Internal Studio 2 camera not found

Question

Internal Studio 2 camera not found

Anonymous

I have a weird issue with my Surface Studio 2 internal camera. The problem started around three weeks ago.

From time to time, usually every two or three days, my internal camera doesn't work. It disappears from the system completely. Neither Skype or any other video software can find it. Errors all over.

I can log in using Windows Hello, this works all the time flawlessly, but the "normal" camera fails. It shows as disconnected in the Device Manager (grayed out the icon, and I need to tick "show disabled devices" to find it).

I can make it work again, by

Turning off the Surface Studio
Going to BIOS by Volume Up and Power
Disabling Front Camera in Devices
Restarting the Studio
Uninstalling the camera from Device Manager
Turning off Studio and going to BIOS again
Enabling the Front Camera and restarting the device.

Then it takes a couple of seconds to detect a "new" device, install the drivers, and it works for two or three days and again disappears.

Did anybody had a similar issue? Any tips or solutions? I read online that it could be a mechanic issue with the camera, but it wouldn't find it again after this whole procedure, right?

Thanks, Jacek

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5 answers

Answer 1

Anonymous

That's good info, to be honest. I am waiting a bit still, as there were some system updates recently and camera driver update - and it's working so far without the issues written above. I want to wait till 2004 and check it then as well.

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Answer 2

This is what happened to my SS2 camera before it failed completely. Intermittant failures, only worked when logging in, then that failed too. I had to return it under warranty and recieved a new machine (after going through the ridiculous online/telephone support merry-go-round), whole thing took about 2-3 weeks, but at least I ended up with a fully working machine (in the end). Don't put up with thier BS the device has failed they have a duty to replace it under warranty !!

Answer 3

Ok, I am back as my camera just disappeared again from the settings. Posting a couple of screenshots. One of Skype, one of Camera, one of the Device Manager.

It will come back to life after doing the steps from my first post. Please advise what can I do about it as it's clearly not a mechanical issue.

Answer 4

Hey Janette_Z, thanks for the reply. Yes, all the drivers and the system is up to date. I am waiting for the 2004 May update to check if it will change anything, but it will be a while probably for the Surface Studio 2.

I am waiting for the camera to disappear again to post some screenshots from apps, but for now it still visible in the Device Manager and by apps.

Jacek

Answer 5

Hi, notojacek!

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community and posting your concerns. We are sorry to learn you have issues with your Surface Studio 2's camera that intermittently stops working. Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this and allowing us to help you out. May we know if this happens on a specific app? What activities are on when you use the camera? What app do you use with it?

In the meantime, please perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

Run Surface Diagnostic Toolkit and make sure to complete the tasks; or C****heck for Windows Update:

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates

Please restart your device to apply the updates.

Force shutdown the device and restart.

Press and hold the power button until the screen turns off (about 10 seconds), then release the power button.
Press and release the power button to turn your Surface back on. You should see the Microsoft logo.

If that doesn't work, here's how to make sure your Surface turns off completely:

Press and hold down the power button until your Surface restarts and you see the Windows logo screen (about 20 seconds), then release the power button.

Update the camera drivers

Enter Device Manager in the search box next to Start, and then select Device Managerin the results expand Imaging Devices.
Right-click the camera that’s having problems (look for Microsoft Camera Front, Microsoft Camera Rear, Microsoft LifeCam Front, or Microsoft LifeCamRear) and select Update.
Select Search automatically for updated driver software, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

If this answers your question, please let our Community know by marking this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread if there’s anything else that needs to be addressed.

Kind regards,

Janette_Z