Microsoft has released a temporary solution for Surface Pro X devices following reports that the cameras on the device ceased to function last week. Specifically, cameras on some Arm-based devices, including the Surface Pro X, experienced issues, resulting in owners being unable to utilize the built-in webcams.
In a recent support note, Microsoft confirmed that they are implementing a critical troubleshooter to address the problem on most Windows devices that have been impacted. Although the workaround may disable certain features of the camera or reduce image quality, it is believed to be effective in allowing the camera to operate until the device manufacturer issues an updated camera driver that resolves the issue.
The processors affected by this issue include Qualcomm 8cx Gen 1, Qualcomm 8cx Gen 2, Microsoft SQ1, and Microsoft SQ2. It is worth noting that USB cameras or webcams are not influenced by this matter, even if they are connected to affected Windows devices. In case you want to ascertain whether the troubleshooter has been utilized, refer to the troubleshooter history and look for “Hardware and devices troubleshooter” and “Automatically change system settings to fix a problem on your device.”
Microsoft has stated that the restoration of “full camera functionality” will be possible once an updated driver is made available. According to the company, in instances where an organization has disabled troubleshooters on managed devices or if there is a need to take action before the troubleshooter activates automatically, the following steps can be taken to address the issue with the affected camera driver feature:
- Type ‘cmd’ in the search box and select ‘Command Prompt’ by right-clicking on it, followed by clicking on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.
- Copy and paste the command below, and press ‘Enter’ to execute it: reg add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Qualcomm\Camera” /v EnableQCOMFD /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f.
- Restart any app that utilizes the camera or reboot your Windows device.
Via Verge
