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User profile for user: Craigy111
Craigy111 Author
User level: Level 1
20 points

Camera freezing since upgrade to Catalina

Hi


I recently upgraded my Late 2014 iMac 27 inch to Catalina and since then the camera is intermittently freezing with Facetime, Zoom, Webex etc. The green light stays on but the video hangs. Other times you try to activate video and it just shows a grey screen. I've got 16GB of RAM and it's running at about 11GB of usage when the problem is occurring so I don't believe it's down to lack of memory. Anyone got any ideas? I see there are previous threads dating back years where people had similar issues after people upgraded to High Sierra etc... but I can't see any definitive replies about what the cause / solution was. HELP PLEASE!

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 30, 2020 3:01 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: BreeZee_17
BreeZee_17
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on May 1, 2020 2:29 PM

Hello Craigy111,


I understand your camera on your Mac is intermittently freezing. I'd like to provide you with some information to help you resolve this.


Have you tested out the Photo Booth app to see if you have the same problems with the camera there? If it's only happening with the apps you mentioned, it could be a network-related issue. If you're connected to Wi-Fi, see if you experience the same thing using a wired connection. Also, try out these steps and test your camera with each one:


  1. Reset the SMC: How to reset the SMC of your Mac.
  2. Reset the NVRAM: Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac.
  3. Disconnect any peripherals connected to your iMac other than your mouse/trackpad and keyboard.
  4. Test out the camera while booted in a new user account: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.
  5. Test out the camera while booted in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac.


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.


Take care.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: BreeZee_17
BreeZee_17
User level: Community Specialist

May 1, 2020 2:29 PM in response to Craigy111

Hello Craigy111,


I understand your camera on your Mac is intermittently freezing. I'd like to provide you with some information to help you resolve this.


Have you tested out the Photo Booth app to see if you have the same problems with the camera there? If it's only happening with the apps you mentioned, it could be a network-related issue. If you're connected to Wi-Fi, see if you experience the same thing using a wired connection. Also, try out these steps and test your camera with each one:


  1. Reset the SMC: How to reset the SMC of your Mac.
  2. Reset the NVRAM: Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac.
  3. Disconnect any peripherals connected to your iMac other than your mouse/trackpad and keyboard.
  4. Test out the camera while booted in a new user account: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.
  5. Test out the camera while booted in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac.


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.


Take care.

Reply
User profile for user: Craigy111
Craigy111 Author
User level: Level 1
20 points

May 9, 2020 12:44 PM in response to BreeZee_17

Hey BreeZee_17


You are a legend! Fingers crossed... my problem is solved.


The solution was unplugging my HP printer from the Mac and switching to using it via AirPrint instead.


I don't want to tempt fate but 1 week in and things are looking good. In actual fact, I do remember when I completed the upgrade to Catalina I got a message to say Apple recommended switching the print driver to airplay to improve future compatibility.


Thanks again!

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Camera freezing since upgrade to Catalina

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