FaceTime HD camera not turning on

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Level 1

6 points

FaceTime HD camera not turning on

I am using a 15-inch Mid 2012 Macbook Pro with 2.7 GHz i7, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB HD with Intel HD Graphics 4000 running OSX 10.11.4. For the past few months, my built in FaceTime HD camera has not been turning on when it should be, particularly during attempted uses with Skype, Facetime, and Photo Booth. The only constant that I have noticed to fix it is to restart my MBP, and then immediately launch whatever program I want to use my camera with, and it works then. Any attempted use of my camera after that initial use fails. The light next to the camera doesn't turn on, and the camera doesn't turn on either. I have checked all the settings in Skype, Facetime, and Photo Booth and all of them are set to only use the Facetime HD camera, and I have never used a different webcam or third party device for video input. My camera Model ID is UVC Camera VendorID_1452 ProductID_34057.

I have tried as much troubleshooting as I know:
Reset NVRAM

Reset SMC

Ran Apple Diagnostics (No errors found)

Ran Disk Utility First Aid

Checked for any available updates (None available)

If anyone has any further recommendations it would be greatly appreciated

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), FaceTime HD Camera

Posted on Apr 18, 2016 10:05 PM

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Answer 1

EZ Jim

Level 7

22,590 points

Apr 19, 2016 10:46 AM in response to tms0028

One of these will fix your camera problem:

(1) If restarting your Mac doesn't fix the problem,

(2) use Apple's http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090.

(BTW - The Troubleshooting article calls the camera an "iSight". However, after the article was published, Apple has changed the built-in camera's name on newer Macs from "iSight" to "FaceTime" and then to "FaceTime HD." Regardless of the name of your built-in camera, the same info and troubleshooting applies.)

Be sure to test more than one Apple app (Photo Booth, FaceTime, iMovie, QuickTime Player, etc.) in more than one user account. Do NOT use the "Guest" account for this test. If you do not have more than one user account for the testing, create a new one now. If you need help, how to do it is explained in http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201754.

A "Standard" user account is all you need for testing.

(3) If your cam won't work properly even with Apple apps, use OS X Recovery to completely reinstall your Mac OS from the Recovery System stored on your startup drive. Don't bother testing Skype or other third-party apps until you have your camera working with Apple apps.

(4) If none of the above suggestions resolve your trouble, contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider to have your Mac professionally serviced. Be sure to backup your Mac and deauthorize iTunes before tendering it for service.

Message was edited by: EZ Jim

Mac OSX 10.11.4

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