Covid has changed the way we live and the way we interact. Most of us have altered our interactions with other people to minimize the spread. Transitioning from in-person conversations to digital modes and from shaking hands to social distancing, we know that this is the “new normal”. Despite the loss of in-person connection that we were used to, we can still talk and connect via different mediated platforms including Zoom and Skype. Be it an online class, an interview for a job, an online conference meeting; a working web camera is one of the mandatory things that you need to have.
External or built-in cameras in Windows 10 show different errors sometimes. The most common error is identified by the code 0xa00f4244. This error comes with a message that says, “We can’t find your camera”. If you want to attend an online meeting session but you are facing the same problem, there are several methods to solve the camera error code “0xa00f4244” that you can go try out.
Hopefully, by the end of the article, you will have a working camera.
1. Check Settings
Step 1: Launch Windows Settings by pressing the Windows key and I together.
Step 2: Click on Privacy and then click on Camera from the left side Menu.
Step 3: Make sure that the toggle under Let apps use my camera hardware is turned on.
If it doesn’t solve your problem, move on to the next solution.
2. Reset the Camera App
Step 1: Open Settings and then click on Apps.
Step 2: Now open Default Apps in the left menu.
Step 3: Then, click on Camera to expand it and then click on Advanced options.
Step 4: Guide the cursor to the reset button and click it to reset the Camera App in Windows 10.
3. Update Drivers
Step 1: Open the Run command box by pressing the Windows key + R.
Step 2: Type devmgmt.msc in the text field and hit the enter button.
Step 3: Now, you have opened device manager where you need to expand cameras or imaging devices and locate your webcam device.
Step 4: Right-click on the device name and then click Update driver.
4. Rollback Webcam driver
If you already have the latest version of the driver then there is a chance that this latest update broke the camera. In this case, you need to roll back the camera driver by following these steps.
Step 1: Open the device manager by repeating Step 1 and Step 2 mentioned in previous heading.
Step 2: Open Imaging devices and expand to sub-menu to see the camera.
Step 3: Right-click on the camera to open Properties.
Step 4: Click on the Driver tab and then click on the Roll Back Driver button.
Restart your system for changes to come into effect.
Note that depending upon your Laptop or PC model, you can expand cameras, imaging device, sound video and game controllers.
5. Store Apps Troubleshooter
Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
Step 2: Select Update & security and then select Troubleshoot from the left pane.
Step 3: Now click on Windows Store App and then click Run the troubleshooter.
After troubleshooting, head back to the camera and check if the error still exists.
6. Check and scan for malware
Step 1: Open Windows Defender from notifications and choose Virus & threat protection.
Step 2: Now select Scan Offline.
Step 3: This will automatically restart your PC. Now open Windows Defender again.
Step 4: Then, select Virus & threat protection and open Virus & threat protection settings.
Step 5: Enable Cloud-based protection and restart your PC to check if the camera works.
7. Repair Microsoft Store
Step 1: Type cmd in the Windows search bar and then click on Run as administrator.
Step 2: Now type the following commands in Command Prompt and press enter after each one.
net stop bits
net stop wuauserv
net stop appidsvc
net stop cryptsvc
Del “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\.”
rmdir %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution /S /Q
rmdir %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 /S /Q
regsvr32.exe /s atl.dll
regsvr32.exe /s urlmon.dll
regsvr32.exe /s mshtml.dll
netsh winsock reset
netsh winsock reset proxy
net start bits
net start wuauserv
net start appidsvc
net start cryptsvc
This will help you recognize the camera by fixing the Microsoft store and its components.
8. Use a third-party camera app
If nothing works for you, try switching to an alternate camera app. Undoubtedly, the best app is the one provided by OEM’s as most of the software come with their own formatting and drivers. Yet using an alternate app might do the trick.
This is it. These were the possible solutions for this particular error. Hopefully, these solutions have enabled your Windows camera by sorting the error code 0xa00f4244 and now you can use your camera.