Surface Pro 7 Front Camera Not Working

Anonymous
2019-10-29T19:25:09+00:00

I'm not sure when it started, since I hadn't used the front camera on the device at all, but today I noticed in the Device manager that the "Surface Camera Front" has an error:

This device cannot start. (Code 10) STATUS_DEVICE_POWER_FAILURE.

Sure enough, upon opening the camera app, it acts as though I only have the back camera installed.  I am predictably unable to bring up the front camera.

Is there possibly a driver issue, or is this a hardware flaw?

Thanks!

**Edit**: Problem persists through reboots, disable/reenable, troubleshooter, etc.  Notably, I realized the front camera worked for at least the first hour that I had the device, since it shows you the camera feed when setting up Windows Hello.

Surface | Surface Pro | Sound and camera

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

82 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2021-04-09T15:46:53+00:00

    I, too, have SP7 and none of these solutions work for me.  Interestingly, the "Hello" log in feature seems to still recognize me from when it was first set up, but the front facing camera won't work for anything else.  The rear cam works fine, but that doesn't help for virtual meetings.....

    I would love Microsoft to step up to this and provide the right files and instruction to wipe out and reload the camera drivers...I feel like the camera must actually be ok, just a problem communicating with it from software packages. But, I'm just "the boss" who is mucho UN-happy about it but don't have staff to spend dozens of hours searching for and trying solutions...

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-05-05T11:24:09+00:00

    Unfortunately no. I've tried several alternatives. All of them made the camera work again, but later the same error comes back.

    1. Restart the computer
    2. Uninstall and reinstall the driver
    3. Update the drivers using Microsoft Update
    4. Update the driver using Intel Updater
    5. Fresh Start the Computer

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2020-05-04T13:19:41+00:00

    I've just tried below and it's FINALLY SUCCEEDED.

    first I have uninstalled the camera driver from "Device Manager" then:

    • Check for updates. Select Start, then select Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates. I found the camera driver requires an update, I updated then it worked.

     I Hope this will work for you guys!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Barb Bowman 80,810 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-03-22T10:28:28+00:00

    If a repair install did not work, did you:

    toggle cameras off and on in the UEFI

        1. Shut down your Surface and wait 10 seconds.
        2. Press and hold the volume-up button on your Surface and at the same
    time, press and release the power button.
        3. The Microsoft or Surface logo appears on your screen. Continue to
    hold the volume-up button. Release the button once the UEFI screen appears.

    and if that did not work, you can try the downloadable recovery image
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surfacerecoveryimage  
    if still an issue after that, if it were me, I'd pursue an exchange as Microsoft
    has not even acknowledge that this is a bug.

     I'm an unpaid volunteer and do not work for Microsoft. If you want background
    on what a Microsoft MVP is, see https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/Overview and for
    Volunteer Moderators see
    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/page/faq#faqWhosWho1

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Barb Bowman 80,810 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-12-02T17:28:25+00:00

     Persisting through total wipes and reinstalls concerned me the most. 

    Yeah, I would also exchange a brand new Surface that has problems like this.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments