Zoom Camera Test

This Zoom camera test shows your camera the way Zoom will get it, and checks the light on your face before anyone sees you. Press Start and the page opens your camera at the size video calls use, then reports the resolution and frame rate the camera really delivers, which can be lower than the box says. It compares the brightness of your face with the area around your head and warns when a window or lamp behind you will turn you into a dark shape. The 5 second clip at the end plays back unmirrored, exactly as the others in the meeting will see you. It works with built-in laptop cameras, USB webcams and phone cameras on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, iPhone and Android.

How to run the Zoom camera test

1. Sit where you will sit in the meeting, with the room lights as they will be.
2. Press Start the check and choose Allow when your browser asks for the camera.
3. Put your face in the yellow oval. The page reads your picture and light for 3 seconds.
4. Read the warnings on the picture and the readouts below it. Fix the light if needed and press Again on the camera step.
5. Record the 5 second clip and watch it. This is the view the others get.

What the results mean

When the background is more than 25 points brighter than your face, the camera sets its exposure for the bright area and your face goes dark. The test calls this out as light behind you.

Testing the camera inside Zoom

On Windows and Mac, click your profile picture, then Settings and Video & effects. The preview shows the selected camera. Choose another camera from the list if the picture is wrong, and use the options under the preview:

• HD sends a sharper picture, up to 720p on most accounts, when your camera and connection allow it. On a work account, an admin may need to allow HD video first.
• Adjust for low light brightens a dark picture, on Auto or set by hand.
• Touch up my appearance softens skin a little.

In a meeting, click the arrow next to the video button and choose Video settings to switch cameras. On iPhone and Android, tap the Meetings tab, start a meeting and turn on video to see yourself. If the camera never turns on, allow Zoom under Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera on iPhone, or Settings, Apps, Zoom, Permissions on Android.

Zoom shows a black screen or no camera

If this test shows your picture, the camera works and the problem sits between it and Zoom:

1. Another app holds the camera. On Windows, a camera that is open in one app often cannot be opened by another. Close Teams, the Camera app and other browser tabs, including this one, then restart Zoom.
2. Zoom is not allowed. On Windows, open Settings, Privacy & security, Camera and turn on Let desktop apps access your camera. On a Mac, switch on zoom.us under System Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera.
3. Zoom uses another camera. Virtual cameras from streaming apps and phone link apps appear in the list too. Pick the real one in Video & effects.

If this test shows a black picture as well, look for a privacy cover over the lens, a key with a camera symbol on the keyboard, or a switch on the side of the laptop. If the camera fails in every app, follow the webcam not working guide, or camera not working on laptop for a built-in laptop camera.

Your face is dark or the window behind you glows

A window behind you is the usual reason for a dark face on video, and the light readings catch it. Cameras expose for the whole picture, so the bright window wins and your face goes dark. Turn so the window is in front of you or to one side, or close the blinds behind you. Then add light from the front: a desk lamp behind the screen pointing at you, or a white page on a second screen. A full screen screen light works when you have no lamp. Zoom's Adjust for low light helps a little, but it cannot fix a strong backlight. Aim for the light on your face to read close to the background, then press Again on the camera step to confirm.

Your video is choppy or blurry

• Low frame rate: below 20 fps, video looks jerky. In dim rooms most webcams expose each frame longer and slow down, so more light usually brings 30 fps back. Close heavy apps, and plug a USB webcam into the computer rather than a hub.
• Low resolution: below 720p, the picture looks soft when shown large. Pick a better camera if you have one, and turn on HD in Zoom.
• Blur at any resolution: wipe the lens with a soft dry cloth. Fingerprints on laptop lenses are common.

For a closer look at what your camera can do, run the webcam resolution test.

You look mirrored, or text reads backwards

Zoom shows your own video mirrored, like the online mirror, because it feels natural when you move. The others see you unmirrored, so writing on a whiteboard behind you reads correctly for them. Use the Mirror button here to switch your preview, and watch the 5 second clip to see the unmirrored view.

Testing your camera and microphone together

Press Everything above the picture to add the microphone, speaker and noise checks to this camera test, or open the zoom test meeting guide, which also explains Zoom's own test meeting. For the mic alone, use the zoom mic check.

What this camera test cannot check

The page cannot see faces. It reads the oval in the middle of the picture, so keep your face there for the light readings to mean something. It does not show Zoom's virtual backgrounds, filters or Touch up my appearance, and it does not test your internet connection. Zoom asks for about 1.2 Mbps in each direction for 720p video in a one to one call. The camera maximum comes from what the camera tells the browser, and some browsers, such as Firefox, do not share it.

This test is independent and not affiliated with Zoom, Microsoft or Google. Their product names are used only to describe what the test works with.

Zoom camera test questions