Phone Camera Test
Test your phone camera in the browser: live preview, real resolution and FPS, front and rear switch. No app needed. Fix a blank screen or blocked permission.
Your camera worked fine yesterday, then someone asked you to jump on a video call and the preview showed a black square. Or you just upgraded phones and want to confirm the front lens is actually sharp. Run the test above and you’ll have an answer in under a minute.
Open the test and allow camera access
Open the test above in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on your phone. The browser asks for camera permission the first time. Tap Allow.
A live preview appears within a second or two. Anything longer and the browser is still waiting for permission to be confirmed. If you can see yourself, the camera and browser access are both working.
Switch between front and rear camera
Once the feed is live, a Camera dropdown appears near the top. Tap it to toggle between your front (selfie) camera and the rear lens. Both should produce a live image. A camera that shows black in one position but works in the other tells you which lens has the problem.
On iOS the labels read “Front Camera” and “Back Camera.” On Android they vary by brand, but the options follow the same order the OS assigns them.
What the resolution and frame rate actually mean
Below the preview, the test shows the resolution and frame rate the stream is currently delivering. The number shown is the stream output, not your camera’s hardware rating. The browser requests a default stream that often settles at 1280x720 or 1920x1080 even on a camera rated higher. That’s normal.
A very low number like 640x480 in full daylight can point to a browser fallback mode or a competing app holding camera resources in the background. In a normally lit room, frame rate should hold at 30 fps. If it drops to 15 or lower, close background apps and retest. A reading that stays low after that points to the browser settling into a low-power capture mode.
Test in low light
Move to a dim room and watch the preview. Heavy grain across the whole frame is a real signal, though the native camera app will look cleaner because it applies noise reduction the browser stream skips. What matters is whether the feed stays live and the brightness adapts. A camera that freezes or goes black in low light has a hardware problem.
If nothing shows up
A blank screen or a permission error after the page loads means the browser can’t reach the camera. Work through this in order.
On iOS: Safari asks for camera access per site. If you denied it once, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera, find Safari, and set it to Allow. Then reload the page.
On Android: while Chrome has the page open, tap the lock icon in the address bar. Find Camera and set it to Allow. If that option isn’t there, go to Settings > Apps > Chrome > Permissions > Camera and enable it.
If permission is already granted and the preview still shows black, close every other app that might hold the camera: video call apps, QR scanners, photo filters. Phones can only pipe the camera feed to one app at a time.
How to use
- Allow camera access. Tap Allow when the test above asks for camera access. A live preview appears within a second or two. If you can see yourself, the camera and browser access are both working.
- Switch between front and rear camera. Once the feed is live, use the Camera dropdown to toggle between the front and rear lens. Both should produce a live image. A camera that shows black in one position but works in the other identifies which lens has the problem.
- Check resolution and frame rate. The test shows the resolution and frame rate the stream delivers. A very low resolution in daylight or a frame rate at 15 fps or lower can point to a competing app holding the camera resource in the background.
- Test in low light. Move to a dim room and watch the preview. The feed should stay live and adapt to the lower brightness. A camera that freezes or goes black in low light has a hardware problem.
- Fix a blank screen or blocked permission. On iOS, go to Settings, Privacy and Security, Camera, find Safari, and set it to Allow. On Android, tap the lock icon in the address bar and enable camera access. Then close every other app that might hold the camera.
FAQ
- Why does my phone camera show a black screen in the browser?
- Permission is blocked or another app holds the camera. Allow camera access for the browser in your phone settings, then close video call apps and QR scanners. A phone can only pipe the camera to one app at a time.
- Why does the test show a lower resolution than my camera's rating?
- Browsers request a default stream that often settles at 720p or 1080p regardless of the sensor's megapixels. That's the stream resolution, not a hardware fault.
- How do I tell which lens is faulty, front or rear?
- Toggle the Camera dropdown while the feed is live. A black image on one position with a working picture on the other isolates the bad lens.
- Why is the browser preview grainier than my camera app?
- The native app applies noise reduction that the raw browser stream skips. Heavy grain in low light is normal. A feed that freezes or goes black is the real warning sign.
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