Usually when we have to check whether your webcam is working properly, we have to launch some sort of video recording software. Using such a recording software, we can test the webcam easily. But for this method to work, we have to first install such a software on our computers. This means that we will have to use different video recording software on different platforms because one software might not work on all the platforms such as Windows, Mac or Linux.
But there is another quick method that we can use to quickly test our webcam on all the platforms. This involves using a web app that accesses the webcam and since it is independent of the platform, it works in Windows, Mac as well as Linux. Here is how it is done:
- First of all ensure that you are using either Chrome web browser or one of the browsers based on the Chrome rendering engine such as Opera, Edge or Vivaldi.
- Visit https://www.hippovideo.io/webcam-test.html in your web browser. It will ask you for permission to access your webcam and microphone. You have to click on the Allow button to give your permission.
- Once this is done, you will see a blue light glow on your webcam indicating that it is being used. The webcam video stream will appear on the webpage. It will also display whether the webcam video stream has low light, medium light or proper light. An indication of the camera picture quality is also displayed.
If this webcam testing tool shows nothing but a blank screen then we should check all the permissions for the webcam in your browser. If it still fails, then we should reinstall the latest webcam drivers available from the webcam manufacturer. Sometimes it is a small thing like the webcam lens is being blocked by a tape or a shutter.