Windows 10: how do i make an external camera the default camera

It was installed and working then it mysteriously disappeared and left me with only the built in camera.

:)

 

Default Camera


I know this is an old thread, but unless I'm somehow missing something, Edwin's "answer" is simply unrelated to grandpavic's question.

Every idiot knows how to set the default MICROPHONE, although not every idiot can turn it into a complicated 10-step process as thouroughly as Edwin.

Probably for this reason, "how does one set the default microphone?" is just one of several BILLION questions that grandpavic did NOT ask.

Grandpavic, I have never seen a documented answer to your question. I have the impression that the camera which is used by the modern "Camera" APP is the defiault camera. You make this choice in the main window of the Camera app itself: there is a little "switch-me" icon in the top left corner of that window. Click on it until the camera you wish to choose is displaying its video in that main window. Then close the camera app. (annoyingly, most "modern" apps don't have any "quit" button, and in fact you were not supposed to quit them at al. Newer versions of these apps seem indeed to exit the app when you close their main window, so you don't have to worry about the memory footprint wasted just to choose a default. In any case, the default web cam of the system is the one the modern Camera app last used,

But that is just my empiical observation . I wouldnt normally allow myself to post some personal speculation as an 'answser' in such forum as this. But you asked a LONG time ago, withought receiving a single answerl. So i wanted to se what i could do

--Scott

 

Default Camera


I've been searching for a solution to this too, and have not found anything anywhere. To be clear:

1. Disabling one of the cameras is not a good solution. That prevents switching to the secondary camera at all (without going through the trouble of re-enabling it).
2. The fact that an individual program allows you to switch between 2 cameras (using the camera flip button in the Camera app) is also not related -- that just selects which camera to use in that app. That's almost the opposite of setting an OS-wide default camera. I want to set a default camera specifically so that I don't have to specify which camera I want to use in each app (Skype, Skype for Business, Slack, Camera, etc.).

We can do this for audio, as Edwin showed. Is there really no equivalent for video?

 

Camera not working with Skype

Well I can't see one!!!

If I plug in an external USB camera then a camera heading appears in Device Manager and the USB camera is listed. Remove the USB camera and the entire camera section disappears

Cant remember if I said but,for hte avoidance of doubt, the Internal Lenovo camera appears as a selectable camera in Skype, its just that when selected it does not work (black screen)