Windows
Camera preview stayed blank until a pending driver update was finished with a restart
The camera was not working because Windows had a pending camera driver update that had not finished installing. After the PC was restarted, the camera preview came up correctly in Teams.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2026-06-18.
Affects
Versions
- Windows
Apps
- Teams
Hardware
- laptop camera
What you see
- Camera preview does not work
- Camera starts working again after restart and login
Why it happens
Likely A camera driver update was pending restart and had not finished installing
When it shows up
A Windows laptop camera is blank or not working, and Windows Update shows a camera driver update waiting on a restart
You are in this case if:
- Windows Update shows updates ready to install or pending restart
- Camera preview appears correctly in Teams after reboot and sign-in
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
The steps are behind a quick check
There are two ways in and both take a few seconds. Signing in opens the steps on every bug page; so does reading the picture.
Or answer this
Drawing a picture for you.
Can't read it? Sign in instead.
Keeping it away
- If Windows Update shows updates as pending restart, reboot promptly so driver updates can finish.
Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2026-06-18. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.