Webcam Test
One click tells you whether your camera works. You get a live preview plus the numbers that matter — the resolution, frame rate and aspect ratio your camera is actually sending, which is often not what the app that let you down was claiming. Switch between cameras, mirror the view, and save a snapshot.
🔒 The video stays on your device — no upload, no recording, no account.
Camera preview and settings
Press Start camera below. Your browser will ask for permission — that prompt comes from the browser, not from this page.
- Resolution
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- Known as
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- Aspect ratio
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- Frame rate
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- Megapixels
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- Facing
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- Device
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What this test actually proves
If you can see yourself in the preview, four separate things are working: the camera hardware, its driver, your browser's permission for this site, and the operating system's camera privacy setting. That rules out almost every cause at once, which is why "test it in a browser" is the first thing a support desk asks for.
What it does not prove is that a specific app can see the camera. Zoom, Teams and Meet each keep their own permission and their own device selection. A camera that works here but not in Teams is a Teams settings problem, not a hardware problem — and that is a genuinely useful thing to have narrowed down before you start reinstalling drivers.
The readouts under the preview go one step further. Most tools stop at "camera detected". This one reads the settings back off the live video track, so you can see that the camera negotiated 640 × 480 when you asked for 1080p, or that it is running at 15 frames per second instead of 30 — the two most common reasons people are told they look bad on calls when nothing is actually broken.
What each reading means
| Reading | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Resolution | The pixel size the camera is delivering right now. Not what you asked for — what arrived. |
| Known as | The familiar name for that size, such as 720p HD or 1080p Full HD. "Non-standard size" is normal on phones and external cameras. |
| Aspect ratio | The shape of the frame. 16:9 is the modern default; 4:3 means an older or budget sensor, and is why you appear pillarboxed in some apps. |
| Frame rate | Frames per second. 30 is smooth, 24 is fine, anything at or under 15 will look stuttery in a call. |
| Megapixels | Resolution expressed the way camera specifications are. A 1080p webcam is about 2 MP — far less than the box usually implies. |
| Facing | Front or rear, on devices that report it. Laptops usually report nothing here, which is expected. |
| Device | The camera's own name, as your system knows it. Useful for telling two identical-looking entries apart. |
A low frame rate in poor lighting is not a fault. Most webcams drop to 15 fps automatically in a dim room so they can hold the shutter open longer. Turn a lamp on, restart the test, and watch the number climb — that single check saves a lot of people from buying a camera they did not need.
Fixing a camera that will not start
The tool names the specific failure rather than saying "could not access camera", because the four common causes have four completely different fixes.
"The device is busy"
On most systems only one application can hold a camera at a time. Zoom, Teams, Meet, Skype, OBS and the Windows Camera app all keep it open in the background — closing the window is often not enough, because the process keeps running in the tray. Quit them properly and try again. This is by far the most common cause, and nothing is wrong with your hardware.
"Permission was refused"
Click the camera or lock icon in the address bar, set camera access to Allow, and reload. If you previously chose Block and ticked the box to remember it, the browser will never prompt you again for this site until you undo it there. In Chrome and Edge the full list lives under Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Camera.
"No device found"
Nothing is connected, or the camera is disabled at the system level. On Windows check Settings → Privacy & security → Camera and make sure both "Camera access" and "Let desktop apps access your camera" are on. On a Mac, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera. On a desktop with a USB webcam, try a different port — front-panel ports are frequently underpowered.
The preview is black but there is no error
This is a physical problem nine times out of ten: a privacy shutter slid closed, a function key that toggles the camera (often F8 or F10, with a small camera icon), or a privacy switch in the laptop manufacturer's own utility. Check the shutter first, because it takes two seconds and it is the answer more often than anything else.
"That setting is not supported"
You asked for a resolution the camera cannot produce. Set the quality selector back to Browser default and start again — the browser will then pick a mode the camera actually has.
What resolution do you actually need?
| Mode | Pixels | Good enough for |
|---|---|---|
| 480p | 640 × 480 | Voice-first calls and weak connections. Visibly soft on a large screen. |
| 720p HD | 1280 × 720 | Almost every video call. This is what most platforms transmit anyway. |
| 1080p Full HD | 1920 × 1080 | Recording, streaming, interviews, and any call where you fill the screen. |
| 1440p QHD | 2560 × 1440 | Streaming with a cropped frame, where you throw pixels away deliberately. |
| 4K UHD | 3840 × 2160 | Recording only. Almost no call platform transmits it, so it mainly costs CPU. |
A point worth knowing before you spend money: most video platforms downscale your feed to 720p or lower regardless of what your camera sends, because bandwidth is shared across everyone in the call. Lighting improves how you look far more than resolution does. If your readout says 720p at 30 fps, your camera is not the problem.
Privacy — what happens to the video
The camera stream is attached directly to the video element on this page. It is never sent anywhere, never recorded, and never stored. There is no upload step in this tool, because the frames never leave the browser tab.
- No recording. The only file this tool can produce is the snapshot, and only when you press the button.
- The snapshot stays local. The frame is drawn onto a canvas inside the page and saved straight to your downloads folder.
- The camera is released when you leave. Closing the tab or navigating away stops the track, and the camera indicator light goes out.
- Permission is per-site and revocable. Allowing this page does not allow anything else, and you can withdraw it from the address bar at any time.
The indicator light next to your camera is the ground truth here, not any promise a website makes: if it is off, no page is receiving video. Press Stop camera and watch it go out. Our full privacy policy covers the rest of the site.
Frequently asked questions
Is my video uploaded or recorded?
No. The camera stream is attached directly to the video element in this page and never touches a server. Nothing is recorded unless you press Save snapshot, and that frame is drawn on a canvas in the page and saved straight to your downloads folder. There is no upload step anywhere in the tool.
Why does the tool say the camera is busy?
On most systems only one application can hold a camera at a time. Zoom, Teams, Meet, Skype, OBS and Windows Camera all keep the device open in the background even when the window is minimised. Close them completely and press Start camera again. This is the single most common reason a camera looks broken.
I blocked permission by mistake. How do I undo it?
Click the camera or lock icon in the address bar, set camera access to Allow, and reload the page. In Chrome and Edge you can also open Settings, then Privacy and security, then Site settings, then Camera, and remove this site from the blocked list.
Why is the preview black even though permission was granted?
A black preview with no error usually means a physical privacy shutter is closed, or a hardware camera switch or function key has the camera disabled. Some laptops also have a privacy setting in the manufacturer's own utility. Check the shutter first — it is the fastest thing to rule out.
Why is my resolution lower than I asked for?
A camera request is a negotiation. The browser asks for what you selected and the camera returns the closest mode it actually supports, without warning. If you pick 1080p and the readout says 1280 by 720, the camera does not have a 1080p mode — no software setting will change that.
Does this work on a phone?
Yes, on both Android and iPhone. Pick the front or rear camera from the list — on a phone the entries are usually named front and back — and the readout reports which one is active. iOS only allows camera access in Safari and in browsers using the Safari engine.
Why is the picture mirrored?
Video apps usually mirror your self-view because an unmirrored image of yourself feels wrong when you move. This tool leaves the preview unmirrored by default so you see what other people see, and gives you a mirror toggle. The snapshot is saved to match whatever the preview is showing.
The camera list is empty or the names are blank. Why?
Browsers hide device names until camera permission has been granted at least once for the site — this is a privacy measure in the specification, not a fault. Press Start camera, allow access, and the list fills in with the real camera names.
Do I need to install anything, or sign up?
No. There is no download, no extension, no plugin and no account. The test uses the camera support built into your browser, which is the same interface that video-call sites use.
The tool says camera access needs https. What does that mean?
Browsers only give camera access to pages served over a secure connection. If you opened this page over plain http, the browser hides the camera interface entirely. Open the https address of the same page and it will work.
Can I test my microphone here too?
The microphone has its own tool so that a camera test never asks for microphone permission you did not want to give. The Mic Test shows a live level meter, a waveform, and records a few seconds so you can hear how you actually sound.
Camera checked — now check the microphone
Sound problems outnumber camera problems on calls, and they are harder to notice because nobody tells you. The mic test records a few seconds and plays it back, so you hear exactly what the other side hears.
🎤 Open the Mic Test