How to install and use a webcam

Updated: 06/30/2020 past Calculator Promise

Computer webcam

In our increasingly mobile and engineering-driven earth, videoconferencing is becoming very pop, specially for companies that have employees working from home. There are many services and programs available to host and join a videoconferencing call and a webcam is used to show your alive video.

For assist with installing, testing, and using a figurer webcam, and determine if your laptop has a congenital-in webcam, select a link beneath.

How to install a webcam

USB cable and port

Today, near webcams are universal, pregnant they work on about any computer. Follow the steps below to connect and install a webcam on your computer.

  1. Turn on your computer and make sure the operating system is loaded.
  2. Most webcams have a USB cablevision connected to them. Plug the USB cable into an available USB port on your calculator. USB ports are on the dorsum of the computer or the sides of a laptop.
  3. Newer operating systems, like Windows eight and Windows x, should recognize the webcam as connected. The drivers are usually installed automatically, allowing the computer to use the webcam.

If your operating arrangement does not automatically install the drivers, you can get to the webcam manufacturer's website and download the necessary drivers. Install the downloaded drivers on your computer.

  1. If your webcam came with a CD containing software, you can install that software to add together boosted features for the webcam.
  • How to install software.
  1. The webcam needs to be placed in front of y'all, and nearly the same height as your face while sitting. The best location to mount the webcam is at the peak of your reckoner monitor. Most webcams sit on top of a monitor, having an adaptable clamp that braces itself against the back of the monitor to secure the webcam. Place the webcam on top of the monitor and adjust the clamp equally desired. When finished, the webcam should be pointed at your face.

Adjustable clamp on a webcam

How to examination a webcam

To test if your webcam is working, follow these steps.

Windows computers

Windows Camera app

If your estimator has Windows seven, Windows 8, Windows ten, or Windows eleven, you tin employ the Photographic camera app to test the congenital-in webcam. To open up the Camera app, follow these steps.

  1. Press the Windows fundamental or click Start.
  2. In the Windows search box, type photographic camera.
  3. In the search results, select the Camera app choice.
  4. The Photographic camera app opens, and the webcam is turned on, displaying a live video of yourself on the screen. Yous can suit the webcam to center your face on the video screen.

Tip

You can use the Camera app to tape videos and take pictures of yourself or annihilation in front of the webcam.

macOS computers

Photobooth app

On a figurer running macOS, yous can test your webcam using the Photobooth app, located in your Applications folder. You can employ it to take photos or videos using an attached webcam.

Linux computers

On a figurer running Linux, you lot can test your webcam using the cheese utility. Information technology is available in virtually parcel managers. For example, to install it on Debian, Ubuntu, or Linux Mint, yous can install it using apt.

sudo apt install cheese

If you want to activate the webcam whenever it detects move, use the motion utility.

sudo apt install motion

How to use a webcam

Button or option to enable video in videoconferencing software

After you accept continued and installed a webcam on your estimator, you tin can use it to show video of yourself on video conferencing services and software. Popular services and software for videoconferencing include Microsoft Teams, Skype, Webex, and Zoom.

When you connect to a conference call using videoconferencing services or software, you tin activate the webcam to display live video. The service or software should take a button with what looks like a video camera on it. Examples of the button are shown in the picture.

Click the video photographic camera push to turn on the webcam and activate video sharing. Depending on the videoconferencing service or software, the live video sharing starts immediately or displays a preview of the video, so y'all can come across how it looks. If a preview is displayed first, click the option for "Kickoff Video" or something similar to brainstorm sharing the live video to others on the videoconferencing phone call.

Does my laptop have a built-in webcam?

Using an external webcam with a laptop is possible, but sometimes a bit more clunky if placed on top of the laptop screen. The laptop screen is very thin, causing an external webcam to be less stable when mounted to the top of the screen.

Today, some laptops feature a born webcam, eliminating the demand for an external webcam. Notwithstanding, the congenital-in webcam is not piece of cake to run into and piece of cake to miss. In virtually cases, laptop webcams are located in the center of the tiptop border of your laptop screen, in the plastic casing.

Laptop with built-in webcam

The built-in webcam is unremarkably 1/ii" or less in size. It may exist a modest, dark circumvolve, or it may be a small-scale dark foursquare, with a slightly less dark circle within it. Pictured below are ii examples of a built-in webcam on the elevation edge of a laptop screen.

Built-in webcam on laptop - small dark circle

Built-in webcam on laptop - small dark square with dark circle inside

If your laptop has a characteristic similar to the pictures higher up, your laptop likely has a built-in webcam.