Webcam not Working

Womanofword4

I have the Inspiron 7000 Model and have not been able to get my Webcam to work.  I just get a black screen.  The audio sound works.

TSTonyV

Hello @Womanofword4! Welcome to the community. 

When you attempt to use the webcam, does it actually display an error message saying it can't find the camera or something along those lines? If it's not, it's possible that there's just some kind of flap/screen covering the camera. Some laptops will include a privacy cover you can move out of the way for a webcam, though I'm not sure if Dell does this or not. 

Check the function keys on the top row of your keyboard and see if any of them have a camera icon. If so, press that function key and see if the camera will turn on. If it doesn't, try pressing FN + that function key and see if that works. Normally there's a light next to the webcam that will come on when the camera is active.

If that doesn't do it, right-click your start button and go to Device Manager. Check for a "Camera" category and if you see one, expand it and uninstall the webcam. If you don't see a Camera category, check for "Imaging Devices" and "Human Interface Devices" and see if either of those have a webcam listed, and uninstall it if so. After that restart the computer. 

If there is no webcam listed in Device Manager, we'd want to check Dell's website to see if they have webcam drivers available, but without knowing exactly which Inspiron 7000 model you have I can't provide the link. You could go to Dell's website yourself and it can auto-detect your model: https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04?app=drivers

Workingmom

My son's laptop has a similar problem.  The screen got cracked slightly. Then the camera on web calls would start to jump.  Now, it's just a solid black screen. No message. No image. No jump or fuzzy pattern. Nothing.  How can I get it repaired at our local store?

TSPhillipT

Hello @Workingmom, welcome to the Micro Center Community!

Just to double check, the screen on your sons laptop is cracked, the webcam was acting a bit weird after and then the webcam stopped working completely?  I recommend trying the steps TSTonyV recommended above first.  Since there is hardware damage on the laptop however, it is possible the webcam is broken and if the steps TSTonyV did not help you, you can bring the laptop to our service desk and our Service Desk can begin working on the laptop.