Webcam Test

How to use

1. Allow camera access. Click Allow camera access and accept the browser prompt. The video plays locally. Nothing leaves your device.
2. Check the live preview. You should see yourself within a second. Check that the picture is sharp and well lit, then read the real resolution and frame rate. Below them, the verdict tells you if the picture is black or the feed is frozen.
3. Scan for the highest resolution. Press Scan resolutions. It asks the camera for five sizes, from 480p to 4K, and fills in the table in about 10 seconds. Your preview then drops back to the size it started at.
4. Switch camera and snapshot. Have more than one camera? Pick it from the dropdown. To save a still, press the camera icon on the preview, then press Download under the snapshot.

Why test this

A webcam that worked yesterday can be black, frozen, or locked by another app the moment a call connects. You usually find out at the worst time, with people waiting on a 'we can't see you.' Testing it here takes seconds. Skip that scramble before an interview, a stream, or a meeting. It also shows where the problem lives. If you get a sharp picture in the browser, the camera and its drivers work, so the fault is the other app's permissions or device settings. If it stays black after you pick the right camera and close Zoom, Teams, and OBS, the cause is the hardware, a privacy shutter, or an OS-level block. Everything runs on your device, so you can check a locked-down work laptop without a single frame being recorded or uploaded.

What the results mean

The live preview is the main readout. It should appear within a second, look sharp, and track your movement with no lag. Three verdicts mean the feed itself is broken. Dark frames read as Black picture, most often from a closed shutter, a camera key, or an OS block. Frozen is a live feed stuck on one image, so suspect the driver or the connection. With No frames, nothing arrives at all. Below it, the resolution and frame rate show what the stream is delivering right now. Browsers start low, often at 640×480 or 720p at 30 fps. That's normal, not the camera's limit. Press Scan resolutions to ask for bigger sizes and see which ones the camera delivers. Under those numbers, a verdict tells you whether the frame rate keeps up with the camera's setting. Full speed means it does. Too dark means it's running well under that setting. Many webcams do this in a dim room because they hold each frame longer to catch more light. Light your face from the front, then look at the verdict again. A very low frame rate in good light can mean a slow USB port or an overloaded machine. Press the flip-arrows icon on the preview to mirror the image the way you're used to seeing yourself. To check the quality up close, snap a still with the camera icon. If everything looks right here but one app still shows black, the fault is that app's camera permission or device choice, not your hardware.

FAQ

Is this webcam test safe, and do you record me?

Nothing is uploaded or stored. The video is captured and shown entirely in your browser, and any snapshot you take stays in this tab until you close it.

Why is my webcam showing a black screen?

Check the verdict under the preview first. A Black picture verdict means frames arrive but they're dark. A closed privacy shutter does that, and so does a camera key or OS switch that turned the camera off, or a pitch-dark room. No frames means the camera opened, then stopped sending. Replug a USB camera or restart. No preview at all? Allow access in the browser prompt, pick the right camera, and close Zoom, Teams, or OBS.

Can I choose which camera to test?

Yes. Once access is granted and more than one camera exists, a Camera dropdown appears so you can switch between built-in and external webcams.

Why is the resolution lower than my camera supports?

The browser opens a small default stream, often 640×480 or 1280×720, even on a 1080p camera. Press Scan resolutions to find the camera's top size. It asks for 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 4K in turn and lists the size and frame rate you got at each. When 1440p and 4K still come back as 1920×1080, the camera tops out at 1080p in this browser. Getting a big size at a very low frame rate in good light? The camera or its USB link can't keep up at that size, so plug it straight into the computer, skip the hub, and scan again.

Does the test need https?

Yes. Browsers only grant camera access on a secure (https) connection or on localhost. On plain http the permission prompt never appears.