Is Your Webcam Not Working on Dell Inspiron? Here’s How to Fix It

Video calls are a part of everyday lives; they allow people to see friends and family worldwide and help them work remotely if circumstances stop them from going to the office. That’s why many companies today give remote workers a chance to be part of their team.

In business, it’s more usual to use a laptop or a desktop computer for video calls and conferences than your phone. But, what can you do if your webcam suddenly stops working? If you have a Dell Inspiron laptop, here are a couple of fixes you can try.

Check Your Dell Inspiron’s Webcam Cover

As mentioned by BruceM in the comments, many Dell Inspiron laptops have a webcam cover that allows for a simple way to block a webcam in case of hacking, unintended recording, etc. The cover can be hard to distinguish from the case, so you might need to inspect or feel around for it for a few seconds to find it.

Webcam Not Detected Issue in Inspiron Laptops

If your laptop can’t detect your webcam, there are several ways you can go. It may be a driver issue, in which case you can reinstall the webcam software driver, update it, or go back to the previous version. If it’s not the driver that’s causing the problem, you can try disabling the cam and enabling it again. Also, according to Dell experts, you can try uninstalling the USB root hub from the Device Manager.

Here are the steps to follow in each of these cases.

Reinstalling or Updating Your Dell Inspiron Webcam Driver

Reinstalling the webcam software driver may sometimes help to get your camera working again.

1. Click on the magnifying glass from the taskbar.
2. Enter Device manager, and when it shows in search results, click to open.
3. Go to Imaging devices and click on the arrow on the left side to reveal your cam name.
4. Now, right-click on the web camera and click on Properties.
5. Open the Driver tab and select Update driver if your driver needs updating, or, just click Update driver after right-clicking.
6. If you want to uninstall the driver, after Step 3, right-click on the cam name and choose Uninstall device.
   
7. In a pop-up window, select the box and click on Uninstall to confirm your choice.
8. After the driver is uninstalled, restart the laptop. It should reinstall the driver automatically, so check if the camera is working now.

2. Rolling Back the Dell Webcam Driver

If your camera was working before, but after a driver update, it refuses to cooperate, you can undo the update by performing the following steps:

1. Launch the Device Manager.
   
2. Go to Cameras or Imaging devices, then right-click on the camera and select Properties.
   
3. Go to the Driver tab, and from there, choose the Roll Back Driver option. Note that this option won’t be available if there wasn’t any previous updates.
   

3. Disabling and Enabling the Dell WebCam

Another troubleshooting option that could solve the cam issue is to disable your webcam and then enable it again—not unlike restarting it.

1. From Device Manager, select Cameras or Imaging devices, right-click on your camera, then select Disable.
   
2. Confirm the action in the pop-up window by clicking Yes.
   
3. Repeat the first two steps, but click on Enable device. Check if the camera is working.
   

4. Uninstalling the USB Root Hub

The USB root hub may impact your camera’s functionality. If other fixes don’t work, try the following procedure:

1. Go to Device Manager, scroll to the bottom and select Universal Serial Bus controllers.
2. Click on the small arrow on the left to see the whole list.
3. Find and right-click on USB Root Hub, then select Uninstall device from the options listed.
   
4. Confirm your choice in the pop-up dialogue box.
5. Repeat this for other USB Root Hubs available in the section.
6. Restart the laptop, and wait for the deleted drivers to get reinstalled. After that, check if your camera is working.

While you’re at the USB Root Hubs section, try disabling instead of uninstalling them. When you disable all of them, reboot your Dell computer, then go back to the Device Manager to enable the drivers again.

5. Download Windows 7 Webcam Drivers instead of Windows 10

There may not be a suitable driver for your Dell Inspiron webcam if you’ve made it this far. Therefore, try downloading a Windows 7 or 8 (Windows 7 is generally best) webcam driver. Here’s what to do:

1. Go to the official Dell website to download the driver.
2. Open Downloads on your laptop and locate the driver, usually a .exe or .zip file.
3. Right-click the .exe file and choose Properties from the pop-up list.
4. Open the Compatibility tab and click on the drop-down menu under Compatibility mode.
5. Choose Windows 7 or 8, depending on the driver you’ve downloaded.
6. Select Apply, then OK to save the changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my webcam display keep going darker?

The main reasons a webcam would keep going darker would be because of lighting interference in the environment or improper camera mode settings. It’s usually incorrect webcam mode settings that cause the problem. If that doesn’t solve your problem, you’ll want to check your battery saver mode settings, this can cause issues, check your drivers, or consider replacing the webcam, there might be a faulty cable or camera at fault.

Last-Resort Options to Fix Dell Webcam Issues

Of course, there are also the trivial, easy fixes you can try to solve your Dell Inspiron webcam problems, such as restarting your computer or checking if more than one app is trying to access your cam at the same time. Double access usually causes a conflict, and your webcam consequently shows as undetected. If that doesn’t help and the above solutions didn’t work, you may need a replacement webcam.