Macbook Pro camera doesn't work. "No Video".

Hello, Laurii112.

Sorry to know you're having this problem with your MacBook Pro.

If you haven't rebooted into safe mode anytime recently you should try that to see if it helps. Let the Mac OS do drive directory repair, cache clearing and other misc housekeeping. Often just booting into safe mode and logging in, then immediately rebooting normally will resolve an issue.  You should do this with all your external peripherals disconnected but the keyboard and mouse.

Booting into Safe Mode… 

Use safe mode to isolate issues - Apple Support

What Safe mode does:

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
• Loads only required kernel extensions
• Prevents startup items and login items from opening automatically
• Disables user-installed fonts 
• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

Restarting in Safe mode can often eliminate a problem or help identify the cause.

You can verify that you have started in Safe mode by clicking the Apple () menu > About This Mac > System Report. Then find >Software< in the left column and look at >Boot Mode: Safe vs Normal< in the right pane.

Note– starting up in Safe mode could take 10 minutes or more. Be patient.

Does the problem persist while in Safe mode? 

Restart your Macintosh and re-evaluate the issue.

I went to the Genius Bar last week and the guy got me to reset my NVPRAM and now my camera works! Try this link:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Hope it works for all you having problems.

Make an appointment at your nearest Apple Genius Bar (if they are open) for a free diagnostic check.

In the meantime download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

ALSO IMPORTANT:



Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the root of the problem.

Hi, Lauri112.

Good Jobe getting your EC report posted.

I've taken a loo through it and unfortunately (fortunately?) it looks pretty clean. There is little that is reported that jumps out at me as a potential problem.

Just one thing, actually. The report indicates that there are configuration profiles installed. Typically, a Mac has no profiles. These are usually installed by system admins when access needs to be restricted for machines used for business or learning or some such. You can find these configuration profiles if you go to System Preferences > Profiles.

If you did not install them, and your machine is not administered or restricted by an employer, then feel free to remove any profiles you find there. They may well be the root of your video issue.

That's all I see here.

Have you tried the suggested fixes that have been already suggested in this topic?

1 - log into another user account, Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac,  and see if the problem persists. (This tells us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide).

2 - boot into Safe Mode (How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support) and check there to see if the problem persists.  Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing some system cache cleaning, volume verifying and directory repairing. 

3 - download and install the macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Combo Update and see if that helps.

In the problem user download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report

IMPORTANT:

Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the app's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

ALSO IMPORTANT:

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be the problem.

I, too, was having problems with my camera recently after it worked for me for the last 9 years. I tried all the things mentioned above and then I tried a mixing a few of the information. I went to Settings, then Privacy, clicked on the unlock button, then clicked on Accessibility and then at the bottom of the right hand column that says Let the Apps Below To Control Your Computer, there is a plus (+) sign. I clicked that, which opens the Applications file. Then I just clicked on Facebook, WebEx Teams, and Zoom. Clicked on the lock on the bottom lefthand corner and restarted the computer. And that worked for me.

Good luck to the rest of you, as I can completely sympathize with what you're going through.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

That article will walk you through the steps of reinstalling the OS. Make sure you perform a backup before deleting. Once in the console, delete both the main partition and the “Macintosh HD- Data” partition. Both the main and the data partition will be recreated during the recovery/reinstall.

Once the installation is complete, go through the setup and run Migration Assistant which will put all your “stuff” back in place from the backup you made earlier.

This process took me 6 hours as my backup was on a network drive.

Thanks to everyone who has posted their issues and solutions. At different intervals, I have tried everything suggested and here is what I've found:

• Every solution worked at least once
• The problem comes back every single time
• Though it seems random at times, the problem usually comes back after using Zoom (sorry to say)
• I always check the FaceTime and PhotoBooth apps for camera before launching Zoom, I know that if they don't work I will likely have problems

Here is my most recent experience that makes me pin it on Zoom:

1. This past Sunday I was on a Zoom session and could not get my camera working (yes, I tried all the things like allowing Zoom to access, etc.)
2. On Sunday night I did the whole Terminal, VCDAsisstant trick. Camera returned after a few restarts.
3. On Monday I had another Zoom meeting and camera was working perfectly. After that, camera stopped working again.
4. Last night (Tuesday) I had another Zoom conference, for which I was not able to get video again (grrrr!)
5. Today, determined to resolve this, I scoured the web yet again for a solution and came upon this thread
6. I did the Accessibility adds that @Benjamin1990 suggested; incidentally, only Zoom was in that panel, I added FaceTime and PhotoBooth, Google and Firefox and restarted
7. Still nothing after several attempts, even in Safe Mode which always worked fine in every other scenario, so
8. I went back to the Accessibility panel and removed ALL of the apps (including Zoom), restarted and
9. Voila! Camera working fine in FaceTime, PhotoBooth and Zoom

The true test will be what happens after my next Zoom meeting tomorrow. Don't know what I will do if it's Zoom because I use it for a lot but then I need my webcam for Google Meets and other classroom web apps. This is SO frustrating!

I will report back with any new findings.

Did you try this link:

I went to the Genius Bar last week and the guy got me to reset my NVPRAM and now my camera works! Try this link:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Hope it works for all you having problems.

Hey all - update on "no video" camera issue.

I experienced a camera that would turn on when the screen was nearly closed and froze as the screen was opened. The green light would show up when turning on the camera.

I went through all the recommended troubleshooting. Nothing worked to permanently fix the camera to make it operational in any camera accessing program.

When I discovered that it would work when the screen was downward facing and then froze as the screen was opened, I deduced that it was a hardware issue and not a software issue.

I have apple care+. So I made an appt at Genius bar, they sent my computer to apple care for servicing. Upon receiving it back (2 days later!!!! Wow fast) the description of the repair was:

"We replaced the part(s) listed below: Display Assembly."

So if you try all the trouble shooting, it could be a hardware issue despite no visible hardware damage.

Hope that helps.

*CAVEAT - My problem is still pending Apple Support to resolve it, below is to help you understand your issues a little more*

Hope I'll be able to bring clarity to anyone facing the same issues.. Just bought a MacBook Pro last week and it came with 10.15.4 where the built-in camera was working fine for video conferencing and all until I updated it to 10.15.5 where it stopped working. Like some of you, I believe it is a more of a software rather than a hardware issue.

I have tried virtually everything that is posted online such as reinstalling Mac OS, resetting SMC, booting into Safe Mode and reinstalling all application that utilises the camera but to no positive results. Chatted with Apple Support thrice and the last method kinda worked, or at least proved that the camera works under certain scenarios:

Steps:

1. Open System Preferences and click Users & Groups.
2. Click the lock in the bottom left if it's not already unlocked.
3. Click the + icon in the bottom left corner.
4. Select the type of account (standard, admin, managed, etc.)
5. Enter the account details, click Create User.
6. Use fast user switching menu (top right hand corner of your screen where it shows your name/current user - click on it) to select the newly created account.
7. Once inside the new account, try using FaceTime/ photo booth/any applications that utilises the camera.
8. If it works, then your camera is fine.

Next, Apple Support suggested a callback from a senior advisor to advise on uploading the error logs from my system for the engineers to troubleshoot. While I have a hunch its the new updates which is causing the issue, I'll update back here when it is resolved.

@ReaderMac - you say "my camera stopped working and I have a black screen" - the important clue is, is it detected when booted into safe mode?

System Information.app >Hardware > Camera should show:

FaceTime HD Camera (Built in):

Model ID: ...

UniqueId .....

Or does it say something like "No camera detected"

It sounds from your description, giving a black screen, that it is probably detected OK by software - which would suggest the exceptional case, that you actually may have faulty hardware unfortunately. This could be a cracked cable at the hinge joint, or just a bad connection that needs a clean and re-plug-in. Unfortunately, user-servicable they 'aint (ifixit score 1/10: https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Pro_13%22_Touch_Bar_2018)

The software issue manifests as being unable to even select the camera in any application, since it's undetected - not a black screen.

• Reboot in safe mode, see whether it's detected at all
• If it isn't detected in safe mode, try shutdown, reset the NVRAM and reboot in safe mode, check again
• If still not detected in safe mode, you probably have a hardware fault (there is inimal software interference)
• If detected in safe mode but black screen running Photo Booth, again you probably have faulty hardware.
• You also could try plugging in an external USB webcam if you have one knocking around or can borrow from a friend - this may clarify the software situation.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot nataliaccar for pointing out the Display Backlight Service Program. I wasn't aware of it and had not reflected on the issues with the screen that obviously weren't too bad in my case but clearly visible when knowing what to look for. It's a Macbook pro 13" from end of 2016 and the camera issue appeared this spring. No results from any of the suggested software fixes and in my case there was no camera seen at all anymore in the system information. I handed in the Macbook without mentioning the camera issue but referring to the display issues. My display was exchanged for free, since my model falls within this program and now the camera works. So, clearly a hardware issue, still strange that it seems to have happened at the same time as for so many others.