There Is No Connected Camera

At CCTV Camera Pros, we regularly hear from people that need help saying “my CCTV camera is not working”. Here is a guide for CCTV troubleshooting no picture issues.

The guide is used for hard wired security cameras that use BNC connectors and coax cable. It applies to analog CCTV cameras and HD coax security cameras.

Test Your Power Supply. Before you go through the trouble and expense of buying a test monitor. If there is no imaging device or integrated camera in Device Manager, you may want to scan for hardware changes to reinstall the driver. Also, if none of the methods above work, check if there is antivirus software enabled, if there is, temporarily disable it and see if the camera is working when antivirus software is disabled.

Initial Troubleshooting Questions

Here are some initial questions that you should answer when troubleshooting a security camera that has no video image.

  • Is this an existing camera that was working and at some point had video loss? Follow these troubleshooting steps.
  • Is this a new security camera or DVR? Do this first.

Test Your Power Supply

Before you go through the trouble and expense of buying a test monitor or a spare CCTV cable, I recommend that you check to make sure that you do not have a power supply problem. Many CCTV systems include individual DC power transformers for each camera (like the one in the above image). If you do not have a spare, you can find security camera power supplies here.

Be sure to look at your existing power supply to confirm whether it is 12V DC or 24VAC. Most are 12V DC.

Disconnect your existing power supply from the cable and attach your spare. Plug it in and test to see if you camera now displays video.

Check Power Supply Box Fuses

If your security camera system uses a CCTV power supply box, I recommend that you check the fuses inside the box. The above image shows the inside of two CCTV power supply boxes. The one on the left uses traditional one time use fuses. The one on the right uses PTC “auto reset fuses”. Both types have an on / off switch the control power to the entire unit.

Follow these steps to troubleshoot your power supply box.

  1. Make sure that the the power switch is turned on and the LED status lights are on.
  2. If your power supply box uses traditional fuses, confirm that none of the fuses are burnt out. If one is burnt out, the LED light under that particular fuse will be off. You should replace the fuse.
  3. If your power supply box uses PTCs, instead of fuses, confirm that the LED light are on for all channels. If they are not, you may have a short circuit somewhere. Disconnect each camera one at a time to see which one is causing the problem.
  4. Confirm that the wire power connections are securely in place and have not become loose or disconnected.

Test Camera on a Different DVR Port

This is uncommon, but it is possible that one of the BNC video input ports on your DVR went bad. It is a simple thing to test, so you may as well give it a try before you spend time on the other troubleshooting steps.

Simply disconnect the BNC video connector of the troubled surveillance camera from the back of your digital video recorder and plug it into one of the ports where a working camera is plugged in. Plug the BNC connector of the camera that is working into the port of the camera that is not working. Does the working camera show video on the other BNC port? Does the troubled camera display video on the other port?

If the troubled camera works and the camera that was working does not work, then you have a bad input port on your DVR.

Use a Test Monitor

If you have confirmed that your power supply is working properly and that the ports on your DVR are also working properly, the next step would be to determine if you have a bad power or video cable. Using a test monitor is one way to do this.

A CCTV test monitor is extremely helpful when troubleshooting camera video issues. One of the most common problems when a camera is not displaying video is a bad cable or BNC connection. Using a test monitor, you can temporarily eliminate the power and video cable that your camera is using. Many CCTV testers, like the one above, have a 12V DC power output that can be used to supply power to your camera.

Here are the steps that I recommend if you are going to use a test monitor to troubleshoot.

  1. Disconnect the video cable from your camera and use a short RG59 BNC jumper cable to connect the video output of the camera to the BNC input of the test monitor. If your camera is already mounted and connected to a power supply, I recommend that you first only connect the camera’s video to the input of the test monitor.
  2. If you do not get a video signal, disconnect the power cable from your camera. If you have a test monitor that can supply power to your camera, connect the power output of the monitor to your camera. The MON-7HD test monitor in the above image includes a short power jumper cable used to connect your camera’s power input. You can see the cable being used above.
  3. If you are using a test monitor that does not have power output, I suggest that you use a spare CCTV camera power supply to temporarily power the camera.
  4. If you do not get any video signal after switching the video cable, power cable, and power supply, you most likely have a bad camera. If you have a spare camera, connect it to the test monitor to make sure that it is working properly, then connect it to the existing cable and power supply of the camera you are replacing.

*Important Note: if you are replacing your camera, make sure the replacement camera uses the same type of power supply before connecting it. If your previous camera used 24VAC and you connect a 12V DC camera to a 24VAC power source, it will burn the circuit board and ruin the camera.

Use a Test Cable and Spare Power Supply

If you do not have a test monitor, I recommend that you use a spare cable for testing. These pre-made Siamese CCTV camera cables are a great choice. They allow you to run both the video and power. Using a test cable will be feasible only if your existing cable run is not longer than 165 feet – the max length that pre-made CCTV cables are made.

Here are the troubleshooting steps that I recommend if you are going to use a spare cable.

  1. Before you go through the trouble of unwinding and running a spare cable from your camera to your DVR, I recommend that you check your existing power supply.
  2. Confirm that your spare cable is long enough to reach from your camera to the DVR or monitor that it is connected to.
  3. Disconnect only the BNC video cable from your camera and attach the spare cable.
  4. Disconnect the other end of the video cable from your DVR or monitor and attach the spare cable. Test to see if there is video.
  5. If there is still no video, use the power portion of the spare cable to run the power.
  6. If still no video switch out the power supply.
  7. If there is still no video, you most likely have a bad camera.

Security Camera DVR Compatibility

If you recently purchased a new DVR or a new security camera, you should confirm that the video format(s) that they support are compatible. We find that many customers have purchased a 720p or 1080p replacement camera for their 960H DVR. This will not work. If you have an analog 960H DVR, you can only use a CCTV camera that supports analog 960H video.

There is no connected camera on mac

Many of the latest DVRs and cameras are “hybrid” which means they support multiple surveillance video formats. The above image shows a hybrid analog CCTV / HD dome camera. Notice the small joystick that is attached to the video cable. The video output of the camera can be switched by holding the joystick up / down / left right for 5 seconds. This particular camera supports AHD, HD-TVI, HD-CVI, and analog 960H (CVBS) video formats.

If you are using a 960H type DVR that only supports analog video (CVBS), you must a hybrid camera in analog CVBS mode for it to work with your DVR.

You will most likely need to consult the owners manual of your DVR to know what video format(s) it supports. If you need help researching security camera and DVR compatibility, you can contact me via email. Please let me know the make and model of your DVR and camera.

Replacement CCTV Camera Recommendation

If you need to buy a replacement CCTV camera, I highly recommend these hybrid BNC security cameras – especially if you are using an analog 960H or D1 format CCTV DVR. These hybrid cameras support analog CCTV format and multiple HD video surveillance formats. They can be used in analog CCTV mode with your existing DVR and later switched to one of the HD video modes if you upgrade to an HD surveillance DVR.

Here is a video surveillance demo of one of our best selling turret dome security cameras. The video was captured with the camera in 1080p / 2 megapixel AHD video mode.

Related Video Surveillance Equipment

Many people reported that the integrated camera of their laptops or external webcam such as Logitech, Alienware stopped working after Windows 10 update. In some cases, the camera can't start with the error codes 0xA00F4244(0x200F4244) or 0xA00F4246 or shows an image with a grey background and a white camera with a cross through it. Also, there are users who get the error code 0xA00F4243(0xC00D3704) because 'it looks like another app is using a camera already.'

The main causes of this error are:

  • The update of Windows 10;

  • Improper settings configuration;

  • It is blocked by apps;

  • System files are missing or corrupted;

  • Other unknown reasons.

This post is going to show you how to fix Windows 10 camera not working in various situations, including Lenovo camera, Acer, Dell, Asus webcam that is not working. Hope you can find the solutions that work for your built-in or an external camera.

Replace Built-in Camera App with Another Webcam App

You may find that after Windows 10 update, your laptop camera can work with Skype and other camera apps, but not the built-in Camera app of Windows 10. It is a good idea to use a third-party webcam application to replace the Camera app. FonePaw Screen Recorder is recommended.

The recorder enables you to not only take photos or record videos with a webcam but also record screen activities with audio and webcam on your Windows PC. Gameplay, demonstration videos, streaming videos, and audio, etc. can all be recorded.

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Step 1 Run FonePaw Screen Recorder. Toggle on the Webcam button.

Step 2To take a photo of whatever in front of your laptop camera, click Take Photo.

Step 3To take video with the camera on your computer, click Rec button start capturing video. It can capture system sound and microphone voice at the same time.


Can't Find or Start Your Camera(0xA00F4244 or 0x200F4244)

As the error message suggests, Windows 10 camera can't be found or started probably because it is blocked by antivirus service or the webcam driver is outdated. Here are a few things you can try to fix the Windows camera that is not working.

Allow apps to access your camera

After updating Windows 10, some apps may don't have access to your camera, thus the apps can't find or start the camera.

Step 1 On your computer, click the Start button and then select Settings > Privacy > Camera.

Step 2 Toggle on the button for Allow apps to access your camera and select the apps that can access the camera.

Note:

Don't forget to check your antivirus software as well. It can block access to the camera as part of privacy protection.

Press F8

It is still not clear why it works but some users found that the Windows camera started to work after pressing the F8 key. The F8 method doesn't always work, but it is a trick that is very simple to try.

Reset camera app on Windows 10

Resetting the camera app can fix system glitches that may make the camera not working on Windows 10 and give the app a fresh restart.

Step 1 On your PC, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Camera.

Step 2 Select Camera app and click Advanced options.

Step 3 Click Reset.

Check Microsoft webcam driver

It is likely that there is a problem with the webcam driver that making Windows 10 camera not working. So have a look at the webcam driver first.

Step 1 Open Device Manager.

Step 2 Navigate to Imaging devices.

Step 3 Right-click your webcam driver and select Properties.

Step 4 Under the Driver tab, click Driver Details and see if there is a stream.sys file. If there is, your webcam is outdated and cannot work with Windows 10. You have to get a new webcam.

Roll back or update webcam driver

If there is no stream.sys in your webcam driver, the webcam is workable but you have to update or roll back the webcam driver.

Step 1 On the Device Manager, find your webcam driver.

Step 2 Right-click on it and select Properties.

Step 3 Click the Driver tab. If there is Roll Back Driver option, click it to get the driver to an older version.

Step 4 If there is no Roll Back option, click Uninstall > Delete the driver software for this device. After deleting, go back to Device Manager, click Action> Scan for hardware changes and reinstall the webcam driver.

Restart the computer for the change to take effect.

If there is no imaging device or integrated camera in Device Manager, you may want to scan for hardware changes to reinstall the driver. Also, if none of the methods above work, check if there is antivirus software enabled, if there is, temporarily disable it and see if the camera is working when antivirus software is disabled.


Fix Windows 10 Camera Not Working(Error 0xA00F4246/0x887A0004)

After installing a new Windows 10, the camera app stops working with the error 0xA00F4246(0x887A0004). To fix this error, you can try:

  • Reset camera app in Settings > System > Apps & features.

  • Check Privacy in Windows Settings and make sure you have allowed Camera app and other apps to use the camera.

  • Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter: right-click Start menu > click Search > enter Troubleshooting > open the tool and click Hardware and Devices. Run this troubleshooter.

  • Reinstall or update webcam driver. Open Device Manager, select Imaging Devices or Integrated webcam. Update the driver. If there is no update available, delete it and reinstall the driver.

If none of the methods above, you can try to fix integrated or external cameras that are not working by adding a new registry value.

Step 1 Open Registry Editor. Press Windows + R to open Run window. Type regedit and hit Enter.

Step 2 Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows Media Foundation > Platform.

Step 3 Right-click on the empty space under Platform, click New > DWORD (32-bit) value and create a new value named EnableFrameServerMode.

Step 4 Double click EnableFrameServerMode value and enter 0 into its Value data. Click OK.

Restart your computer and you'll find the camera starts working again after restart.


Fix Windows 10 Camera Not Working(Error Code 0xA00F4243)

After Windows 10 update, you can't use the Camera app or apps like Skype with your laptop built-in camera because the error 0xA00F4243 that says:Close other apps. It looks like another app is using the camera already.

If you are dealing with a camera issue like this, try the following solutions.

Disable apps that use the camera

Step 1 Go to Settings > Privacy > Camera.

Step 2 Toggle off all apps that are allowed to use the camera.

When you open an app that needs to use the camera, it will ask for your permission. In this way, you can start the camera without another app is using the camera.

Check Task Manager

Step 1 Right-click on the empty space of toolbar and select Task Manager.

Step 2 When Task Manager is open, check Processes and close the apps that may be using your camera.

Other users suggested that if you find services like Intel(R)RealSense(TM)Depth camera Manager Services is stopped under the Services tab, run the services and the camera will start to work.

Reset or reinstall camera app

First, go to Settings > Apps & feature > Camera > Advanced and click Reset to reset the app. If the camera is still not working after the reset, you can reinstall the app.

To uninstall Windows' default applications like Camera, you need to use PowerShell.

  • Run Windows PowerShell as administrator.

  • Enter the following command: Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.WindowsCamera* Remove-AppxPackage. Hit Enter.

The Camera app is uninstalled. You can reinstall it from Microsoft Store.

Connected

Update camera driver

The error 0xA00F4243 can be triggered by an outdated or corrupted camera driver.

That's why you should update the camera driver to get the Windows 10 camera working again.

  • Open Device Manager > Imaging devices.

  • Right-click the driver of your webcam and select Update Driver Software. Follow the on-screen instruction to update the webcam driver.


There Is No Connected Camera Macbook

Hope your Windows 10 camera is working now. If not, describe your problem below.