Why can't camera be accessed when I start a meeting?

If your camera fails to turn on when you start or join a meeting in the Cloud Voice App Web Client (the version of the Cloud Voice App that runs inside a web browser), one of the causes below is usually to blame. Work through them in order and apply the matching fix.

Camera access is controlled in two layers, and a block at either layer stops your video:

1. Your operating system (OS) decides whether a browser may use the camera at all.
2. The browser then decides, per site, whether the Cloud Voice App Web Client specifically may use it.

Tip

Check the causes in the order shown below. The first two are permission settings you can fix once, while the last (“camera already in use”) is usually a quick close-and-reload. This ordering finds the blocker with the least effort.

Note

The same permission screens control the microphone as well as the camera. If your mic is also missing in a meeting, the linked steps below fix both at once.

Your browser doesn’t have camera permission

The operating system controls whether any browser is allowed to use the camera at all. If that permission is blocked at the OS level, the camera stays unavailable to the Cloud Voice App no matter what your in-browser settings say.

Grant camera access for your platform:

• Windows
• macOS

The Cloud Voice App isn’t allowed to use the camera

Even when the browser can reach the camera at the system level, the browser also asks, per site, whether the Cloud Voice App Web Client may use it. If that site permission was denied, video won’t start.

Allow camera access for your browser:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera

Caution

After you change a camera permission, reload the meeting page so the browser picks up the new setting. If you were already in the meeting, you may also need to leave and rejoin before your video appears.

The camera is already in use

Only one application can hold the camera at a time. If another app has claimed it, the Cloud Voice App cannot open it. Close whatever is using the camera, then reload the meeting page and try again once the camera is free.

Tip

Common culprits are other video apps (for example Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or FaceTime) and other browser tabs or windows that opened the camera. Fully close them, not just minimize, so they release the device.