Whether it’s the camera light or your camera not working at all, it can be difficult to deal with camera problems. A good camera is efficient, dependable and it gets the job done, and you always want to implement the right features and systems. It’s a good idea to start with smaller fixes, and then go for the more complex solutions.
Quit the Camera process
The way you quit your Camera process on the Mac is simple. You go to the Terminal, and here you can type “sudo killall VDCAssistant”. Press Enter, then write “Type sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant”. In some cases you might have to use your admin password, but that’s about it. Restart the system and then this issue will be history.
Update your MacOS version
There are situations when your camera issues stem from not being up to date. If you overused the OS or it’s really old, it might not have vital updates. Those can lead to your camera not working. In that case, go to the Apple menu, System Settings and then you can perform a Software Update.
Use a Mac cleanup tool
Using such a tool can help mainly because it allows you to remove any apps or libraries that might interfere with your Camera. Use the tool often, it will remove all the unwanted stuff (Checkout this blog to learn how to free up space on a mac), while ensuring your device is running smoothly.
Try to remove the screen time limit
If you have a screen time limit, that might be why your camera doesn’t work. What you need to do here is to enter the Apple menu, System Settings, Content and Privacy, then select App Restrictions. In that panel you want to turn on the Allow Camera option.
Enter the System Report
One of the causes here is that the camera itself might not be seen in the System Report. Enter the System Settings, General and System Report, then you can see if the Camera appears in the Hardware section.
Provide camera access
In a few cases, your camera might not have access. Enter the System Settings and in the Privacy and Security panel, you want to ensure the Camera appears. You can choose what apps can access your camera. If they don’t work right now, most likely they lack camera access, so try to take that into account.
Modify the Camera app settings
These issues can also stem from the fact your camera app is not set up properly. Press Command+Comma, and here you want to enter Preferences to ensure you modify camera settings accordingly. For multi-camera setups, choose the right camera from that list.
Reinstall MacOS
Restarting or using any of the tips above will usually solve the problem. But if that’s not possible, the best approach is to reinstall your Operating System. In case the issue comes from any internal issues or libraries, a reinstallation of the operating system might actually help.
These ideas can be very helpful if you want to solve camera problems. Unfortunately, camera issues can be very common when it comes to MacOS, and that’s why we highly recommend trying these tips before you choose to do a complete reinstall. More often than not, a restart will be enough. However, any of the other options will be just as good!
