Troubleshooting
How to Change the Camera Your Browser Uses
How to change the default camera in your browser depends on which browser you use. Chrome and Edge have a camera dropdown in their site settings plus a camera menu in the address bar during a call, Firefox lets you pick a camera in its permission prompt, and Safari follows the camera your Mac offers. After switching, reload the page.
A browser using the wrong camera is common once you have more than one: a built-in camera, a USB webcam, a phone working as a webcam, or a virtual camera from streaming or effects software. The same steps choose the right microphone.
Why your browser picks the wrong camera
Unless you choose otherwise, browsers use the camera set as the default, or simply the first one your system lists. These are the usual culprits:
- Virtual cameras. OBS Virtual Camera and video-effects tools add a camera that shows a blank screen or a logo when their software isn't running.
- Phones as webcams. On a Mac, Continuity Camera can switch to a nearby iPhone on its own. Phone webcam apps and phone-camera features on recent Windows versions add their own devices too.
- Monitors and docks. Some monitors and docking stations have built-in cameras that appear the moment you plug in.
- Infrared cameras. Laptops with face sign-in sometimes list an infrared camera, which looks dark, grainy or black in a browser.
- An old choice. The browser remembers a camera you picked months ago, even if that device is long gone.
Change camera in Chrome
Set the default camera
- Open chrome://settings/content/camera, or go to Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Camera.
- Choose your camera in the dropdown at the top. Recent versions may show a small preview.
- Do the same at chrome://settings/content/microphone for the mic.
- Reload the page that uses the camera.
Switch cameras during a call
When a page is using your camera, a camera icon appears at the right end of the address bar. Click it to see which camera and microphone the page is using and choose others, then reload if the picture doesn't switch. Recent versions can also show a camera choice with a live preview in the permission prompt itself. Layouts may differ slightly by version.
For the rest of a Chrome setup, see our guide to random video chat in Chrome.
Select webcam in Edge and other Chromium browsers
Microsoft Edge works like Chrome. Open edge://settings/content/camera (Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Camera), choose the camera in the dropdown at the top, and repeat for the microphone. The camera icon in the address bar during a call works the same way too.
Brave, Opera and Vivaldi are built on the same engine and have a similar camera dropdown in their site settings. Menu names may differ slightly by version.
Firefox: choose the camera when it asks
Firefox has no default camera setting in its menus. Instead, its permission prompt includes a dropdown listing your cameras and microphones, so you choose each time a site asks.
- If Firefox already remembers a choice, click the camera or permissions icon in the address bar and remove the permission with the small x.
- Reload the page so Firefox asks again.
- Pick the camera in the prompt's dropdown, then allow it.
Leave "Remember this decision" unticked while you experiment, so switching later is just a reload. If Firefox won't show a picture at all, see camera not working in Firefox.
Safari on Mac, iPhone and iPad
Safari has no camera dropdown in its settings. On a Mac it uses the camera the website requests, which is normally the built-in camera unless an external webcam or Continuity Camera takes over.
- Stop your iPhone from taking over: on the phone, open Settings → General → AirPlay & Continuity (AirPlay & Handoff on older iOS) and turn off Continuity Camera.
- Unplug external webcams you don't want to use, and quit apps that create virtual cameras.
- If a site has its own camera menu, use it; that choice wins over the default.
On an iPhone or iPad, each website chooses between the front and back cameras. On phones, Omlet uses the front camera, the one facing you.
Windows and Mac settings that shape the camera list
If a camera you never use keeps getting picked, taking it out of the list is often easier than choosing around it.
- Windows 11: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Cameras lists every camera, and on recent builds you can select one and turn it off. In Device Manager → Cameras, you can also right-click a camera and choose Disable device.
- Windows privacy: if no camera works in any browser, check Settings → Privacy & security → Camera and make sure desktop apps are allowed.
- Mac: there's no system-wide default camera setting. Unplug or turn off what you don't want, and check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera to see which apps may use it.
- Phone-as-webcam apps: quit them completely when you're done, since some keep their virtual camera in the list even when idle.
On Windows, a camera is usually usable by one app at a time. If the right camera is selected but the picture is black, close Zoom, Teams, Discord, OBS and the Camera app, then reload.
Browser using wrong camera? Quick reference
| Browser | Set a default | Change during a call |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Dropdown at chrome://settings/content/camera | Camera icon at the right of the address bar |
| Edge | Dropdown at edge://settings/content/camera | Camera icon in the address bar |
| Firefox | No default setting | Remove the permission, reload, pick in the prompt |
| Safari on Mac | Follows the system | Unplug or turn off the other camera |
| Phone browsers | The site picks front or back | Use the site's camera switch, if it has one |
If the camera you want doesn't appear in any list, the browser isn't the problem: see external webcam not detected. If one site clings to an old choice, clearing that site's data or permissions resets it. Once the right camera is set, random webcam chat on Omlet works with whichever one you choose.