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Hi All.
I bought a new LifecamStudio 2 days ago. I installed the camera, following the instructions of course. In the end of the installation, I could se my self in the Lifecam software window, so far no problems, the camera worked. Suddenly a popup message appeared, telling me that the firmware of the camera needed to be upgraded, so I pressed OK. The firmware upgrade started but was shortly aborted with an errormessage, saying the upgrade was not succesfull. I tryed to reinstall the firmware, but now it tells me hat I already have the most recent firmware installed. So the nproblem is now that, when I instert my camera into the USB port windows finds the camera, but as soon as I start any program the uses the camera it goes from a Lifecam Icon (in the hardware manager that is) to a unknown unit. The Lifecam studio software tells me that no camera is installed. I have installed the camera on other computers without any luck.
/Stefan
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.
Fixed it :)
In device manager underneath imaging devices I saw "Webcam" -- before the botched fw update it said "Microsoft LifeCam Studio" and had a diff driver. I rolled back the driver (or if that doesn't work you can force it to use the one inside program files \ lifecam) then re-installed lifecam -- my cam now works. Now -- what's the deal with this update utility and why's it changing what driver the camera uses?
MS will assign you a case number if they haven't already. Then they'll send you an email and request a copy of proof of purchase. Then they'll send you return instructions. Hard to believe a BIG company like MS and NO RMA...... you have to return defective product at your expense. I have a few 'choice' words for Bill Gates.
I haven't sent mine back yet, debating as to whether I'm just gonna buy a logitech cam instead of going thru the hassle with MS.
Have the same problem.
I'm still trying to drive this problem to what I believe would be a satisfactory resolution. In the meantime, the reason anyone finds this thread is because their cameras have already been bricked by the firmware update, so for anyone here, it's too late to explain the reason why and how to avoid the issue.
In my personal opinion (key words here) the problem is clearly on the Microsoft side and not a consumer issue. Please do call the support line, and deal with the inevitable hassles therein, and escalate the issue until someone resolves it to your satisfaction.
I'll keep pushing buttons internally.
UPDATE 05/03/14
Sent my Lifecam Studio back to MS for replacement as per instructions, cost me $10. New camera arrived in about a week. They sent me the SAME F**IN CAMERA !! Still has the SAME issues. WTF ????? So this is how a BIG MULTIBILLION DOLLAR Corp works?
My business wouldn't last a week if I pulled this **** with a customer. Over 6 months of getting jerked around. This time - back to the store for a refund, done with MS.
Judging by the way MS handled this issue for 6 months, I had no doubt this was the kinda **** they were going to pull, so while I was waiting for a replacement to be sent, I went out and bought a logitech webcam C920 to replace this POS just in case. It installed easily, works like a charm, no issues !! Better quality imaging and $20 cheaper.
Seems like Microsoft has gotten too big and due to outsourcing - lacks competent customer service for its hardware. Never again. Maybe they should just try to concentrate getting their OS and software to work right and forget the hardware.
