Troubleshooting
Camera Is Being Used by Another App? Find It and Free It
When your camera is being used by another app, your browser can't get a picture because the webcam is still switched on for something else: a meeting app, another tab, or a virtual camera tool. Close that app completely, not just its window, then reload the page.
The hard part is working out which app it is. Below are the error messages you're likely to see, the usual culprits, how to check what's using the camera on each system, and when a restart is simply faster.
Error messages that mean your webcam is already in use
The wording depends on where you see it, but these all point to the same problem:
| Where you see it | Typical wording |
|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers | NotReadableError: Could not start video source |
| Firefox | NotReadableError: Failed to allocate videosource |
| Windows Camera app | Close other apps. It looks like another app is using the camera already. (0xA00F4243) |
| Meeting and video apps | Camera in use by another application, or camera unavailable |
| Omlet | Camera is busy. Another app might be using it. Close it and try again. |
Many websites show their own message or just a black preview. Omlet tries your camera and microphone separately, so if only the camera is taken you may see No camera found with a note that partners can still hear you.
The usual suspects
- Another browser tab: a video call, a webcam test page or a second copy of the same chat site. Chrome and Edge put a red dot on tabs using the camera.
- A different browser: Chrome holding the camera can block Edge or Firefox on Windows, even when the Chrome window is minimized.
- Meeting apps in the tray: Teams, Zoom, Discord, Slack and similar apps keep running after you close their windows, and occasionally keep the camera after a call.
- Virtual camera and effects tools: OBS, NVIDIA Broadcast, Elgato Camera Hub, webcam effects apps and maker camera utilities take the real camera and pass on their own feed.
- Camera and recording apps: the Windows Camera app, screen recorders, or any app you used to scan a code or take a photo.
- Leftovers from a crash: an app that froze mid-call can leave a background process with the camera still open.
How to see what's using the camera
Windows
On Windows 11, open Settings → Privacy & security → Camera and look under Recent activity to see which apps used the camera lately. Then click the ^ on the taskbar to show hidden icons and quit meeting or camera apps from there. For stubborn ones, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, select the app under Processes and click End task.
Mac
A green light beside the camera means it's on. On macOS Monterey and later, open Control Center: apps using the camera or microphone are listed at the top. Macs share the camera between apps more readily than Windows PCs, so this error is rarer there; when it happens, quit the listed app with Command-Q.
iPhone and Android
A green dot at the top of the screen means the camera is on. On iPhone, open Control Center to see which app is using it; on Android 12 and later, tap the dot or pull down Quick Settings. Then close that app from the app switcher or Recents.
Linux
In a terminal, run fuser /dev/video0 or lsof /dev/video0 to see the process ID holding the camera (use video1 and so on for other cameras), then close that program or end the process.
Free the camera, step by step
- Close every other tab that has used the camera, in every browser you have open.
- Quit meeting and camera apps from the system tray or menu bar, not just their windows.
- Turn off virtual camera tools, or set your browser to use the real webcam instead (how to change the camera your browser uses).
- For a USB webcam, unplug it, wait a few seconds and plug it back in.
- Reload the page, or press Try again on Omlet.
How to tell it worked: your preview appears, and on most laptops the camera light comes on as the page loads.
When restarting is quicker than hunting
Tracking down a hidden process can take longer than a restart. Skip straight to restarting your computer or phone if:
- you've closed everything and the camera light stays on, or the error doesn't change;
- the problem started after your computer woke from sleep;
- a USB webcam still reports in use after you unplugged it and plugged it back in;
- Task Manager or Control Center doesn't show anything obvious.
On Windows, choose Restart rather than Shut down. With Fast startup turned on, shutting down doesn't fully reset drivers the way a restart does.
If the camera is busy every time you turn on your computer, an app is probably starting with Windows and grabbing it. Check Settings → Apps → Startup and switch off camera tools you don't need.
If nothing is using it and the error stays
When nothing else is running and the error survives a restart, the camera may be disabled, blocked by a privacy setting, or failing. On a PC, see webcam not working on Windows; in Chrome, see Chrome camera fixes. A camera that starts but only shows black has different causes, covered in black screen on video chat.
Microphones can be held too. On Windows, an app with exclusive control of a mic can lock other apps out of it; microphone not working in browser shows how to turn that off.