Your MacBook Pro comes equipped with many different functions and features that make it a really great computer to have. All of the high-end tech that is built into these computers can allow you to accomplish many different tasks quickly and Apple products are well-known for their intuitive interface and ease of use. If you just got your hands on a new MacBook Pro, congratulations and welcome to the club!
One basic function and piece of equipment that every MacBook Pro comes with is a camera. The quality of these cameras seems to improve with every new generation that Apple puts out and they are very functional and easy to use. These built-in cameras come in handy during a number of different circumstances and are simple to operate once you are familiar with the basic functions of your computer.
Reasons for Using Your MacBook Pro Camera
The camera on your MacBook Pro can be used for a variety of different reasons. It is typically not used in the same way as a common camera on your phone or other devices. It would look pretty hilarious if you help up your computer for a family photo, wouldn’t it?! I suppose it would work for this, but most people use the built-in camera on their computer for other reasons than taking photos.
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.
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1. Video Calls & Chats
One of the most common uses for the built-in camera on your MacBook Pro is for video calls and chats. Well known apps such as Facetime and Skype and utilize the camera to record your image in real-time and show it to whoever you are calling with. Since the camera on your laptop is located above your screen, it is easy to adjust the angle to center it on your face or body to make these calls happen. These cameras work really well for these calls and chats.
2. Photo Booth
Although it’s not very common to use your laptop in a similar fashion as a regular camera, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. With the Photo Booth app on your MacBook Pro, you can take fun and creative photos easily from your computer. The app operates similar to an old-school photo booth where you hit a button, hear a countdown, and then a photo or two are taken. Photo Booth can be really fun and I’ve had a bunch of laughs using the program.
3. Live Streams
Another thing you can use your built-in camera for is live streaming. You won’t have the best high-quality using your computer’s camera but you can easily live stream any talking or informative content if you have a YouTube channel or are currently a video blogger or interested in learning how to do so. Using the camera on your MacBook is an easy way to learn the basics of how to live-stream and video blog and a lot of people use it for this reason.
How to Turn Your Camera On
In order to operate your camera and utilize it for any of the above purposes or whatever other reason you might want it for, you need to turn it on. It’s actually really easy to do and pretty self-explanatory so once you learn how to turn it on, you’ll probably never forget how.
The first step to turning on your camera is to open whatever app you want to use your camera for. This could be any of the apps mentioned above including Facetime, Skype, or Photo Booth. There are other apps that use the camera feature and those can work for turning your camera on too.
When some of these apps are opened, such as Photo Booth, the camera will come on automatically. For the other apps, like Facetime and Skype, you might need to click on the video icon to turn the camera on. You’ll know that your camera is on because there will be a small green light that comes on right next to the camera lens. You’ll also see the image that the camera is capturing displayed within the window of the app you are using.
If Your Camera Doesn’t Turn On
Sometimes you might open up one of these apps and your camera will not turn on. There are a few troubleshooting tips you can use to try and fix the problem.
First, make sure that you only have one app that uses the camera open at a time. If you have two apps open and both are trying to use the camera, chances are only one will have access and the other won’t work. Close any programs that might be trying to use your camera except the one you want to use.
You can also try restarting your computer and then opening up an app that uses the camera. This usually fixes the problem if you don’t know why your camera is not turning on. If the restart doesn’t work, you might need to update your operating system or the photo/video app you are trying to use.
Also Read: How to Turn off Camera On MacBook Pro
Final Thoughts
Using the camera on your MacBook Pro is easy and can also be a lot of fun. Turning your camera on really is as simple as opening up one of the apps that use the camera or video function. It’s rare that this doesn’t turn your camera on but if so, just follow the troubleshooting steps and you should be good to go with a quick restart or update. If you’ve never used your computer’s camera before, give it a shot and you’ll see how nice it is!
What do you use your built-in camera for most often?
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.
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
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 MacBookWhere Is Camera Settings On Macbook Air
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.
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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.
Where Is Camera Settings On Macbook Pro
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.
Mcafee Camera Settings
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.
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