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Windows 8: Webcam not working in tile interface but works in desktop

So I have an HP desktop and am using a HP Webcam 3110 plugged in by USB. The camera worked perfectly before I upgraded my PC to Windows 8. I tried using Skype (in new windows 8 full-screen mode) and the camera didn't work. I then tried the old version of Skype that I had installed on the desktop interface and it worked fine. Then I went back to the new start screen and clicked on the "Camera" icon and it does not recognize the camera as being connected.

This leads me to believe:

  • My camera still works.
  • The camera works in desktop mode of Windows 8.
  • The camera is not recognized in new style of Windows 8.

Any idea how to fix this? I am currently using the most recent driver for the webcam. Just downloaded it today, but no dice.

Anyone else have this issue?

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Hi,

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community Forum.

From your description I understand that you are unable to open webcam from start screen  ‘Camera’  option.

To understand the issue better, please answer the following questions:

 

1.    Are you logged in Admin Account?

2.    Do you receive any error message?

 

I would suggest you to follow the mentioned methods and check:

Method 1:

I would suggest you to run “Windows 8 UI App Troubleshooter” to diagnose the exact issue.

Refer the following link to run the troubleshooter.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/2/4/F24D0C03-4181-4E5B-A23B-5C3A6B5974E3/apps.diagcab

Method 2:

You need at least 1024X768 resolution for Metro apps to work.

Confirm if the issue reproduces with all user accounts. Metro apps aren’t supported if you are running with a built-in administrator account (happens mostly when upgrading).

Check Screen Resolution:

Step 1: Do a right-click on Desktop and select Screen Resolution option to open Screen Resolution window.

 Step 2: You will see the current screen resolution next the Resolution box. If the resolution is lower than 1024 x 768 pixels, you can set a higher resolution, if your PC supports. To change the current resolution, click on Resolution box and select a higher resolution.

Method 3:

a.     Open Camera App

b.     Hit Windows +C

c.     Settings

d.     Permissions

e.     Check if the slider is ON or OFF.

f.      Move slider to ON and check

 

 

Hope the above information is helpful. If you have any question get back to us, we are happy to help you.

Thanks.

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I am having the same exact problem as the original author. I went through your trouble-shooting steps and none of those solutions worked for me. I am using a Lenovo Ideapad u460S

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Thanks for this walkthrough, but it didn't work.

 

I do not get any error messages, but my camera is not recognized, but only in the Metro interface. I first noticed the issue when using Skype. I tried to use the new Metro-Tile version of Skype, but I couldn't make or receive video calls. Then I went to desktop mode and it worked perfectly. Skype on the new start menu did not recognize my webcam (HP Webcam 3110) but it did in desktop mode. I then went into the camera app to see if my camera was recognized on the new style apps, which it wasn't. The camera app was just a test-case.

Any other ideas? I'm not sure why an app won't recognize the camera in one interface, but not another. I thought it was a a driver issue at first, but I don't think so. The camera works with Windows 8, just not in Metro.

Thanks again for your help.

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I am having the same exact problem!  When I first got my laptop (Dell Inspiron 17r) the camera tile in the start menu worked perfectly.  I then downloaded the Skype tile to the start menu.  Skype was unable to recognize my built-in webcam.  I dismissed this thinking it was just a fluke but when I opened up the camera tile, the app said, "Connect a camera," with a black background.  I am unable to go into any settings or options to try to connect my webcam.  I have no idea why it's doing this and some help would be much appreciated.

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I found that Windows 8 had disabled my webcam. On my Lenovo I had to press FN+ESC and wa-la!

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It's the same for me. I have an asus g73 laptop. Webcam is working great on desktop, but when i use Windows apps, it does not work

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Sorry but that still did not help.  Thank you for help though.

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Same old story. 
Initially, the camera tile showed front and back camera perfectly. After installing Skype for windows 8 (tile version), camera tile no longer see any camera. 
1) Either Skype or Microsoft can point finger at each other 
2) the WWW (whole wide world) to be informed that these 2 apps are NOT COMPATIBLE. 
Enough frustrations !

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Workaround:

Use (Skype for desktop) with windows 8. Built in webcam works perfectly.

Tablet (Surface) users may be luckier than us (or not).

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I have noted the same problem, my webcam worked at one point but it seemed to stop working after I installed windows 8 media center upgrade.  The metro apps do not recognize my webcam on my hp tx21025dx.  The camera app gives me the error message: "Sorry, The camera app can't be used with this version of windows."  Other metro apps do not recognize the webcam.  I tried all of the suggestions above to no avail. Any more suggestions? Thanks in advance.

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Last updated April 9, 2020 Views 8,697 Applies to: