It is a fact that Skype’s online communication service is one of the most important and currently available, with a figure of more than 200 million users to his credit.
However, like any social network, not free from flaws, since very from time to time, presents inconveniences in the configuration of the audio and video peripherals, which can affect the communication experience of users.
In this note, we will teach you how to solve this problem, specifically with the Skype camera that presents failures that prevent our interlocutors from seeing us.
What are the causes of my camera not working on Skype video calls?
There are several reasons why Skype camera may fail. For the most part, these reasons have to do primarily with software failures, or hardware connection problems. Skype generally works flawlessly on the computer, however certain situations may arise in which one or more of the peripherals can cause problems.
In the case of the camera, it may be for the following reasons:
- Bad connection of the camera.
- Access permits denied.
- Applications that interfere with the camera.
- Application or operating system outdated.
- Drivers obsolete.
- Malware.
Learn step by step how to fix camera errors in Skype video calls from any device
Taking into account the number of reasons the camera could be failing, we must make sure to test all the necessary solutions.
Next, you will see a list of actions to take to solve each of the possible causes that arise:
Check camera connections
To make a video conference, one of the essential elements is the webcam. When purchasing a new one, or upgrading the operating system, compatibility errors may arise with the peripheral that interfere with its operation.
These problems can be solved very easily, through the following actions:
- Disconnect port USB.
- Try the camera on another computer to verify that it works.
- Check out the operation of the ports of entry from your computer.
- Test all the USB ports.
If the problem it was a false connection to the computer, it’s very probable that just plug the camera into a different USB port of the computer to solve the problem.
Grant access permissions to the webcam
This works for both external cameras and built-in webcams in the computer. In many cases, the camera will not function properly until the appropriate permissions are granted.
To grant usage access to the webcam, follow this process:
- Opens Beginning Windows.
- Enters in section Settings.
- Choose the option of Privacy.
- Sign in in the settings Camera.
- Seeks the application Skype in the list of programs enabled to use the camera.
- Nap disabled,click on the button indicated to activate it.
Close applications
This is a solution primarily intended for older computers, low power and little RAM. If this is your case, it is necessary that you review the active applications simultaneously on your computer.
In many cases it is seen that, when the RAM is operating at maximum capacity, Skype may have trouble activating the camera properly. With this in mind, it is best to close all applications before opening Skype, so that we can use the available memory for the desired action. To close the applications on your computer, the fastest method is through the Task Manager.
To do this, just follow this process:
- Press the shortcut keyboard “CTRL + ALT + DELETE” to start Task Manager.
- Select all active processes, clicking on each one while holding “CTRL “ held down.
- click on “Finish homework”.
Another good option is restart your computer before starting Skype, to ensure that all memory-consuming programs are closed.
Update Skype and Windows
The aApplication and operating system updates are of vital importance for the operation of the programs, since Failure to do so can lead to compatibility failure with drivers and peripherals.
To update Skype, all you have to do is go to the official page to discard the installation file of the updated version, as follows:
-
Sign in on
skype.com/es/get-skype/ - click on the button “Get Skype for Windows”.
- Wait for the download to finish and run the installation file.
- If you already have Skype installed, an overwriting will be done with the updated version of the program.
In the case of Windows, this update can be done from the dashboard Settings. The importance of keeping the operating system up-to-date lies, among other things, in the compatibility with the webcam drivers.
To update Windows from your settings, just follow these steps:
- Enters at Beginning from Windows.
- click on Settings
- Choose the section of “Update and security”.
- In this section we will can check if there is a new version of Windows available. If so, click Download and install.
Once this is done, all that’s left to do is wait for the OS update to install. This process is done automatically and is a great help to ensure that driver compatibility remains stable.
Update camera drivers
Another reason why the webcam tends to fail is that your drivers are outdated. In many cases, the peripheral drivers are not updated automatically, so we will have to do it ourselves from the Windows settings panel.
Through the following process:
- Open the Windows search bar and search “Device administrator”
- Choose the option “Cameras “.
- Select the camera you want to update and press the right mouse button.
- click on “Update driver “.
- Select “Search Windows Update for updated drivers.”
- Yes, instead, you have a route in which you have already downloaded the driver, you can do it from there.
Scan computer security
Currently, viruses and malicious programs are more advanced than ever, and if any of them invade our computer, it can affect the operation of any peripheral in it, including webcam. In these cases, it is necessary to start a security analysis of your computer to rule out an attack by a malicious program.
For this, Windows 10 has an antivirus by default, called Windows Defender, which we can use as follows:
- Enter the section Setting
- Open the functions of “Security”.
- Choose “Windows Defender”.
- Run a “Deep analysis”.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to use another antivirus, you will have the option to perform the analysis through an external security program. You just have to make sure that it is reliable and that it performs deep security checks.