Catalina won't give permissions to camera and microphone to third-party apps.

Question

Catalina won't give permissions to camera and microphone to third-party apps.

I upgraded to Catalina from High Sierra using the app store. Everything went smoothly, except for the camera and microphone not working on apps like Microsoft Teams, Brave Browser, Chrome, Firefox, Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, etc. It only seemed to work on Safari and FaceTime.

I checked in Privacy & Security for permissions and couldn't add any apps. There's no option for it. I looked everywhere and I couldn't find an answer to the problem.

I tried to do a Catalina clean install. Still, I couldn't download the complete installer file to make a bootable USB, so I used TimeMachine to return my MacBook Pro mid-2012 to High Sierra, and all the apps I mentioned worked fine with the camera and microphone.

Any idea why that happened with Catalina?

Thank you for your time and help.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 30, 2023 06:23 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 1, 2023 11:44 AM in response to BDAqua

The issue is fixed!

I saw the solution in this thread Catalina 10.15.3, unable to grant camera, … - Apple Community, and it solved it by resetting the PRAM.

Last night I felt adventurous and upgraded to Catalina from Rescue mode. I tried resetting the PRAM method this morning, and the camera is available for all apps.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

250,031 points

Jun 30, 2023 07:03 PM in response to Jorge Inchaurregui

Is this what you tried?

Control access to your camera on Mac

Some apps and websites can use your camera to take photos or video. You can decide which apps are allowed to use the camera on your Mac.

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences>Security & Privacy,>Privacy. tab
Select Camera.
Select the checkbox next to an app to allow it to access your camera.
Deselect the checkbox to turn off access for that app.
If you turn off access for an app, you’re asked to turn it on again the next time that app tries to use your camera.

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Answer 3

Jun 30, 2023 09:17 PM in response to BDAqua

Hi!

Thank you for replying. Yes, I tried to do that, but there were no apps to check their boxes. I'm attaching a couple of images as a reference. It's the weirdest thing.

So, even after the apps asked for permission to use both the camera and microphone and said yes to both, I'd get an error message saying both devices were blocked. I'd go back to Security & Privacy, and the space for the apps remained empty.

I'm back in High Sierra, and things are working fine. The camera and microphone work perfectly in all the apps I mentioned in my original post, FaceTime and Safari included.

I'd have liked to upgrade to Catalina. It seemed very smooth, but I do video calls all the time.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply. Have a nice weekend!

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

250,031 points

Jun 30, 2023 09:33 PM in response to Jorge Inchaurregui

Actually, I think Catalina was the worst OS in a longtime, but it had to be a borked Install somehow, both Cam, & Mic Show & allow checking in Catalina here.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

250,031 points

Jul 1, 2023 05:10 PM in response to Jorge Inchaurregui

Great work my friend! :)

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Catalina won't give permissions to camera and microphone to third-party apps.

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