Webcam Test
See what your camera sees, and what your browser is actually delivering: the device name, the resolution the browser negotiated, the frame rate measured from real frames over the last second, and the aspect ratio that falls out of it. The three things that can happen are kept apart rather than reported as one failure, because they have three different fixes: a camera that opens, a browser that blocked the page before the camera was ever asked, and no camera present at all. When the browser blocks it, the page shows the steps for the browser you are using and nothing else. The picture goes from the camera to a video element in this page and nowhere else, nothing is recorded, and stopping releases the camera so the light goes out.
Your browser asks for permission first. The picture stays in this page and nothing is recorded.
- name
- not open yet
- delivered
- not open yet
- frame rate
- not open yet
- aspect
- not open yet
- upload
- none, the picture stays in this page
The camera is closed. Nothing is being watched until you press Start.
- not open yet
- not blocked so far
- nothing has reported missing
What the numbers mean
A camera advertises a list of modes and the browser negotiates one of them, so the delivered resolution is often not the largest number on the box: a resolution request here is a request, and the row above reports what came back rather than what was asked for. The frame rate is measured from frames the browser actually presented over the last second, which is why it can read lower than the rate the camera negotiated. In poor light most cameras halve their frame rate to keep the picture bright, and that is the camera working as designed rather than a fault. Where a browser will not report frame timings, the row says the number is the negotiated one instead.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A picture, with a resolution and a rate | The camera opened and is delivering frames to this page. | Nothing. Press Stop and the camera light goes out. |
| Permission refused | Your browser declined on your behalf. The camera was never opened. | Follow the steps in the panel, then press Start again. |
| No camera found | There is no camera for the browser to open. | Connect one or switch it on, then press Start again. |
| Another application is holding it | A camera exists but something else has it open. | Close the call or the recording software, then press Start again. |
Common questions
- The browser blocked my camera. How do I allow it again?
- A block is a decision your browser made on your behalf, and the camera was never asked, so nothing is wrong with the hardware. In Chrome, Edge or Opera, click the camera icon at the right of the address bar, allow the camera for this site and reload; where no icon appears, the same switch lives in the browser's settings under Privacy and security, Site settings, Camera. In Firefox, click the camera or padlock icon at the left of the address bar and clear the blocked permission. In Safari, open the Safari menu, then Settings for This Website, and set Camera to Ask or Allow. On a Mac there is a second gate: System Settings, Privacy and Security, Camera, where the browser itself has to be switched on. The page detects which browser you are in and shows that browser's steps when it is blocked.
- Why is the resolution lower than what my camera says it supports?
- Because a camera advertises a list of modes and the browser negotiates one of them, and the number on the box is the best case rather than the default. This page asks for a resolution as a preference, never as a requirement, so a camera that cannot manage 1080p hands over what it can instead of refusing to open. The delivered figure is then read back from the stream the browser handed over, and confirmed against the size of the frames the video element decoded, which is why it is the honest number: it is what arrived, not what was asked for. Other things push it down too, including a virtual camera in the middle, a driver's own default, and a browser policy that caps what a web page may receive.
- Is my video uploaded, recorded or saved anywhere?
- No. The stream goes from the camera into a video element in this page and nowhere else. There is no recorder in this tool, no snapshot and no download, nothing is uploaded, and nothing is written to disk by this page. Two things let you check that rather than take it on trust: open your browser's network panel while the camera runs and nothing leaves, and press Stop and the camera light on your machine goes out, because the page releases the camera track. The only thing kept between visits is your mirror and resolution preference, stored in your own browser. The camera's device id is never saved, because that identifier is personal to this site.
- Why does it say another application is holding the camera?
- On most systems a camera can be opened by one program at a time, so a video call, a recording tool or a virtual camera left running keeps everything else out. That is a specific failure with a specific fix, which is why this page names it rather than reporting a broken camera: close whatever is using it, then press Start again. If nothing obvious is open, look for a call or a streaming application still running in the background or in the menu bar, since the camera stays held until that program lets go of it.
- Does the webcam test work on a phone or a tablet?
- Yes, in any current mobile browser, with nothing to install. The camera list fills with the cameras your phone exposes, usually a front and a rear one, so you can switch between them and see what each is delivering. Two things have to be true, as on a desktop: the page must be on a secure connection, because browsers only open a camera over https, and the browser app itself must be allowed to use the camera in your phone's system settings, which is a separate permission from the one you grant this page.
- The frame rate reads lower than 30. Is my camera faulty?
- Usually not. Most cameras drop their frame rate in poor light on purpose, holding the shutter open longer for a brighter picture, so 30 frames a second in daylight and 15 in a dim room is the camera working as designed. The number here is measured from frames the browser actually presented over the last second, not the rate the camera negotiated, which is why it can differ from the figure quoted on the camera itself. Where a browser does not expose frame timings, the row says the number is the negotiated one instead of claiming a measurement it did not make.
- Why is the picture mirrored, and does that affect the test?
- Mirroring is a display choice and nothing more. Video call software usually mirrors your own preview because an unmirrored face feels wrong to look at, so this page starts mirrored to match what you are used to, and the toggle flips it back. It changes only how the picture is drawn on your screen: the resolution, the frame rate and everything else in the readout are unaffected, and the mirror setting is one of the two preferences remembered in your browser.
- Does this tool need an account, an app or a plugin?
- No. It is a page that asks your browser for a camera using the standard web API every current browser supports, so there is nothing to install, nothing to sign up for and no extension to add. If the page says your browser does not give web pages access to a camera, that is a genuinely old or restricted browser rather than a setting, and a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari will run the test.
Reports exactly what your browser hands the page: the device name, the resolution it negotiated and the frame rate measured from real frames. It cannot know how another application will negotiate with the same camera. The picture stays in this page and nothing is recorded.