How to use the camera test

1. Press Allow camera when your browser asks. The prompt appears in the address bar or as a pop-up — nothing starts until you agree.
2. Press Start camera to open the live preview. You should see yourself within a second or two.
3. If you have more than one camera, pick it from the dropdown — built-in, USB webcam, or a phone used as a webcam each show up separately.
4. Read the verdict below the preview: whether the camera works, the resolution and frame rate it is delivering, and whether the image is too dark or over-exposed.

What you should see

A working camera shows a clear, moving image of you within a second or two of pressing Start. The preview is mirrored by default — the same convention every selfie camera uses, so it feels natural. Text behind you will look back-to-front; that is the mirror, not a fault, and the snapshot you save is not mirrored. Use the Mirror toggle on the preview to switch it off.

Below the preview the test reports the resolution and frame rate your camera is actually delivering — not what it claims on the box, but what the browser receives right now. That is the number that matters on a video call.

See yourself as others see you

The live preview is mirrored, like a bathroom mirror — handy for framing, but not how you actually look on a call. Press Record 5 seconds and the test captures a short clip and plays it straight back, un-mirrored and with the real motion and any lag. It is the quickest way to catch a tilted camera, a distracting background, or stutter you would not notice in a static mirror image. The clip is created in your browser and never leaves this tab — close the page and it is gone.

Why does my camera show a black screen?

A black preview almost always has one of a few causes, and this test helps tell them apart:

• A privacy shutter or cover. Many laptops and webcams have a sliding shutter or a physical kill-switch. If the test says the camera is on but every frame is black, check for one — or a sticker over the lens.
• Another app has the camera. Only one app can use a camera at a time. If Zoom, Teams, Meet, or OBS is open, this test shows “in use by another application”. Close the other app and the preview comes back on its own — the page keeps checking and restarts the picture the moment the camera is free.
• Permission is blocked. If you previously denied access, the browser will not even prompt. Allow the camera for this site in the address-bar icon or site settings.
• The wrong device is selected. A virtual camera (OBS, Snap Camera) or a disconnected webcam may be chosen. Pick your real camera from the dropdown.

Why is my image too dark or washed out?

The test measures the brightness of the image your camera is sending and flags it when it is too dark or over-exposed. A dark image is the most common video-call complaint after “not working”. The fix is almost always the light, not the camera: face a window or a lamp rather than sitting with a bright window behind you. If you are washed out, you have too much light behind the camera — move the lamp or close the blind.

Why does my picture look blurry or soft?

The test measures how much fine detail your camera is resolving and flags a soft picture when there is a clear, well-lit scene but little sharpness. The most common cause is the simplest: a smudged or dusty lens. Wipe it gently with a soft cloth — fingerprints and pocket lint are the silent killers of webcam quality. If it is still soft, you may be too close for a fixed-focus camera to lock on, or an autofocus lens is hunting; back up a little and give it a moment. (A blank wall or a very dark room has no detail to measure, so the test only judges focus when there is something to see.)

Why do my colours look wrong (too orange or too blue)?

The test reads the overall colour balance of the image and tells you if it leans warm (orange) or cool (blue). A colour cast is almost always the lighting, not a fault: a warm bulb pushes everything orange, daylight or a cool LED pushes it blue. Mixing two kinds of light is the usual culprit. Pick one type of light facing you, or set your camera’s white balance manually in its app if it has one. This is shown as information, not a problem — a genuinely colourful room is not a fault.

Why do I see flickering or rolling bands?

Faint horizontal stripes that roll up or down the picture come from indoor lighting. Mains-powered lights pulse 100 or 120 times a second, and if your camera’s shutter is not matched to that rhythm you see the beat as drifting bands. The test watches for stripes that move frame to frame — that drift is what tells flicker apart from a striped shirt or blind behind you. The fix is the light or the camera’s anti-flicker setting: choose 50 Hz in most of the world or 60 Hz in North America, or film in daylight or under a flicker-free LED. (This check is newer and shown only as a hint.)

Why is my video choppy or laggy?

The test counts the frames your camera actually delivers each second and compares it to the rate it claims. Cameras quietly drop their frame rate in low light — a longer exposure means fewer frames — and a busy computer does the same. If the measured rate is low, add light and close heavy applications, then run the test again. (The measured rate is also limited by your monitor’s refresh rate, so a very high-frame-rate camera may read lower here than its maximum.)

Why is my camera frozen on one frame?

Sometimes a camera stays “on” but the picture stops moving — a stuck frame. The test watches for this: a live feed always carries a little natural sensor noise, so when the frames become perfectly identical it knows the feed has hung rather than gone dark. This is usually a driver or USB glitch, or another app that grabbed the camera mid-stream. Unplug and replug a USB webcam (or close other camera apps) and test again; on a laptop, a quick restart clears a stuck built-in camera.

Does this webcam have a microphone?

Most webcams include a built-in microphone. When the test detects one, it links straight to the full microphone diagnostic so you can confirm your audio is clear and at the right level before a call — the two checks together tell you your whole setup is ready.

How this test works

The test uses your browser’s camera API to open a live video stream, then reads the actual settings the camera reports — resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio — and analyses the picture frame by frame to measure brightness, sharpness (focus), colour balance and exposure steadiness, and to detect a covered lens or a frozen feed. Where your browser exposes them, it also lists hardware features such as zoom or a torch. Everything runs locally in your browser. No video, image, snapshot, or playback clip is ever recorded to a server, uploaded, or stored; the snapshot and recording are created on your own device and nowhere else. When you stop the test or leave the tab, the camera is released and its indicator light turns off.

Why can’t it show my camera’s megapixels?

Browsers cannot read a camera’s true sensor specs — there is no megapixel, sensor-size, or lens information available to a web page. What this test reports is the resolution and frame rate of the stream the browser negotiated with your camera, which is what actually reaches a video call. Any tool that claims to “test your megapixels” is inferring it from the stream size, not measuring the sensor. We show only what the browser can honestly tell us.