the app to see if the issue of webcam not working on Mac is resolved.

Fix Skype camera not working on Mac

If you’re wondering why is my camera not working on my Mac when making Skype calls specifically, chances are that Skype is the app to blame here. Here’s what to do with your Skype camera not working on Mac:

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of Skype

2. If you do and there’s still no connected camera on MacBook — reinstall the app

3. Still experiencing the problem? Apply the same fix as described above for FaceTime not working on Mac. Then restart your computer and test Skype again.

Finally, check that you’re connected to the internet and your speed is sufficient enough (at least 128 kbps, or 1 mbps for HD FaceTime video calls). In case you do have problems with the internet connection, try WiFi Explorer, a network analyzer that helps identify and fix common network problems with your connection without involving a costly professional.

WiFi Explorer scans your network environment (band range, signal quality, security status), identifies channel conflict and coverage issues, and gives you quick recommendations to improve your WiFi.

Visual graphs in WiFi Explorer make it easy for you to assess the situation at a glance without diving deep into the numbers.

Reset your Mac’s system controller

If you find the camera on Mac not working still and nothing of the above seems to help, you may try resetting what's known as the System Management Controller (SMC). The SMC manages a lot of hardware functions on your Mac and rebooting it may serve as a solution to your problems.

To reset the SMC on MacBook (2017 or earlier):

1. Shut down your computer

2. Plug in your power adapter

3. Hold down Shift + Control + Options keys and the power button at the same time

4. Allow 30 seconds to pass before releasing the keys, which will boot the Mac back up

Resetting the SMC on modern MacBook Air or Pro with the T2 security chip is different and involves a two-step process. Sometimes simply completing the first step will resolve the problem, but proceeding with both is generally a more solid approach for fixing the camera not working on MacBook issue.

The first step required to reset the SMC on MacBooks (of 2018 or later):

1. Shut down your Mac

2. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds

3. Release the power button and wait a few more seconds

4. Turn the Mac on again

Check to see if you still have the Mac webcam not working problem. If the issue persists, proceed to the second part below.

The second step required to reset the SMC on MacBooks (2018 or later):

1. Shut down your Mac

2. After the computer is turned off, press and hold the right Shift key, and the left Option key, and the left Control key for seven seconds

3. While still holding the keys, press and hold the power button for seven more seconds

4. Release all and wait a few more seconds

5. Press the power button again to turn the Mac on

Assuming the problem with MacBook Pro camera not working was with the SMC, whatever the issue was it should now be resolved.

Optimize your general system performance

Reading through the what to do with the MacBook camera not working guide, you have to remember that your camera should work flawlessly most of the time. Unless your Mac tends to accumulate all kinds of useless files that might slow it down. No wonder then you might experience the Mac webcam not working.

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Best advice here is to perform regular system cleanups — automatically. Use apps like CleanMyMac X to clean, protect, and optimize your machine’s performance to bring it to the state it once used to be.

CleanMyMac X optimization and maintenance tools sort through the old unused files, random app caches, and help you uninstall unnecessary apps completely without leaving behind the leftover bits on your drive. The app also scans for thousands of malware threats and neutralizes them in seconds, takes care of gigabytes of disk space taken by the email attachments you’ve never even downloaded, as well as removes histories, cookies, and caches from all the browsers you use. All in a single click.

If none of the proposed solutions can fix your Mac camera not working on MacBook, find an Apple Store or authorized Apple technician to have your Mac serviced. Or contact Apple’s telephone support. Remember that there also remains a possibility for mechanical or hardware problems with your camera, which are impossible to fix with software tweaks.

In all other cases, MacBook camera not working should no longer be a problem for you. Best of all, you can use both WiFi Explorer and CleanMyMac X mentioned above for free during a 7-day trial of Setapp, a platform of more than 150 apps that can fix just about any Mac problem in no time. Never miss your FaceTime call again!

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The MacBook is definitely a 21st-century technological marvel, offering users an ever-increasing range of services accessible at their fingertips. These range of services can sometimes lead to annoying bugs with either the hardware, software or both components, problems such as the Mac FaceTime camera not working bug.

Apple Macbook Air Camera Not Working

After successfully installing certain Mac Operating Systems such as the OSX Mavericks, users have complained of experiencing the Mac FaceTime camera not working, install new camera error. In addition, some users complain of experiencing this same error even when there was no OS upgrade, but just switched to use the MacBook’s camera either via Photo Booth, FaceTime or some other apps.

How to Fix FaceTime Camera Not Working on MacBook Air/Pro?

Over the years, camera issues such as the Mac FaceTime camera not working problem has been identified to be less cumbersome to rectify, thereby we advise users to exercise some ease while resolving this issue on their Mac. Below are some basic steps that can be used to rectify them:

1. Confirmatory Testing

Camera Not Working On Macbook Air

The first step to resolve this issue would be to confirm whether it is an application problem, or a software problem. To confirm if it is an application problem or a camera problem, ensure you test multiple official Apple applications on your Mac that use the camera. Test iMovie, FaceTime, Photo Booth etc.

Should the Mac FaceTime camera not working problem only exist for a few applications, then it is safe to say that the error is from the affected applications. Alternatively, should the problem exist across all applications, then it is safe to say that the camera hardware, software or its supporting firmware might be the source of the issue.

2. Alter Your Mac Camera settings

True to the MacBook nature, even recent Macs do not support camera setting app. This might be due to the fact that most applications using the webcam possess setting options to help users tweak the feature to their taste. In the application interface, ensure you select the built-in camera as your means of capturing and ensure to set its features appropriately prior to calling on Skype or FaceTime or any other application to avoid the occurrence of the Mac FaceTime camera not working or other similar issues.

3. Quit all Camera-dependent Apps

If the above solution does not work, executing this moderate solution should yield positive results. End all camera dependent applications then access the Applications > Utilities folder and activate the ActivityMonitor.app. In the appearing options, search for the process name VDC Assistant and kill the process by pressing the X tab in the topmost left corner. A confirmatory message would pop up, afterward restart the camera dependent apps.

4. Restart Your MacBook

Due to some broken underlying processes that might be mitigating applications’ ability to access the camera, it is possible the above problem persists. To end all processes, it might be necessary to reboot your MacBook especially after the quitting option fails to yield positive results.

Restarting ends all processes while leaving the RAM untouched but care should be taken to completely shut down the entire system than to use the Restart route. This restarting process is relatively easy as most users are already familiar with it.

5. Force Quit Your MacBook’s AppleCammeraAssistant or VDCAssistant

Should the problem persist after all the above fixes, then it is important to try this slightly nerdy fix. A software names VDCAssistant is responsible for activating the camera when needed and most often when this software hangs or experiences a glitch, it relays such bugs across all camera dependent app, inhibiting their use of the camera.

1. End all applications accessing the camera
2. In the Spotlight Search tab, launch Terminal by searching for it
3. In Terminal, type {sudo killall VDCAssistant}, press Enter
4. In Terminal, type {sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant}, press Enter
5. Confirm solution by running a camera dependent application

6. Update Your Applications and MacOS

Should the Mac FaceTime camera not working problem be application specific, then it might be a compatibility issue that can be fixed by updating the application in the App Store to the latest version. Moreover, during the existence of such problems, should there be an available security update, it is advised users update their operating systems to the latest versions.

Macbook Air No Camera Detected

It is highly possible the glitch you are experiencing has been identified and fixed by the Apple team, hence helping you avoid the rigors of troubleshooting and solution funding.

Related Read: Mac OS High Sierra Update not Showing on Mac App Store

More FaceTime Issue: FaceTime Not Activating after iOS 11.3 Update [Solved]

Moreover, whether or not the above addressed problem occurs with their camera, some users experience another issue identified as the FaceTime activation is unsuccessful issue. This issue usually occurs immediately after their iOS update, and this brief section of the article would try to address it. Should this error occur to your device, consider trying iMyFone System Recovery to fix your iOS without data loss. To know more about how to fix FaceTime not activating after iOS 11. 3 update issue, click here, or try iMyFone iOS System Recovery to execute a quicker fix.

On a concluding note, it is safe to say that most Mac FaceTime camera not working problems are relatively minor bugs that can be fixed within minutes and is never be worth losing sleep over. Furthermore, the above hacks and fixes explained above represents the trusted and verified fixes to resolving such bugs and issues. Execute them chronologically and enjoy your MacBook’s camera in no time.