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Google working to fix broken cameras on some Chromebooks following recent Chrome OS updates

Chrome OS updates come often and are a breeze to install, but like with anything else, there’s always the potential for things to go a little bit wrong. With some recent Chrome OS updates, it seems as though some Chromebook owners have noticed their onboard cameras have broken.

Spotted by About Chromebooks, the most recent updates to Chrome OS from version 97 and forward have caused some machines to lose the functionality of their cameras, leaving them broken in all apps, from video calls to the native camera app. There are multiple bug reports regarding the issue.

So far, one pattern throughout this issue has been the type of Chromebook at play, with the problem affecting ARM-based Chromebooks primarily so far, such as the Lenovo Duet series, HP Chromebook X2, and others. The problem has also surfaced on Google’s aging Pixelbook Go, which runs an Intel chip. One user who deployed 15 Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 units in a business claims that all 15 are not working.

Luckily, Google is aware of the problem and working on a fix! The company says the issue is not hardware-based and a fix will start rolling out as soon as this week.

Our team anticipates that the fix will be available later this week with a software update and is not related to your device. We will share an update on this thread once the fix has rolled out.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

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