Skip to content

Webcam test

Your camera preview appears here

Nothing is recorded and nothing is uploaded. The video stays in this browser tab.

Live preview 0 bytes uploaded

Free · No sign-up

Webcam test

One tap, one browser prompt, and you get a score with anything worth fixing.

  • Works on Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge
  • Front and rear cameras on phones
  • Revoke access any time from the address bar

Nothing is uploaded or recorded — the video stays in this tab.How this works

Nothing uploaded

Test your webcam on Windows 11

Windows has two layers between your camera and the browser — system privacy settings and the driver — and either can block it silently. Run the test below; if it fails, the fixes are in order of how often they work.

Nothing uploadedNo sign-upFree

Best webcam under ₹3,000

Affiliate links

Under ₹3,000, the Lenovo 300 FHD is the best all-round 1080p webcam for calls, with a wide 95° lens and two mics. The eMeet C950 costs less and keeps the frame tight on you, and the Razer Kiyo is the one to buy for a dark room because it has its own ring light.

  • Budget · Under ₹2,000

    eMeet C950 1080p webcam

    The least you need to spend for 1080p, with a privacy cover and a tight frame that shows you rather than the room.

    See it on Amazon India

  • Mid-range · Under ₹2,500

    Lenovo 300 FHD webcam

    The all-rounder: a wide lens, two mics, a long cable and a tripod thread, from a laptop maker.

    See it on Amazon India

  • Best for dark rooms · Under ₹3,000

    Razer Kiyo webcam with ring light

    A webcam and a light in one: the ring around the lens lights your face evenly, which is what a dark room needs most.

    See it on Amazon India
Read the full buying guide

Picked from Amazon.in best sellers rated 4 stars or more. Spolvero may earn a commission.

The short answer

On Windows 11, open this page and select Test my camera. If no camera is found, check Settings → Privacy & security → Camera and turn on both 'Let apps access your camera' and 'Let desktop apps access your camera', then look for a physical privacy switch or lens cover on the laptop.

How to use it

Three steps, about three seconds

  1. Step 1: Open the test

    Open the Spolvero webcam test in the browser you use for calls.

  2. Step 2: Allow the camera

    Select Test my camera and choose Allow when the browser asks for camera access.

  3. Step 3: Read the result

    Your live preview appears with a readiness score, plus resolution, frame rate and lighting checks and a fix for anything marked amber or red.

Get a better picture

Four things worth doing before you join

  • Only one app at a time

    Windows generally hands the camera to one app at a time. Zoom or Teams sitting in the system tray is the single most common reason a browser camera test shows nothing.

  • Look for the taskbar camera dot

    When the camera is live, Windows 11 shows a small indicator in the taskbar corner. Hovering it names the app that holds the camera, which saves guessing.

  • Privacy switches are physical

    Many Lenovo, HP and Dell laptops have a sliding lens cover or an F-key with a camera icon that cuts the camera at the hardware level. No software fix will get past one.

  • Roll a driver back before updating it

    If the camera broke after a Windows update, Device Manager → Cameras → right-click → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver fixes it more often than searching for a newer one.

Troubleshooting

If the camera didn't start

Open the one that matches what the test told you — these are the steps for Windows. If the test detected the problem, that section is already open.

Windows puts two layers above the browser, and either can refuse the camera without the browser saying which one did it.

  1. 1Select the camera icon in the address bar, set Camera to Allow, then reload.
  2. 2Open Settings → Privacy & security → Camera. Turn on 'Camera access' and 'Let apps access your camera', then confirm your browser is listed and switched on.
  3. 3Scroll down to 'Let desktop apps access your camera'. Browsers do not need it; Zoom and Teams do, which is why a camera can work here and not in them.
Every browser and operating system

On Windows this is a hardware switch, a privacy setting or a driver, in that order of likelihood.

  1. 1Look for a sliding lens cover, or an F-key with a camera icon. Many Lenovo, HP and Dell laptops cut the camera at hardware level and no software fix gets past one.
  2. 2Open Device Manager and expand Cameras. A yellow warning triangle means a driver problem.
  3. 3If the camera broke shortly after a Windows update, right-click → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver. That works more often than searching for a newer one.
Every browser and operating system

Windows generally hands the camera to one application at a time, and an app sitting in the system tray still counts as running.

  1. 1Hover the camera indicator in the taskbar corner. Windows names the app holding the camera, which is usually the entire diagnosis.
  2. 2Expand the hidden tray icons near the clock, right-click the app and choose Quit or Exit. If it still holds the camera, end it in Task Manager.
  3. 3If nothing is listed at all, a crashed app may have left an orphaned process holding it. Signing out and back in clears that; a restart certainly does.
Every browser and operating system

If the Windows Camera app shows a picture and the browser does not, the camera is fine and something between the two is not.

  1. 1Open the Windows Camera app to confirm the hardware works, then come back here. A failure in both points below the browser.
  2. 2Switch camera in the picker above. A virtual camera left behind by OBS, Camo or NVIDIA Broadcast is often selected by default and produces nothing.
  3. 3If the picture is dark rather than black, that is light: face a window or a lamp, and move a bright window out from behind you.
Every browser and operating system
What your results mean

What each app actually needs

Resolution and frame rate each app sends, from their own published requirements, checked September 2026.

Minimum and recommended webcam resolution and frame rate for common video call apps
AppMinimumLooks good atWorth knowing
Zoom640×360 at 30fps1280×720 at 30fpsZoom sends 360p by default; turn on HD in Settings → Video.
Microsoft Teams640×360 at 30fps1280×720 at 30fpsTeams caps most calls at 720p regardless of your camera.
Google Meet640×360 at 30fps1280×720 at 30fps1080p needs a paid Workspace plan and a 1080p camera.
Twitch / OBS1280×720 at 30fps1920×1080 at 60fps60fps only helps if your upload and encoder can keep up.

Above 1080p at 30fps there is nothing more to gain for a meeting: mainstream call apps will not send it.

Someone on a video call at a desk, holding a mug
Video uploaded0 bytes
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Before the call

Two minutes now beats an apology later

Most people discover a camera problem in the first thirty seconds of a meeting, in front of everyone. Checking beforehand costs nothing and takes about as long as opening the meeting link.

Privacy

How this tool handles your camera

A camera test that uploads your face would defeat the point. This one cannot.

Read the site privacy policy
  • Your browser opens the camera and hands the stream to this page. The page shows it in a video element and samples it on a canvas — both are in your own tab.
  • There is no upload code, no recording and no server that could receive video. Nothing is stored in your browser either.
  • Permission is per-site and per-browser, and you can withdraw it any time from the address bar.
  • Close the tab and the camera stops. The indicator light goes out because the stream really has ended.
FAQ

Questions people ask

Anything we've missed?

Tell us

How do I test my webcam on Windows 11 without installing anything?

Use this page — it runs in Edge, Chrome and Firefox and needs no download. Windows also ships a Camera app, but it shows the picture without reporting resolution, frame rate or lighting.

Windows Camera app works but the browser doesn't.

That is a browser permission, not a hardware fault. Select the camera icon in the address bar and set Camera to Allow, then reload.

The browser works but Zoom or Teams doesn't.

Turn on 'Let desktop apps access your camera' in Settings → Privacy & security → Camera. Browsers are covered by the app setting above it; desktop apps need this separate one.

My webcam shows a black screen on Windows.

Check the lens cover and the camera kill switch first, then close every other app that might hold the camera, then roll back the camera driver in Device Manager.

Related reading

Guides worth reading

Test your camera for something specific

More device tests, and what to record with

Same idea, same privacy. Nothing you test or record leaves your device.

Built by Spolvero studio. We design apps and websites for other people too.

Need an app designed?