Tuesday, May 12, 2020

How to allow apps access to the camera and microphone on a Windows 10 computer


In this time of quarantine, telework and virtual proms, more and more people are turning to apps like Zoom or Teams to stay connected. Collaboration and videoconferencing apps like those two are generally fairly easy to use, but they will need access to your computer's camera and microphone to fully function.

Your computer may already be set up with the necessary permissions, in which case you only need to launch the app to get connected with friends, family or coworkers. However, if Zoom or another app is prompting you to enable access to your camera and/or microphone, the steps below will walk you through setting up that access on a Windows 10 computer.

Camera:

- In the search bar on the Windows taskbar, type "camera". (If you don't see the search bar, press the Windows key.)
- Click on "Camera privacy settings" in the search results.
- Under "Allow apps to access your camera" there will be a slide bar that is either set to Off or On. If it's set to On, you're already set up to allow apps like Zoom to use your webcam. If it's set to Off, click it so it changes to On.
- Scroll down to "Allow desktop apps to access your camera" and make sure that setting is also set to On.

Microphone:

- In the search bar on the Windows taskbar, type "microphone". (If you don't see the search bar, press the Windows key.)
- Click on "Microphone privacy settings" in the search results.
- Under "Allow apps to access your microphone" there will be a slide bar that is either set to Off or On. If it's set to On, you're already set up to allow apps like Zoom to use your microphone. If it's set to Off, click it so it changes to On.
- Scroll down to "Allow desktop apps to access your microphone" and make sure that setting is also set to On.


Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

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