Free · Runs in this tab
Webcam test online. See yourself, and the numbers.
Check that your camera works before a call, an interview or an exam. The picture stays on this page and is never recorded or uploaded.
One check
- Webcam
One check after another, with your progress along the top and a plain verdict on each. Nothing you show the camera or say into the microphone leaves this page.
In short
Webcam test: the answer first
A webcam test shows whether your camera opens, at what resolution and frame rate it really delivers, and whether the light is good enough to be seen. The picture stays on this page; it is never recorded or uploaded.
Reading your result
- Counted frame rate beats the claim
- The rate is counted from the frames that arrive. Where the browser cannot count them it shows the rate the stream claims and labels it as a claim.
- Bright edges, dark centre
- That pattern means the light is behind you. Turn to face a window or a lamp; more light also lets most cameras run at a higher frame rate.
- The wrong camera is a common cause
- The name of the camera in use is shown, because laptops with a USB camera attached often keep the built-in one.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
- The live picture
- The camera opens on the page so you can see framing and focus for yourself.
- Resolution and frame rate
- The resolution is that of the stream the browser opened, which is usually the camera's. The frame rate is counted from the frames that arrive over three seconds; where the browser cannot count them, the rate it claims for the stream is shown and labelled as a claim. Most exam vendors want at least 640 by 480; most webcams manage 1280 by 720 at 30 frames per second.
- Delivered resolution
- The size the page really decodes, beside the size the stream reports. They usually match; when they do not, the browser or the camera is scaling the picture.
- Lighting
- The mean brightness of a frame, and the centre against the edges. Edges much brighter than the centre means the light is behind you: backlit, with the face in shadow.
- Noise, sharpness and clipping
- Noise is how much each pixel flickers over a second of a still scene, as a percent of the signal. Sharpness is the variance of the Laplacian on the centre of the picture, shown as a multiple of a soft line we set ourselves. Clipping is the share of pixels lost to pure black or pure white.
- Face framing
- Where the browser has a face detector (the Shape Detection API), whether a face is found and centred. Where it does not, the page says so and does not guess.
- Which camera
- The name of the camera in use, which matters when a laptop has a built-in camera and a USB one and the browser picked the wrong one.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- Access was refused
- Click the camera icon in the address bar and choose Allow. Then the system's own camera privacy switch; the path for your device is shown under the fixes on this page. Then reload and run again.
- No camera was found
- Check for a privacy slider or a keyboard key that disables the camera, plug a USB camera in fully, and restart the browser. In the system's device list (Device Manager on Windows), a camera with a warning needs its driver reinstalled.
- Another app or tab is using the camera
- The browser reports the camera as unreadable when something else holds it. Close Zoom, Teams, Skype, OBS, the system's camera app and any browser tab that showed the camera, then run again. The steps for your system are shown with the result.
- The picture is dark or grainy
- Face a window or a lamp rather than sitting with light behind you. More light also lets the camera run at a higher frame rate.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- Whether the lens is dirty. A soft reading can mean a smudge, poor light or a camera that smooths the picture; only you can see which.
- Frames are read on this page and thrown away. Nothing from the camera is uploaded.
- The camera's quality in a specific app. Zoom, Teams and exam software each open the camera their own way and may pick a different one.
- Anything when the camera is used by another program. The browser cannot take it over; close the other app first.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
Webcam test, answered
- How do I test if my webcam is working?
- Run the test above. If the browser asks, allow the camera. A live picture with a resolution and a counted frame rate means it works. If nothing appears, the fixes above cover refused access, a missing camera and a camera in use by another app.
- Is this webcam test private?
- Yes. The picture is shown on this page and stopped when you finish. It is never recorded, stored or sent anywhere.
- Why is my webcam blurry or dark?
- Usually light. Webcams need more light than eyes do, and light behind you makes the camera expose for the background. A lamp in front of you fixes most of it. A dirty lens is the other common cause.
- What webcam resolution do I need for an online exam?
- Vendors usually list 640 by 480 as the minimum. Any laptop camera or USB webcam made in the last decade meets that. The frame rate and the light matter more for a clear picture.
- Why does my webcam show a lower frame rate in the dark?
- Many cameras lengthen the exposure in low light, which leaves less time per frame. The counted rate on this page rises once the room is brighter.
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