How to Fix a Non-Working Webcam in OBS

Evan Gower March 18, 2020

Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS for short, is a handy, free tool you can use to stream or record video. It works great for the most part, but you might encounter a hiccup here and there.

If your webcam stops working with OBS, you shouldn’t worry. We are here to show you how to fix all your webcam issues on OBS.

Read on and find out the simplest and most effective solutions to these tedious problems.

Quick Fixes

The simplest solution is to reboot OBS. Close it down and open it again. If the problem persists, try restarting your computer.

Try restarting OBS and see if your webcam works. If it is still not working, try disabling your antivirus or firewall software. Often, these programs are blocking your webcam from recording.

Additionally, you can delete OBS from your system and reinstall it. Here is an official, direct download link. Click on it and select your operating system (Mac, Linux, or Windows). Just follow the on-screen instructions for setup.

If none of the above works, you need to use advanced solutions for your problem.

Advanced Fixes

Before moving on to the advanced fixes, there is one more thing you should know. Your webcam can run solely in OBS. In other words, you can’t have multiple apps using your webcam at the same time. Think of Skype, Facetime, or any different app which may access your cam and prevent OBS from using it.

Close down all other apps, and try restarting OBS. If the problem persists, OBS might think that you are using your webcam in different software, even when you are not.

This issue occurs when you use your webcam in more than one Scene in OBS. Here is how to fix the problem:

Launch OBS on your computer.
Go to your Scenes and select the first scene.
Open your webcam settings, under the Source tab (double-click your cam’s device name).
Tick the Deactivate When Not Showing feature (it should show a checkmark).
Repeat the steps for every scene in OBS. Also, make sure to enable this option on your other sources (same webcam, but with different settings).

Tweak Webcam Settings

If you are still experiencing issues with your webcam in OBS, there is more tweaking to do. Use the steps to access your webcam settings in OBS, just like shown above. Instead of focusing on the deactivation option, look into the webcam configuration.

Adjust the camera resolution, FPS, video format, etc. Make sure that all of the values are in line with your camera’s capabilities. Setting resolution or frames per second to a higher value than supported on your webcam can cause issues.

Reinstall the Webcam

Here are some suggestions coming directly from OBS support. They say that a clean sweep of your webcam may do the trick. Here is how to reinstall your webcam:

Open the Device Manager on your computer.
Find your camera under the list of devices, and right-click it. Select Uninstall and disconnect your camera from your computer.
Wait a while, and reconnect your camera.
You can also update its drivers from the Device Manager. Right-click it and select Update Driver instead.
Reboot your computer.

After the reboot, try starting OBS again. Your webcam should work now.

Regular Updates Are Crucial

Regularly updating your drivers, programs, and the operating system will fix most of the issues on your computer. Also, consider checking your OS version, and get an update if it’s available.

Finally, if all else fails, contact OBS support and ask them for help. Have you managed to fix the problem? Which of the solutions worked for you? Feel free to add another solution if we’ve missed one.