Webcam freezes while Skyping

I have this same problem and so does my brother, when using the iSight cameras that are built-in to our displays. I happened to also have a Logitech video camera and I switched to that with Skype and it never freezes now (for me). My brother only has the iSight camera and his still freezes 2 or 3 times during a 2 hour video chat. My mother is also included in our video chats (3-way chats) and she has an iSight camera but hers doesn't freeze. Her OS is not up to date. My brother and I both use High Sierra. In fact, this problem started after updating to High Sierra.

HI,

Are the two computers running the same version of Skype ?

If they are, are they also running the same OS version ?

After that the answer is more likely to be found on the Skype site.

7:59 PM Saturday; May 25, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

iSight - Troubleshoot

Hi,

So from your testing it would appear to be the Skype App for Macs or as Eric is suggesting an issue with the Camera.

Some Mac Laptops have had issues with the cable from the motherboard, through the hinge and up the back of the screen pulling loose in some cases and on other models getting worn at the hinge.

These tend to be some of the first versions of MacBook Pros and MacBooks.

However the issue appears so intermittent it is difficult to tell.

The most common denominator is the movement of the screen to different positions rather than a one off event which you seem to describe. i.e you would either Video chat successfully or you would not chat at all.

As the issue you describe seems to happen each time your Skype Video chat it seems the app is the thing to be looking at.

When was the last Update ?

What sort of topics are coming up at Skype ?

8:31 PM Sunday; May 26, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi,

I tried Skype when it first came out and was independently owned.

I use Little Snitch to check where and on what ports an App is calling.

For instance iChat using just an AIM Login will contact about 4 servers during the login process.

These deal with the actual Login, the Buddy List (which finds out who is On Line), the Buddy pic server and the one that deals with Status Messages (they all tend to be separate).

Of course you may have multiple AIM logins and also Jabber ones and the server count will go up.

However the time I tired Skype I got to about 40 alerts from Little Snitch about servers all over the place.

Skype does not use a central server system and seems to rely on the bandwidth of the people logged in to spread the load.

A Buddy of mine claimed he allowed it to continue and got to over a hundred connections.

That would seem to make things very vulnerable.

So I have not trusted Skype for many years.

Now it is owned by Microsoft and I have not really followed the progress it may have made.

I would tend to check the Skype web site and then the App Store to see if the "Latest" appear to match.

I would not like to guess at the time it takes to get any Update listed on the App Store.

I did see this on the Skype site

Skype for Mac

• 1GHz Intel processor.
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard and above.
• 100 MB free disk space.
• Either USB or regular headset if your Mac does not have a built-in microphone.
• Download drivers if you are using an external webcam.
• For voice calls recommend broadband connection with 100 kbps down / 100 kbps up.
• For group video calling everyone on the call needs Skype 5.0 for Windows or Mac or higher plus webcams, and at least one person needs a group video calling subscription. For best quality we recommend you use a high-speed broadband connection of 4Mbps down/512kbps up and a computer with a Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz processor. As a minimum you’ll need a high-speed broad connection of 512kbps down/128kbps up and a computer with a 1 GHz processor.

The Mac running OS 10.6.8 has drivers included for all USB 2.0 USB Video Class (UVC) cameras that you could plugin.

The drivers the link points to are for USB 1.1 cameras which would be very difficult to even find nowadays (pre OS X 10.4.8 OS-wise or around the time of Vista on Windows machines).

The Minimum Speeds exceed those needed for iChat or Messages in 4 way Video Chats.

It seems to suggest the version is number 5.

9:09 PM Sunday; May 26, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

for the Points

8:56 PM Monday; May 27, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

No Problem.

9:13 PM Monday; May 27, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

I know it's been a long time since your last post but now (in 2015 🙂) I have the same problem with my new MB Pro. Could you please tell me what you did with this problem? Thanx in advance.