Webcam Test

Your webcam is used by another application on Windows


By default, most webcams do not support the ability to be accessed by multiple applications simultaneously. That is, only one application will get access to your webcam: the one that first requested the video stream. For example, if you start a video call in Skype you cannot use the same webcam to start another video call in Discord. Therefore, if you want to start another video call in Discord you have to choose one of the options:

  • Cancel the Skype video call (eg, close Skype or switch to audio call).
  • Connect another webcam to your PC and use it for Discord.
  • Use third-party software (such as OBS Virtualcam) to create virtual cams.
     

Everything seems to be very simple and clear until the following problem arises: although you are pretty sure that no application is using your webcam, there are applications that cannot access it and warn you that your webcam is currently being used by something else. Well, in such situations, for someone it is natural to recall the saying: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you”. Fortunately, in most cases the answer is much pleasing because this issue sometimes occurs if an application has been accessed the webcam but for unexpected reason it was unable to release the webcam properly. As a result, that application no longer uses the webcam, but the operating system does not know about this and thinks that the webcam is still busy and this is why it does not allow other applications to access it.


In fact, there are several reasons why such a trouble may occur, but in order to solve it, you must start with the most popular solution, and, if necessary, dig down until you find the solution:

  1. First of all, make sure that you really experience this error.
    1. Open Webcam Checker and press “Check my webcam”.
    2. Make sure you get the following error:
      Your webcam is used by another application
      Your webcam is used by another application
       
  2. Try to find the process that uses the webcam.
    1. Download Process Explorer (a free and portable app developed by Microsoft Windows Sysinternals Team).
    2. Right-click on procexp.exe and choose “Run as administrator”.
    3. Press “Ctrl+F” to start the process finder.
    4. Type the search query “#vid” and press “Search”.
    5. Repeat the following for each matching item:
      • Double click on the process name.
      • Wait until the app highlights the “process” in the main window.
      • Right-click on the highlighed process, select “Kill Process Tree” and confirm your action.
    6. Open Webcam Checker and try again to check your webcam.
    7. If the issue still persists, go to step 2.d, replace “#vid” with “Video” and follow the instructions.
       
  3. If the above did not fix your issue, you can try some other solutions, but be aware that the following require the skills of an experienced user who understands what he is doing. Therefore, I strongly recommend not continuing if you have no experience in system recovery, because if something goes wrong you will have to fix yourself another, more troublesome issue.
    1. Try to remove imaging device filters using the imaging_delete_filters.bat script (you must run it as administrator). Since it affects all image capture devices, digital cameras and scanners, this script creates a registry backup so you can revert any changes. Once the script is finished, try again to check your webcam. If you still have the issue, try to reboot your PC then try to recheck your webcam.
       
    2. Try to reset imaging device filters using the imaging_UpperFilters.reg file. All you have to do is run the file and make sure that you get the “The keys and values contained in imaging_UpperFilters.reg have been successfully added to the registry” message. After that try again to check your webcam. If you still have the issue, try to reboot your PC then try to recheck your webcam.
       
    3. Try to reset webcam driver as follows:
      • Press Win+R, type “devmgmt.msc”, and press Enter.
      • Expand the “Imaging Devices”.
      • Right-click on your webcam, choose the “Uninstall” option, and confirm your action.
      • Reboot your PC and try again to check your webcam.

 


168 comments about the page “Your webcam is used by another application on Windows”

  1. radvin,
    hi help me plz
    1. Kakemake ,
      agreed....
    2. Parvez,
      my web cam in not wroking
      1. jay-arr villarin,
        thank you so much its working God bless you :)
      2. gloria,
        I already uninstall the other apps like OBS from my PC. And still i am getting the error that my webcam is used b another application. How do I address this? Please help.
    3. rakib,
      i can not open my web cam
    4. Muzaffar,
      please check my camera
      1. Praveen,
        pleeze kindly chek my camera ok its not working ok i need ur help
      2. seema,
        my web camera not working error is showing that another app already using your camera
    5. kompon,
      hi help me my webcamp is not work
      1. ANSHU KUMARI,
        SIR I NEED HELP TO SUPPORT MY WEBCAMP
    6. ebrar,
      my error camera
    7. geetharani,
      please help to me
    8. USB\VID_18EC&PID_3366&REV_0100&MI_00,
      USB\VID_18EC&PID_3366&REV_0100&MI_00
  2. neha ,
    I WANT HELP
  3. Anna,
    my pc still not working.
    1. Agrawal,
      try restarting
    2. Praveen,
      got it, what about the camera, is it workin?
    3. ustad,
      anna my webcame not working plz help me
    4. Abdullah,
      Same here ..
  4. sundari,
    my webcam is not opening ,but i have to write test now,can you plz help me?
    1. shobhit gupta,
      Restart your pc then start your camera.
      1. KARTHIKEYA,
        you can check devies in your computer
    2. Sreekanth,
      Hello madam, i too have the same problem. have you cleared your problem. if so please help me too. thanks in advance.
  5. Avneet Kaur,
    I am still not able to access camera
    1. tanish,
      right same with me
  6. suji,
    my hp pc work on fire fox but not with microsoft edge and chrom
  7. aishwarya ag vishwas ag ,
    webcam is not yet working
    1. Aryan Kapoor,
      web cam is not working
      1. microsoft expert,
        Same my dosn't works
  8. Harsha,
    In process explorer, some error is showing when I try to select the kill process tree option can you help me with that?
    1. Teo,
      Hi, im having the same problem. Were you able to fix it?
    2. sahith,
      bro, is your issue solved? i am the facing now what you did bro to resolve your issue
      1. Deep,
        IS your issue solved? i have same problem.if solved how you do it.
  9. Kavyasri,
    My webcam got blocked .I found it and uninstalled but its still not working. I recommend you that don't use Cyber You Cam ,orelse you would also be suffering from the same problem
  10. GABRIEL AMADO,
    MI WEB CAMERA IS NOT WORKING
  11. randomerrzzz,
    It is saying that my webcam is being blocked and cannot be used .
  12. Paul Wright,
    None of the above steps helped
  13. Student,
    DONT WORK!! NEED HELP!!
  14. RITESH,
    DONT WORK NEED HELP
    1. murali,
      it is telling that camera antivirus software is block and driver is not up to date
      1. ashgar ali,
        not working
  15. joan,
    my web dosnt work.. it says that it is blocked and used by other application. pls. help
  16. Archana,
    In my laptop the after installing the process explorer .I have run as admin but after that when i cannot see the how to stop the application tht is used by my web cam can please help out of this problem
  17. José Silvestre,
    I found a resolution. Verify your antivirus. he is blocking the access to the webcam.
  18. ok,
    my webcam is not opening ,but i have to write test now,can you plz help me?
  19. P.F.Concolor,
    What does the webcam checker error "The video track is paused." indicate? I receive the "your webcam is being used or blocked by another application" error when attempting to test the integrated camera on my Lenovo T495s (windows 10). When I try to test the external webcam (which works on my Windows 7 PC) I get the "The video track is paused." error. Would like to know what circumstances generate that error in your application.
  20. mommy,
    my cambera ij nott workingu, plij halp me
  21. IQRA,
    sir my webcam has blocked by anaother app. and i can not see the how to stop the application please sir help me
    1. john ,
      i love you
  22. nihal,
    why my webcam is not working
  23. 2131,
    It is saying that my webcam is being blocked and cannot be used .
  24. ANUSHA,
    It is saying that my webcam is being blocked and used by other person.so please help to recover, so that i can attend the test
    1. sidling ,
      i love you
      1. F OFF,
        Cringe BKL
  25. ASHIK,
    My webcam has been blocked please help me to allow my webcam
  26. kalash,
    help me plis
  27. Michelle,
    That worked, thank you!!
  28. ashok vats,
    web cemra is very good pleace sport my computer
  29. yanilka kasun,
    My webcam has been blocked please help me to allow my webcam
  30. yj,
    cannot kill process tree, 'access is denied'. how can this be resolved, please?
    1. FHMI,
      I GOT SAME PROBLEM TOO PLEASE HELP US ADMINNNN
      1. Administrator,
        Hello! Please run the Process Explorer as administrator according to the instructions.
        1. Navin,
          That did't helped. It's showing "System" when searched for "#vid" and if I do "kill process tree" it says "error opening interrupts: The parameter is incorrect" and also "Error opening smss.exe: Access is denied"; "Error opening System: Access is denied". Could u please help out?
          1. Supreeth,
            Can someone please help with this, I am facing the same issue.
          2. swamy,
            same problem ,how to resolve it
        2. Janani,
          You are the administrator . Very shame of you
        3. KESHAVI MWAHHH,
          Very shame of you
        4. KESHAVI MWAHHH,
          Administrator
  31. Phyllis Chia,
    My webcam has been blocked please help me to allow my webcam
  32. Vivek jadhav,
    Apparently, your webcam is being used or blocked by another application. To start your webcam, you must temporarily close that application. above error how to solve
    1. Ritikesh kumar ,
      Please provide solutions
  33. Chris Meek,
    It is excellent- but the "safer" methods didn't work.
  34. harsha,
    webcame block
  35. Ayush Raj,
    How do we connect our Lapcare web cam?
  36. grace sarmiento,
    my webcam block how can i fix
  37. Rahman M.,
    Sometimes Antivirus software or any other software can block web camera action.
  38. ramesh,
    My web cam is not open please help me
  39. LIPSA,
    my webcam still not working after using process exploler... what to do
  40. Karla1217,
    I have followed all of the above instructions except the ones where you have to be very experienced, cause I'm afraid of doing something wrong, and nothing has worked. When I right-click on procexp.exe it does not give me the option to "run as an administrator", so when I go to the list, it won't allow me to kill the tree.
  41. jugraj,
    my web cam not working
  42. yanilka kasun,
    My Webcam is not working
  43. INDHUMATHI,
    My webcam is not working and i will not go to test page
  44. bk,
    Check vendor specific update software (mine was Samsung update). After checking for updates it showed "usb webcam driver" needed to be updated. This was not an option on windows update. This fix my problem.
  45. Akash,
    If you are not seeing any #vid entry, other possibility can be that your antivirus is blocking Camera access for your browser. In my case, NOD32 was blocking Camera. I have to go to Advance setup -> Device Control -> Web camera -> Edit rules. Hope it helps.
    1. Emkay,
      Akash sir, where is the advance seup located? Care to elaborate? tank you
  46. manish,
    i do this procees but there no matching,not working webcam
  47. joseph,
    my camera isn't working
  48. prasann kumar,
    my cemera is not working
  49. basar,
    Mine was also got blocked and tried process explorer as the instructions but did not work. Then found out that Kaspersky was blocking it. letting it "allow" in settings, things are ok now
  50. omkar,
    my camera is not working properly
  51. S.Sai Rakshana,
    Hi,I cant Make process explorer as administater and its not free it asks to pay after 40 day trail can you suggest some more apps?
  52. shehriyar ,
    Not working Even i Didn't found the #vid and Even VLC on the Menu Bar?
  53. Terms Mind,
    Not working Even i Didn't found the #vid and Even VLC on the Menu Bar?
  54. sunjit kumar,
    camera bot working
  55. Lee Zhi Yann ,
    camera failed
  56. Lisa Boyle,
    Attempted to reset and most of steps and still no camera. Please help. Says in use by another app.
  57. Noman ,
    MY NEW CAMRA UMAX AND NO DRIVER WINDOWS 7 PLEAS TEST MY CAMRA
  58. Ashutosh,
    hey, I am trying to check the camera performance but it is not working. No other application is using my camera, still no visuals appear on screen.
  59. Ferlin,
    TYSM, its working!!!
    1. steve,
      How did you get it to work
  60. aswani,
    Apparently, your webcam is being used or blocked by another application. To start your webcam, you must temporarily close that application. above error how to solve
  61. Phalguni,
    My webcam is blocked by another application. Please help me out since I've to take a test
  62. suresh doifode,
    My webcam is blocked by another application. Please help me out since I've to take a test
  63. divya,
    my webcame blocked by some applications.help mee
    1. Saqlain,
      Same Here Any Solution???
  64. SPR,
    same here any solution
  65. Aykhan,
    I searched vid or video but nothing find.
  66. Kore ijō nyūryoku suru hitsuyō wa arimasen,
    its not working
  67. ASHRUL.K,
    CAMERA WEBPAGE IS NOT ACCEPTING
  68. Chautauqua C.,
    Can not get my webcam to pass the test
  69. SuRaVi,
    cannot acess my test because of webcam
  70. Tony,
    When I plugin my webcam it starts connecting and disconnecting in rapid succession with the corrsponding sounds. Then the dreaded 0xA00F4271 error comes up. I've spent most of a day trying to fix the problem, I've tried everything suggested on the web. Webcam is fine, it works on my sister's PC. This is so frustrating.
  71. Parth,
    Really helpful, uninstalling the device then rebooting worked for me.
  72. kothapalli sarath chandra,
    My camera is not working
    1. Janani Jayapragash,
      Who created this website ?? They didn't help us anymore.
      1. danish,
        looking through the comments aimlessly to find something useful lol
  73. dai phu thinh,
    the cam erorr help me pls
  74. Rajesh rocky ,
    This webcam is no supporting in the systwm windows 10 and internet explorer also.....
  75. bhavana,
    My camera is not working
  76. sarath,
    CAMERA IS NOT WORKING
  77. Ming,
    Camera is not working. I can not find what is opening.
  78. sad :(,
    i do all of works but it doesnt work
  79. sunil,
    my web camera not working error is showing that another app already using your camera
    1. Janani Jayapragash,
      Mine also works like that. I don't know what to do.
  80. nishant ,
    my camera is not working and #vid also not work in process explorer /there is no application came which already blocked my webcam by another application ... please reply
  81. rohit,
    my web camera not working error is showing that another app already using your camera
  82. janeugene suangco,
    camera sometimes doesnt connect//most of the time its got a dim light but no authentication.
  83. luis,
    i had to uninstall my antivirus program to make my camera work
  84. farzaneh ghavidel,
    my camera is bot workng
  85. arun kumar,
    Sir My webcam has been blocked . SIR I Request you please help me . open my webcam Thank You Sir so much ..Thank God..
  86. priyanka,
    Hi sir my web cam is not working
  87. SDambelleh,
    my webcam not working
  88. Suraj,
    still, my camera isn't working what should do now?
  89. fife,
    anyone ever get a soution for this? even repaired windows 10 and reinstaled...no avail.That did't helped. It's showing "System" when searched for "#vid" and if I do "kill process tree" it says "error opening interrupts: The parameter is incorrect" and also "Error opening smss.exe: Access is denied"; "Error opening System: Access is denied". Could u please help out?
    1. danish,
      i know this is a old post but u cant kill or terminate the system
  90. Alan,
    Same issues as previous users reports. System process is using the camera so I can't access the camera on other apps. Did not find a solution yet. My laptop is a Lenovo
  91. anand ,
    my camera is on but its blank cant capture
  92. abhilesh,
    very good sir camra is very imported
  93. nichitha,
    sir,i need help my webcam is not working. I had check your vedio in that while checking "#vid" is not present in my laptop .What i have to do now?
  94. Prodhan,
    I can solve my problem by watching the video, thanks you a lot.
    1. Cami,
      Puedes ayudarme?, realmente tengo dudas
  95. Cami,
    Cuando busco el #vid, me aparecen 7 procesos?, cual de ellos debo poner, todos me aparecen en system
  96. Sukant,
    Hi, My webcam is not working and the process I searched by the proceexplorer is System. And its not allowing me to kill the process. Could you please help me what to do?
  97. cassidy rhaine maiquez,
    My webcam has been blocked please help me to allow my webcam
  98. adrian tapia,
    my webcam has been blocked by another application.how can i closed the application?i need help please.
  99. Arlydave,
    help me pls
  100. prema,
    my web camera not working error is showing that another app already using your camera
  101. sai sharath B,
    my camera not working and showing that another app is using your camera
  102. k tala tryiokj ijjnjn ,
    kkkk good exvelent
  103. anil kumar gupta,
    my system is not open what problm pls help sir fast
  104. Janani Jayapragash,
    I can't use my webcam for any video recordings. what can I do?
  105. Sharva Kombe,
    My webcam is not open.
  106. Saili patil,
    my webcam is not working showing an error it is blocked.
  107. Scott,
    Please help me
  108. computer guys,
    try switch off your antivirus program it works here
  109. kiran,
    mera laptop ka camera nie ha plz help me to find the camera
  110. catalin,
    I need help
  111. vishal,
    my webcam is not working showing an error it is blocked.
  112. krishankant,
    my web cam is not working.
  113. pasupureddi uma shankar,
    I am unable to delete the tree it was showing permission required window
  114. kjbhjkhkjbjk,
    hjhijlhkjhkj;
  115. jiohjohohj,
    jkojk;ohjoj
  116. ANKUSH,
    NOT # VID FOLDAR
  117. kv,
    i followed the step1 and killed the process tree but there is process named as System which is using my webcam as showed in process.exe but i can't delete that process as ACCESS IS DENIED showing what to do in that case
  118. umang,
    my wapcam not working
  119. kanneppagari yoganandha2004@gmail.com,
    my web cam is not working
  120. mdmahin2583@gmail.com,
    my web cam is not working

Add new comment