Fix · Zoom

Zoom camera not working, or video showing a black screen

When Zoom shows no video, it has usually picked the wrong camera, been blocked by the computer or by security software, or needs a clean reinstall.

What you are seeing

In a Zoom meeting your video stays off, shows a black box, or Zoom says it cannot start your video — even though the camera works in other apps.

The likely causes, most common first

Work down the list; most people find theirs in the first two.

1. Zoom is using a different camera

  1. A laptop with a webcam plugged in, a docking station or a phone used as a webcam all count as cameras. Click the arrow next to Start Video and choose the one you mean.
  2. Virtual cameras from other apps show up in the same list; pick your real camera, not one of those.

Zoom: “Your device might have more than one camera.” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

2. Switching cameras mid-meeting

  1. You do not have to leave the meeting to change camera: use the arrow next to Start / Stop Video. Zoom also has a keyboard shortcut, Alt+N, to switch to the next camera.

Zoom: “You can also select a camera by clicking the arrow next to Start / Stop Video” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

3. The computer has not allowed Zoom the camera

  1. On a Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera, and switch zoom.us on. On Windows: Settings → Privacy & security → Camera, and let desktop apps use it. Then quit and reopen Zoom.

Zoom: “Your device’s or security software might be preventing Zoom from accessing your camera.” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

4. Security software is blocking it

  1. If Zoom sees your camera but shows black, antivirus or network-security software may be blocking it. Look for a camera or webcam-protection setting in that software and allow Zoom — or ask your IT team, if it is a work computer.

Zoom: “This may be due to anti-virus or network security applications blocking Zoom's access to your camera” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

5. Zoom sees the camera, but the picture is black

  1. Close any other app that might be holding the camera — FaceTime, Teams, a browser tab with a call — then stop and start your video in Zoom.
  2. Still black? Zoom’s own help points first to security software, as in the step above.

Zoom: “If Zoom recognizes your selected video camera, but your video shows up as a black screen” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

6. Zoom itself needs a clean install

  1. If nothing else works, uninstall Zoom, download the newest version from Zoom’s own Download Center, and install it again before your next meeting.

Zoom: “download and install the latest version of the Zoom app.” — support.zoom.com/hc/en/article

Every quote above is from Zoom’s own help pages, read on 10 November 2026. Something changed? Tell us.

Other Zoom problems

Transcript missingZoom only writes an audio transcript for a meeting recorded to the cloud, on a paid account with the transcript setting on — and it arrives a while after the recording, in the host’s web portal.Recording missingA Zoom cloud recording belongs to the host and needs a paid licence; a computer recording only exists once it has converted on the computer that made it.Meeting ended after 40 minutesZoom ends meetings hosted on a free (Basic) licence at 40 minutes. When a paid account still cuts off at 40, the licence usually is not reaching the person hosting.Breakout rooms missingZoom breakout rooms have to be switched on for the account, can only be run by the host or a co-host from the desktop app, and are never caught by a cloud recording.No sound, or people cannot hear youIn Zoom, silence is usually a mute somewhere — yours, the host’s or a button on the headset — a microphone Zoom was never given permission to use, or the wrong device picked in the audio menu.Cannot join the meetingMost people who cannot get into a Zoom meeting have a link that will not open, a missing passcode, an out-of-date meeting ID, or a browser or app that needs replacing.

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