applelover1118

Q: My FaceTime camera is not working in El Capitan (Thunderbolt Display)

Anyone know how to activate FaceTime camera on my Thunderbolt Display, every time I try, it says "No Camera Available - To use FaceTime Turn on the camera"??

I do not see an option to "turn on camera" anywhere?

Any help??

Posted on Oct 2, 2015 12:06 PM

Close

Q: My FaceTime camera is not working in El Capitan (Thunderbolt Display)

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 of 3 last Next
  • by EZ Jim,

    EZ Jim EZ Jim Oct 3, 2015 10:21 AM in response to applelover1118
    Level 7 (22,547 points)
    Oct 3, 2015 10:21 AM in response to applelover1118

    Camera is controlled by the apps that use it.  Launch the app.  More info: OS X El Capitan: Use the built-in camera

  • by jayv.,

    jayv. jayv. Oct 3, 2015 10:25 AM in response to applelover1118
    Level 4 (1,290 points)
    Oct 3, 2015 10:25 AM in response to applelover1118

    As soon as you start the FaceTime application the camera should activate. Try the Photo Booth application as well. If neither one of these applications activate the camera something might be wrong. The easiest fix can often be the bright one, try restarting your mac and reconnecting the cables.

  • by bigdave1357,

    bigdave1357 bigdave1357 Oct 5, 2015 10:16 AM in response to applelover1118
    Level 1 (15 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 5, 2015 10:16 AM in response to applelover1118

    I have this exact same problem - the Thunderbolt and internal cameras are not being detected.

     

    This has started to happen only since installation of El Capitan. I also use a pair of MM-1 USB speakers and they are also not detected.

     

    I have found that this seems to occur only if after the MacBook has been disconnected from the Thunderbolt. If you reboot your MacBook everything will work normally, including all cameras and audio devices. Then disconnect from the Thunderbolt and when you reconnect - everything fails - until you reboot again.

     

    Gotta be a bug in El Capital related to Thunderbolt and USB/audio/multimedia.

     

    See also my own post here: El Capitan intermittent USB multi-media

  • by tbrumleve,Apple recommended

    tbrumleve tbrumleve Oct 7, 2015 5:02 PM in response to applelover1118
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 7, 2015 5:02 PM in response to applelover1118

    I had this same problem - the fix was super easy:

     

    Open FaceTime - go to the Menu -> Video -> Select "Facetime Camera HD (Display)".   For some reason it was stuck on the internal camera, and didn't automatically select the display camera after the El Capitan 10.11 upgrade.

  • by bigdave1357,

    bigdave1357 bigdave1357 Oct 8, 2015 12:32 AM in response to tbrumleve
    Level 1 (15 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 8, 2015 12:32 AM in response to tbrumleve

    TThe problem is that this will keep occurring. Your suggestion to fix the problem does not cure the issue long term. As soon as I disconnect from the thunderbolt and then connect, the audio and video are screwed up again.

  • by tbrumleve,

    tbrumleve tbrumleve Oct 8, 2015 12:49 AM in response to bigdave1357
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 8, 2015 12:49 AM in response to bigdave1357

    Thanks, bigdave1357 - You're right, I didn't test the disconnect / reconnect.   I suggest everyone post feedback or open a support ticket to alert Apple of the issue.   At least we know where to look & correct the issue.   It's not major, but it's a PITA

  • by bigdave1357,

    bigdave1357 bigdave1357 Oct 8, 2015 1:16 AM in response to tbrumleve
    Level 1 (15 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 8, 2015 1:16 AM in response to tbrumleve

    Hi tbrumleve - you're right about the PITA. At the moment I'm rebooting my Macbook every time I reconnect it to a Thunderbolt display. I have one at my home office and one at work and I run a fair few virtual machines so rebooting is not as quick as you might expect. This is a big PITA for me - going from having a portable workhorse that I can disconnect and move around wherever I need, to having to perform a fairly major series of reboots every time I want to relocate.

     

    And for me it isn't just the camera problem - audio and other USB peripherals are also being affected by the Thunderbolt disconnect issue.

     

    You're right that a quick for at least for the video is to just reselect the camera, but for some of the problems I'm seeing there seems to be no quick fix - nothing I can do at the command line, no service I can restart. I just have to reboot the whole platform.

  • by EZ Jim,

    EZ Jim EZ Jim Oct 8, 2015 8:14 AM in response to bigdave1357
    Level 7 (22,547 points)
    Oct 8, 2015 8:14 AM in response to bigdave1357

    bigdave1357 wrote:... for me it isn't just the camera problem - audio and other USB peripherals are also being affected ...

     

    To be certain that responsible Apple personnel see your issue, report here:  http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

     

     

    Message was edited by: EZ Jim

     

    Mac OSX 10.11

  • by TiagoMC,Apple recommended

    TiagoMC TiagoMC Oct 13, 2015 7:54 AM in response to applelover1118
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 13, 2015 7:54 AM in response to applelover1118

    I had the exact same problem on my 2011 MBP 15'', as soon as I upgraded from Yosemite to El Capitan, the built-in FaceTime HD camera did not activate both in the FaceTime application and Photo Booth.

     

    This worked for me:

     

    Go to: Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type the following (without the " " ): "sudo killall VDCAssistant" hit enter, type your password and hit enter again.

    Restart your mac.

     

    This should fix your problem with the built-in FaceTime HD camera.

  • by madmolf,

    madmolf madmolf Oct 22, 2015 3:04 AM in response to TiagoMC
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 22, 2015 3:04 AM in response to TiagoMC

    I confirm it solves the problem on iMacs as well. I didn't even need to restart for the repair to take place.

    Thank you TiagoMC

  • by 96Stu,

    96Stu 96Stu Oct 24, 2015 5:02 AM in response to TiagoMC
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Notebooks
    Oct 24, 2015 5:02 AM in response to TiagoMC

    I did this yesterday and the camera worked.

    Now this morning Safari is not working.

  • by rlandersen,Helpful

    rlandersen rlandersen Oct 24, 2015 3:58 PM in response to TiagoMC
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 24, 2015 3:58 PM in response to TiagoMC

    When I do this I got "No matching processes were found".

    Didn't work. No camera.

  • by bigdave1357,

    bigdave1357 bigdave1357 Oct 26, 2015 10:59 AM in response to applelover1118
    Level 1 (15 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 26, 2015 10:59 AM in response to applelover1118

    This has been working well for me.

    I've since applied the latest 10.11.1 patch to El Capitan and now the workaround is doing nothing.

    I was hoping that the patch would fix the problem but it seems to have broken the workaround!

     

    C'mon Apple - we need this to be fixed. I currently have to reboot my Macbook overtime I disconnect from the Thunderbolt display.

  • by EZ Jim,

    EZ Jim EZ Jim Oct 26, 2015 12:41 PM in response to bigdave1357
    Level 7 (22,547 points)
    Oct 26, 2015 12:41 PM in response to bigdave1357

    As a new user, please understand that you are NOT directly addressing Apple here.  For more info about Apple discussions, start here: http://discussions.apple.com/static/apple/tutorial/etiquette.html 

     

    You can send feedback directly to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

     

    You will not get a response, but you can be certain that the responsible Apple people will see your input for consideration in future product development.

     

    (If you bought your Mac locally, your retailer may be able to help you with your issues.)

     

     

     

    Message was edited by: EZ Jim

     

    Mac OSX 10.11.1

Page 1 of 3 last Next