Webcam does not work, though it works on Windows

Knut07 · 11-05-2021, 02:58 AM

Hi

My webcam is not working. On Windows 10 it works fine, no problems. lsusb shows no webcam. Cheese says there is an error. Guvcview also runs without luck.

I am running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. I am new to Ubuntu so my webcam has never worked, as far as I know.

This is a laptop, model ThinkPad X1 Tablet G2. It is an integrated webcam (model Intel(R) AVStream Camera 2500)

Below are some outputs of various commands (I have asked for help elsewhere, but nobody has been able to fix my problem):

Output of ls -lah /dev/video*:

Code:

crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  0 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video0
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  1 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video1
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 14 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video10
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 15 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video11
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 16 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video12
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 17 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video13
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  2 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video2
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  3 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video3
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  8 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video4
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81,  9 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video5
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 10 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video6
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 11 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video7
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 12 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video8
crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 13 nov.   1 21:00 /dev/video9

Output of lsusb:

Code:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 8087:0a2b Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 17ef:60a3 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Thin Keyboard Gen 2
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 046d:c52f Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 1199:9079 Sierra Wireless, Inc. Sierra Wireless EM7455 Qualcomm Snapdragon X7 LTE-A
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

(There is no function key on my keyboard showing a camera)
Thanks a lot!

shruggy · 11-05-2021, 03:57 AM

I don't see a webcam in the output of lsusb. 8087:0a2b is Bluetooth interface. If the cam were indeed connected internally via USB bus, I'd expect the kernel driver uvcvideo to work with it.

Knut07 · 11-05-2021, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shruggy

I don't see a webcam in the output of lsusb. 8087:0a2b is Bluetooth interface. If the cam were indeed connected internally via USB bus, I'd expect the kernel driver uvcvideo to work with it.

What can I do to install this driver?

calvinmeadows · 11-05-2021, 11:04 AM

do you have guvcview installed on your system? if not, install guvcview from your distro's repository.

Knut07 · 11-05-2021, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calvinmeadows

do you have guvcview installed on your system? if not, install guvcview from your distro's repository.

I do, like it says in the post, it doesn’t work either.

shruggy · 11-05-2021, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knut07

What can I do to install this driver?

sudo modprobe uvcvideo?

But I don't think installing the driver will help you. As I said there's no webcam in the output of lsusb. Moreover, here is a hardware probe of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2nd gen, and it's not obvious to me, what is a webcam there if any. And here is a similar thread @forum.manjaro.org. The advice there was to find a switch to activate the camera (like e.g. Fn+Space activates the keyboard backlight) or to load the firmware.

Besides USB webcams, there used to be parallel port webcams and FireWire webcams. Although it would be highly unusual if the internal webcam were connected over anything but USB. Anyway, try to locate your camera in the output of dmesg.

Actually, ThinkPad X1 2nd Gen specs list two cameras:

Quote:

Front camera: 2.0-megapixel, fixed focus
Rear camera: 8.0-megapixel, auto focus, flash LED

Also see https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_camera

Knut07 · 11-08-2021, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shruggy

sudo modprobe uvcvideo?

But I don't think installing the driver will help you. As I said there's no webcam in the output of lsusb. Moreover, here is a hardware probe of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2nd gen, and it's not obvious to me, what is a webcam there if any. And here is a similar thread @forum.manjaro.org. The advice there was to find a switch to activate the camera (like e.g. Fn+Space activates the keyboard backlight) or to load the firmware.

Besides USB webcams, there used to be parallel port webcams and FireWire webcams. Although it would be highly unusual if the internal webcam were connected over anything but USB. Anyway, try to locate your camera in the output of dmesg.

Actually, ThinkPad X1 2nd Gen specs list two cameras:

Also see https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Integrated_camera

Sadly, nothing here was able to help me, I do not have a function key with a camera symbol or anything on the keyboard. It's such a mystery, why does it not work... when it works on Windows ??!!

Soadyheid · 11-08-2021, 07:00 AM

I've also got a couple of webcams which don't work with Linux. However, I DO have one which I picked up at the local Asda/Walmart (at the time!) store for about £6.00. USB, very cheap! It seems to work fine though the resolution's not too great. I use it so I can remotely monitor what my 3D printer is doing via my Smartphone. The camera is connected to a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint, the Pi and the phone being on the same LAN.

Maybe you should invest in a cheap USB camera? Don't pick one with a built in microphone though,as it might not work.

Hope this helps!

Play Bonny!

Knut07 · 11-08-2021, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soadyheid

I've also got a couple of webcams which don't work with Linux. However, I DO have one which I picked up at the local Asda/Walmart (at the time!) store for about £6.00. USB, very cheap! It seems to work fine though the resolution's not too great. I use it so I can remotely monitor what my 3D printer is doing via my Smartphone. The camera is connected to a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint, the Pi and the phone being on the same LAN.

Maybe you should invest in a cheap USB camera? Don't pick one with a built in microphone though,as it might not work.

Hope this helps!

Play Bonny!

Thanks for the tips! Though I would like this to be last resort... but yeah it does seem like maybe my camera is not supported :/ My PC also only has ONE USB port, which I use for the bluetooth reciever of my mouse, so... it's not ideal with a USB camera

floppy_stuttgart · 11-08-2021, 03:03 PM

1. Only 1 USB? connect an USB port extension 1-> x(3..4?).
2. If you really dont see anything in DMESG (dmesg | grep "video"), boot under windows10 and let us know the model of your camera you will read from your system.

computersavvy · 11-08-2021, 05:08 PM

An integrated web cam will not likely show up with lsusb. Try "lspci -v" instead.

Knut07 · 11-10-2021, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floppy_stuttgart

1. Only 1 USB? connect an USB port extension 1-> x(3..4?).
2. If you really dont see anything in DMESG (dmesg | grep "video"), boot under windows10 and let us know the model of your camera you will read from your system.

Edited the post to say my webcam model, its Intel(R) AVStream Camera 2500.

Knut07 · 11-10-2021, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by computersavvy

An integrated web cam will not likely show up with lsusb. Try "lspci -v" instead.

Not really getting anything there either...

Code:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v6/7th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Xeon E3-1200 v6/7th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: skl_uncore

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation HD Graphics 615 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: Lenovo HD Graphics 615
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 154
	Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
	Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	I/O ports at e000 [size=64]
	Expansion ROM at 000c0000 [virtual] [disabled] [size=128K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915

00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor Thermal Subsystem (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor Thermal Subsystem
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 16
	Memory at e1730000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: proc_thermal
	Kernel modules: processor_thermal_device

00:05.0 Multimedia controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor Imaging Unit (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor Imaging Unit
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 131
	Memory at e1000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ipu3-imgu
	Kernel modules: ipu3_imgu

00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th/8th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model
	Subsystem: Lenovo Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th/8th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 255
	Memory at e1740000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:13.0 Non-VGA unclassified device: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Integrated Sensor Hub (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Integrated Sensor Hub
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
	Memory at e1741000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel_ish_ipc
	Kernel modules: intel_ish_ipc

00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP USB 3.0 xHCI Controller (rev 21) (prog-if 30 [XHCI])
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP USB 3.0 xHCI Controller
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 125
	Memory at e1700000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: xhci_pci

00:14.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Thermal subsystem (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Thermal subsystem
	Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 18
	Memory at e1742000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel_pch_thermal
	Kernel modules: intel_pch_thermal

00:14.3 Multimedia controller: Intel Corporation Device 9d32 (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Device 2243
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 152
	Memory at e1710000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ipu3-cio2
	Kernel modules: ipu3_cio2

00:15.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller #0 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	Memory at e1743000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss
	Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:15.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller #2 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
	Memory at e1744000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss
	Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:15.3 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller #3 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO I2C Controller
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	Memory at e1745000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss
	Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP CSME HECI #1 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP CSME HECI
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 153
	Memory at e1746000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: mei_me
	Kernel modules: mei_me

00:16.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Active Management Technology - SOL (rev 21) (prog-if 02 [16550])
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Active Management Technology - SOL
	Flags: 66MHz, fast devsel, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at e060 [size=8]
	Memory at e174a000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: serial

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 120
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: [disabled]
	Memory behind bridge: [disabled]
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: [disabled]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #2 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 121
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: [disabled]
	Memory behind bridge: e1600000-e16fffff [size=1M]
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: [disabled]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 122
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=04, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: [disabled]
	Memory behind bridge: e1500000-e15fffff [size=1M]
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: [disabled]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev f1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 123
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=05, subordinate=05, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: [disabled]
	Memory behind bridge: e1400000-e14fffff [size=1M]
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: [disabled]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1e.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO UART Controller #0 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO UART Controller
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20
	Memory at e1747000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss
	Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:1e.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO SPI Controller #0 (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP Serial IO SPI Controller
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
	Memory at e1748000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss
	Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP LPC Controller (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP LPC Controller
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0

00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP PMC (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP PMC
	Flags: fast devsel
	Memory at e173c000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=16K]

00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio (rev 21) (prog-if 80)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 64, IRQ 156
	Memory at e1738000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Memory at e1720000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel, snd_soc_skl

00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-LP SMBus (rev 21)
	Subsystem: Lenovo Sunrise Point-LP SMBus
	Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 16
	Memory at e1749000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	I/O ports at efa0 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801

02:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS522A PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo RTS522A PCI Express Card Reader
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 124
	Memory at e1600000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: rtsx_pci
	Kernel modules: rtsx_pci

04:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 8265 / 8275 (rev 78)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Wireless 8265 / 8275
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 155
	Memory at e1500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
	Kernel modules: iwlwifi

05:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd NVMe SSD Controller SM961/PM961 (prog-if 02 [NVM Express])
	Subsystem: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd NVMe SSD Controller SM961/PM961
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16, NUMA node 0
	Memory at e1400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: nvme
	Kernel modules: nvme

cwizardone · 11-10-2021, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soadyheid

.....Don't pick one with a built in microphone though,as it might not work......

A webcam without a microphone is getting hard to find.

sundialsvcs · 11-10-2021, 08:11 AM

It's unfortunate that the manufacturers of some equipment just try to do as little as possible: they somehow get it to work on the then-latest version of Microsoft Windows® and they stop there. The packaging looks impressive, but, even to a Windows user, the device is nothing but trouble.

Look very carefully at the box to see what OSes, and what versions thereof, the device claims to be compatible with, and for any suggestion of what you'll have to do upon installation to get it to work with that OS. The "least expensive option" might just be a pain in the "*".

A well-engineered product should support all of the current cross-platform standards and should work with a variety of systems – specifically including Linux – with a minimum of fuss. As a Linux user, they might not tell you what drivers you need to install on your particular machine, but ... that's what LQ is for!