How to turn on integrated webcam in Windows 11 / Mac

Try It Yourself

Confirm the camera turns on once permitted

Opens the camera the same way any application would, giving you immediate confirmation that a permission change took effect.

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Open Settings with Win+I, then Privacy & Security → Camera. Make sure Camera access is on, then scroll down and confirm Let apps access your camera is on as well.

Further down the same Camera page is a list of installed apps with individual toggles. Scroll to the specific app — your browser, Zoom, Teams — and confirm it is switched on there too.

The system toggle being on does not automatically enable each app. Desktop applications are governed by a separate entry at the very bottom of the page, below the Store app list.

Verify each permission change immediately with the free online webcam test.

Some laptops still have a hardware camera kill switch or a dedicated function key, commonly marked with a camera-and-slash icon. Check the F-row of your keyboard, and the edges of the laptop body.

A hardware switch overrides every software setting, so it is worth confirming before spending time in Settings.

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera. Your browser and any conferencing apps need to be ticked in this list.

If a browser is not listed at all, open it and visit a camera-using site once. That request prompts macOS to add the application to the list, after which you can grant it.

For a guided walk through every layer on your specific OS, use the OS Permission Doctor.

If you are using Safari specifically, also check Safari → Settings → Websites → Camera, since Safari maintains its own per-website permissions separately from the system one.

This catches the case where the system permission is granted but a single site remains denied from an earlier visit.

macOS often does not apply a newly granted camera permission to an already-running application. Fully quit and reopen the browser or app after changing the setting.

Quitting means using Cmd+Q or the menu bar, not just closing the window, since closing a window frequently leaves the process running.

If the camera is permitted but still unavailable, the Camera Troubleshooter Wizard continues the diagnosis.

Settings → Privacy & security → Camera

The desktop-app permission is collapsed at the bottom of the page and governs browsers and conferencing clients.

Settings → Privacy → Camera

Layout differs slightly but the same three layers apply, with the desktop-app list again at the bottom.

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera

Apps appear only after requesting the camera once, and a granted permission needs a full quit to take effect.

Safari → Settings → Websites → Camera

Safari adds a second layer that Chrome and Edge users on macOS do not have to consider.

1. Check the laptop body and F-row for a hardware camera switch or function key.
2. On Windows, turn on Camera access in Settings → Privacy and security → Camera.
3. Turn on Let apps access your camera directly beneath it.
4. Scroll to the bottom and enable the desktop-app permission for browsers and conferencing clients.
5. On macOS, tick your browser and conferencing apps under Privacy and Security → Camera.
6. If an app is missing from the macOS list, open it and request the camera once so it registers.
7. In Safari, also check Settings → Websites → Camera for a per-site denial.
8. Quit the app fully with Cmd+Q or from the tray, then relaunch it and retest.