Chromebook: the webcam no longer works due to a bug

One pesky bug that has been affecting Chromebooks since a recent Chrome OS update is the webcam no longer working. Several users have noticed this issue and Google has responded.

A bug with the Chromebook webcam since an update

The Chrome OS 97 update is the one that caused issues with the webcam on some Chromebooks. Owners of these laptops are unable to use it during a video call, to take a photo or anything else.

Based on user feedback, in most cases have a connection with Chromebooks having an ARM chip instead of an Intel processor. These include the Lenovo Duet, HP Chromebook X2 and other models. However, some machines with an Intel processor have the same problem, including Google’s Pixelbook Go.

Fortunately, this is a software problem, not a hardware one. Google is also aware and promises a fix that will arrive by the end of the week:

Our team expects the fix to be available later this week with a software update, and it’s not related to your device. We will update this thread once the fix has been deployed.