How to fix webcam issue on my laptop (Acer Aspire A515-54, windows 10)?

Sikhulu Masuku 0 Reputation points
2026-05-25T09:20:41.73+00:00

Hello,

My webcam suddenly stopped working. The camera light flashes green and can record but there is nothing displayed on the screen, the screen remains black. When i try to view what was recorded it says "Error: unsupported video type or invalid file path."

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-25T09:52:49.52+00:00

    1

    Look at the function keys (F1 - F12) on your keyboard, if one of them has a camera icon, press that key or Fn + that key to unlock the webcam.

    2

    If that was not the problem, look at the camera lens above your screen, is there a small privacy slider that needs to be opened to access the webcam?

    3

    If the webcam is still not working, go to the support page for your laptop on the manufacturers website, then from there, download and re-install the version of webcam drivers they provide

    If you have any difficulty locating that support page, click your Start Button, then just type msinfo and press Enter, please provide a screenshot of the resulting System Information window.

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  2. Emanuele Lovato 0 Reputation points
    2026-08-31T12:03:47.0333333+00:00

    If your camera light blinks on and off while the picture stays black, and stops blinking when the window loses focus, this may be it — and it is not a driver or a privacy setting.

    Acer installs a Device MFT (AcerMediaService.dll) that sits inside the Windows Media Foundation camera pipeline and processes every frame. After a recent Windows 11 update it loads but stops delivering frames, so every app gets black while Device Manager still reports the camera as healthy. The blinking is the app opening the stream, getting nothing, timing out and retrying.

    The reason the registry fixes in this thread stop working after a reboot: the service AcerARTAIMMXDriverService re-registers the plug-in at every startup through DetectCameraDMFT.exe. You have to stop that service too.

    The neat part is that Acer already ships the uninstaller for it — UninstallAcerCameraDMFT.exe, inside its own driver package.

    I wrote it up with a script that runs read-only by default and tells you whether this is actually your problem before touching anything: https://github.com/BiNeurale/acer-camera-black-screen-fix

    If the read-only run does not print CameraDeviceMftClsidChain**, this is not your fault** — stop there, the same symptom has several other causes.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-05-25T09:21:07.2133333+00:00

    Follow these steps in order on Windows 10:

    1. Test the camera in the Camera app
      1. Open Start > Camera.
      2. Check if the preview is also black there.
      3. If the camera works in another app but not in the one used to record, the issue is with that app’s settings or format support.
    2. Check privacy and app permissions
      1. Select Start > Settings > Privacy > Camera.
      2. Under Allow access to the camera on this device, select Change and turn Camera access for this device On.
      3. Make sure Allow apps to access your camera is On.
      4. Under Choose which Microsoft Store apps can access your camera, turn on access for the apps used.
      5. Scroll to Allow desktop apps to access your camera and turn it On so browsers and desktop apps (Teams, Zoom, etc.) can use the camera.
    3. Check for a physical shutter or function key
      1. Inspect the camera area above the screen for a privacy slider/shutter and make sure it is open.
      2. Check the function keys (F1–F12) for a camera icon (for example F4 or F10 on some laptops) and press that key, or Fn + that key, to enable the webcam.
    4. Update or reinstall the camera driver
      1. Right‑click Start and select Device Manager.
      2. Expand Cameras (or Imaging devices) and locate the laptop camera.
      3. Right‑click the camera and select Update driver.
      4. Select Search automatically for drivers and let Windows install any found driver.
      5. Restart the PC and test again in the Camera app.
      If the problem started after a Windows update or persists:
      1. In Device Manager, right‑click the camera > Properties > Driver tab.
      2. If available, select Roll Back Driver, confirm, then restart and test.
      3. If rollback is not available or does not help:
        • In Properties > Driver, select Uninstall Device.
        • Check Delete the driver software for this device (or Attempt to remove the driver for this device) and select OK.
        • In Device Manager, open the Action menu and select Scan for hardware changes.
        • After it reinstalls the driver, restart the PC and test the Camera app again.
    5. Switch to the in‑box USB Video Class (UVC) driver If the Acer‑specific driver is faulty, switching to the standard Windows driver can help:
      1. Open Device Manager.
      2. Find the webcam under Cameras or Imaging devices.
      3. Right‑click the webcam and select Update driver.
      4. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
      5. Select Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
      6. Choose USB Video Device and select Next.
      7. Close the wizard, then test the Camera app again. Note: Some advanced features (like Windows Hello face recognition) may not work with the generic UVC driver.
    6. Check for Windows updates and optional driver updates
      1. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
      2. If View optional updates appears, open it and install any camera‑related driver updates.
      3. Restart the PC and test the camera.
    7. If recordings still show “unsupported video type”
      1. Confirm the camera preview works in the Camera app.
      2. If only the recorded files fail to play, the recording app may be saving in a format the player cannot handle. Test by recording directly in the Camera app and playing that file.
      3. If even Camera‑app recordings fail, this strongly suggests a driver or hardware issue—re‑do steps 4–6 and, if still failing, check Acer’s support page for the exact model and install their latest camera driver.

    If, after all steps, the camera still shows a black image in all apps and with the Camera app, and drivers are up to date or reinstalled, this points to a hardware fault and the device should be inspected or repaired via Acer support.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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