USB camera not recognized by applications on 2018 MacBook Pro (Intel) after disabling screen recording settings

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Level 1

4 points

USB camera not recognized by applications on 2018 MacBook Pro (Intel) after disabling screen recording settings

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I have a 2018 MacBook Pro. The built in camera no longer works because the display was replaced last year and the cable was damaged. So, I have been using a USB camera successfully for Zoom Teams, and FaceTime. I am fine with that setup.

The other night, I saw that, in the upper right hand corner of the screen, it said ‘your screen is being observed.’ So, like an idiot, I panicked and started disabling stuff in system settings related to the screen recording, and other settings I can’t remember. Good grief. So much for the rational mind. Now, my USB camera no longer shows as an option in Zoom. Teams, FaceTime, Chrome, even Photo Booth. None of these applications recognize the USB camera.

I tested the camera with another Mac and it works. The camera is not the problem. Also, the USB ports work because I tested them with other peripherals. I ran a system report and under USB, the external camera is recognized. However, no application will recognize it.

I have also done the following:

Rebooted several times: restart, soft and hard reboot.

Reviewed system settings including screen time, security & privacy (gave permissions to apps that use camera), and adjusted anything else that seemed relevant. Compared these settings to my other mac.

I reset the SMC & NVRAM via Terminal

I also ran sudo killall VDCAssistant and sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant in Terminal

and I finally, in desperation, updated MacOS from Sonoma to Sequoia.

I’m at a loss. Any insight is greatly appreciated. I need the camera for my work and family.

Thanks, in advance.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: USB Camera Stopped Working on 2018 MacBook Pro (Intel) - Tried Everything I Can Think Of....

Posted on Aug 26, 2025 06:44 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 27, 2025 02:43 PM in response to hlm3

Maybe some other software is interfering.

The next debugging step would be to restart into Safe Mode, and see if the camera works in Safe mode. This is because safe mode does not load a whole lot of third-party add-ons, so that competing stuff would be set aside.

But display updates are wonky and slow, because safe mode does not enable graphics acceleration, either.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

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Answer 2

hlm3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 26, 2025 07:38 AM in response to WheelieNick

Thanks for responding. Camera has access to Zoom and others but camera still isn't showing up as option in the Zoom app. Not sure where to look next. Gone through all system settings, especially Privacy & Security and General.

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Answer 3

Aug 26, 2025 01:44 PM in response to hlm3

Option -Apple Menu and choose

System Information

click on USB (presuming that is how it is attached)

is the device on any USB bus shown there?

if not, "its not connected"

if it is seen, does it have enough current to function?

what make&model camera?

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Answer 4

hlm3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 27, 2025 11:32 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

The camera is Logitech C920S Pro 1080p HD

The system report shows that the Logitech is connected.

Plenty of current from all four USB ports. I've run external drives and audio interfaces from them all.

I can only assume that there is an issue in the EFI. But I don't have experience with that on a mac like I do with BIOS on a PC.

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Answer 5

hlm3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 27, 2025 05:07 PM in response to hlm3

Zoom shows up and is enabled for camera but Zoom application doesn't recognize it.

Also, no other app that uses a camera sees it and I can't add Photo Booth to this list because I don't think I can reinstall it. The only way I knew to do that was to upgrade my OS which I did. Still didn't work.

Thanks.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 6

hlm3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 27, 2025 02:06 PM in response to hlm3

In addition to the screenshot above, what I can't understand is that

the usb camera shows up in system report
I can add Zoom (and only Zoom) to access the camera in System Settings/Privacy & Security/Camera BUT, when I open Zoom, I can't use the camera
Nothing I can change in System Settings will fix this
The USB camera works on other computers. I even bought another camera and it doesn't work on this computer.
I reset the SMC & NVRAM via Terminal
I also ran sudo killall VDCAssistant and sudo killall AppleCameraAssistant in Terminal
and I finally, in desperation, updated MacOS from Sonoma to Sequoia.
I'm at a loss. There must be a terminal entry I can make to address this but I can't find anything.

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Answer 7

hlm3 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 27, 2025 05:00 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant, I appreciate your assistance very much.

The USB camera was not available in Zoom or Photo Booth in Safe Mode. Its strange that the camera is recognized in System Information but not by applications that use it.

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Answer 8

HWTech

Level 9

66,896 points

Aug 27, 2025 05:20 PM in response to hlm3

Create a new macOS user account. Log out of your main user account, then log into the new macOS user account. Make sure the external USB camera works properly.

If so, then you can try comparing System Settings between the two user accounts.

If it also has a problem, then something else is wrong and @Grant's suggestion of trying Safe Mode is next as it is indicating a system wide issue. It is possible some Terminal command may have modified a system wide setting.

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