We are shifting to a remote workforce in these times of COVID 19, and while for many workers in the United States that is the norm, it can be a big shift for others.

We at Boxed of course have all our employees working from home.

We realized the benefit of this 13 years ago when we opened our doors.

We communicate with our customers over a regular phone connection but many other businesses are using applications like Zoom, Webex, or Skype.

These applications work well to share presentations, talk, whiteboard, and in many cases you can see the other party over a webcam.

Sometimes you can get by without the webcam functionality especially if you just rolled out of bed.

Sometimes it’s critical to use the webcam when you are accustomed to meeting co-workers or contacts in a physical space.

Considering the times we are in, boxed phone calls are through the roof.

We are working overtime to service our customers as quickly as possible.

To day we are fixing webcam not working on dell inspiron windows 10 issue.

Troubleshooting Integrated Webcam

We tried all the usual items like uninstalling the driver for the integrated webcam, rebooting, and scanning for hardware changes.

Nothing Windows did reinstall the integrated webcam but when we started the Windows Camera application you can see that it was scanning for hardware for about 2 seconds then it would fail.

It would repeat this in a constant loop.

We tried this with the customer’s Zoom Application and the same thing would happen.

It would bring up the image for about 1 second then try again. It was almost as if the webcam was not getting enough power.

We of course went to the Dell website and did a hardware scan and the Dell support site showed all the potential drivers for the Inspiron and the integrated webcam had no options for installing a driver.

We of course followed Microsoft’s recommendation for getting the camera working to no avail.

After completing this test webcam online to ensure your webcam working properly

We did the following according to Microsoft:

1. Made sure apps like Zoom and Skype had permissions to use the camera

2. We uninstalled Norton which was interfering with the webcam

3. We of course uninstalled the webcam and rebooted letting Microsoft reinstall the webcam

4. We went to power management and made sure the webcam wasn’t being disabled during sleep mode

Download Dell Webcam Central

Unfortunately, none of these things worked and we spent at least an hour doing the above troubleshooting steps.

We were running out of options.

We finally ran into this Dell post on their website which recommended we install Dell Webcam Central which is an application that does a few extra things with the webcam like take pics and video. 

Sure enough, after the install of the Dell webcam software and a reboot, Zoom, Skype, and the Windows Camera application finally showed us a video image! 

FAQ: (Frequently Asked Questions)

How do I test my webcam on Windows 10?

How to test your webcam in Windows 10 using the Camera app:

Click Start to open the Start Menu, and start the Camer app with a click or tap on its shortcut.

Allow the Camera app to use your webcam, your microphone, and your location.

If you can see an image of anything in front of the webcam, your camera works.

How to Switch on the Webcam on a Dell Inspiron?

Click Start  All Programs Dell Webcam Webcam Central, or click Start and type webcam into the search box.

Click Snap Photos to turn on the webcam and start taking pictures.

Click Record Videos to enable the camera and begin capturing video.

How do you check if my integrated webcam is working?

Here is how to check if you have if your camera is compatible:

Look under Cameras, Imaging devices, or Sound, video, and game controllers in Device Manager for your camera.

Press and hold (or right-click) the name of your camera, and then select Properties.

Where is the camera on the Dell Inspiron desktop?

Dell Inspiron laptops include an internal webcam located above the screen, allowing you to make video calls or record videos of yourself without using an external webcam.

How do I reinstall my webcam on my laptop?

Reinstall the laptop camera

Right-click the Start button, and select device manager.

Go to Imaging devices and click the arrow to expand the list.

Right-click on your laptop camera or integrated webcam, and choose Uninstall. Reboot your PC.