Windows
Laptop camera was blocked by a closed privacy shutter
The built-in laptop camera could not be accessed because the physical camera shutter was covering it. Moving the shutter to uncover the camera resolved the issue.
Killed 2 times by someone from XL.net, most recently on 2026-06-11.
Affects
Hardware
- Laptop with built-in camera and physical privacy shutter
What you see
- Camera could not be accessed on the laptop
- The webcam was hidden behind a closed shutter
Why it happens
Likely The physical camera shutter was closed over the laptop camera
When it shows up
A laptop webcam is unavailable even though the camera hardware is present, and the lens is covered by a built-in privacy shutter or slider
You are in this case if:
- Physical shutter/slider is covering the camera lens
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.
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Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2025-12-04. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.