Have you been asking “Why is my camera not working on Thinkpad?” or “How do I fix my camera on my Lenovo laptop Windows 10?” If you are having issues with your Lenovo Thinkpad camera not working, I’ll explain the steps you can take to resolve the problem.
The first step if your Lenovo Thinkpad camera is not working is to make sure the camera privacy slider is open. Next, is to ensure camera privacy mode is turned ‘off’ in Lenovo Vantage.
A webcam or camera is common on laptops and there are many reasons why they might not function properly. It could be the webcam is not detected or an application can not use it.
Keep reading to find out what are the common reasons and their solutions for a laptop camera not working.
Lenovo Thinkpad Camera Not Working
I’ve listed a few of the common issues with the camera not working on Lenovo laptops.
- An app that uses the integrated camera initially shows an image, but then freezes and/or closes.
- The laptop camera turns on briefly and then turns back off. Sometimes this repeats.
- The webcam is not detected at all.
- You see a grey crossed-out camera image.
Let’s start with the most basic fixes first and work up to the more involved fixes.
1. Lenovo Camera Privacy Slider Open
More and more laptops, including Thinkpads, are equipped with a small privacy slider or shutter over the camera. It is located right next to the camera and you physically move the slider to cover the webcam.
Ensure the camera privacy slider is open(not covering the camera)
Many users don’t know their Lenovo laptop has a camera privacy slider because it is so small and unobtrusive. Double-check your laptop and look for a very small slider located adjacent to the webcam.
2. Lenovo Vantage Camera Privacy Mode
Your Lenovo Thinkpad should come installed with a program called Lenovo Vantage. Use this to adjust the camera settings.
Open Lenovo Vantage and find My Device Settings –> Display & Camera
Make sure the setting for Camera Privacy Mode is set to Off. The toggle should be grey in color when disabled and an image should show.
You can either enable or disable the integrated camera through this application. If you don’t have it installed or need to upgrade to the latest version, find it in the Microsoft store.
Some people are seeing this setting keep switching back to On. If this is the case, you have to make sure the physical switch next to the camera is open or turned on to enable the camera device.
3. Windows 10 Camera Privacy Settings
Windows 10 has privacy settings that allow you to enable or disable access to the integrated camera. Check these settings and set your preference for ‘Allow apps to access your camera.’
To use the Lenovo camera make sure this is set to On.
In Windows 10, from Start Menu open Settings -> Privacy -> Camera.
Also, look for and adjust certain programs’ access to the camera.
Under Choose which apps can access your camera, turn the individual settings for apps On or Off.
4. Windows Device Manager for Lenovo Camera
If the above steps have not resolved the Lenovo camera not working issue yet, it may be time to check the driver status. Uninstalling a device driver and then re-installing it to update the driver can often fix device problems.
Open Device Manager and find Imaging devices. Check the device is not disabled and uninstall the driver if needed.
- Right-click on the Start Menu and select Device Manager, from here, click on Imaging Device.
- It will either list Lenovo EasyCamera or Integrated Camera.
- Right-click the camera and select uninstall to remove the driver.
- Restart Windows 10.
- Right-click on Imaging Device and select ‘Scan for hardware changes’.
This should re-install the camera driver and hopefully fix the issue. If it does not solve the problem, you will need to download and install an updated driver. Do so by going to Lenovo support or by using the Lenovo Vantage program to scan and download new updates and drivers.
This table lists some common Thinkpads and their camera driver levels.
| Thinkpad | Camera Driver Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| X1 Carbon Gen. 5 | 10.0.19041.20153 (Realtek) 5.0.18.82 (Sunplus) | Windows 10 Version 1803 or later |
| Yoga C740-15IML | Realtek_10.0.19041.20138 Sunplus_5.0.18.44 | Supported on Yoga C740-14IML, Yoga C740-15IML |
| T480s (type 20L7, 20L8) | 5.0.18.73 (Sunplus) 10.0.19041.20146 (Realtek) | Windows 10 (Version 1709 or later) |
| X270 (Type 20K6, 20K5) | 5.0.18.73(Sunplus) 10.0.19041.20146(Realtek) | Windows 10 (Version 1709 or later) |
| 11e (Type 20E6, 20E8) | 3.5.7.22 | Windows 10 (64-bit) |
Note: If the camera driver is updated to Windows 10 version 1803 or earlier, the infrared camera may stop working on some models of Lenovo laptops. The solution is to also update the camera firmware to the latest level. The table below is from Lenovo.
| IR Camera ID | Legacy Firmware | New Model Firmware | Legacy Drivers | New Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5986 111D | 3758 and lower | 3759 and higher | 10.0.15603.x and lower | 10.0.1xxxx.x and higher |
| 04F2 B5AC | 0020 and lower | 0022 and higher | 3.5.x.x | 5.0.x.x |
| 04F2 B5CF | 0020 and lower | 0022 and higher | 3.5.x.x | 5.0.x.x |
Having issues with your webcam on an IdeaPad? Read my article titled: IdeaPad Camera Not Working to solve the problem.
5. Zoom Not Finding Camera?
If the Lenovo camera is not showing up in Zoom’s settings, try the following.
- Make sure the camera is Off first, then start the application like Zoom. This sometimes helps clear issues if the camera is already on.
- Restart Windows and then try the application again, restarting commonly resolves many issues.
- Lastly, consider uninstalling the application and re-installing it. A re-install or upgrade to the latest release may solve the issue.
Summary
This article covered many solutions to a Lenovo Thinkpad camera not working. Some of the most common fixes are to check if the privacy slider is closed or to simply reboot the laptop. If you have tried the above in the article but your Lenovo camera still doesn’t work, you may need to contact Lenovo support at this point to have the hardware repaired. However, by far, most issues are software or driver-related.