Last Updated on May 31, 2026
I hit this in 2021. Google Meet kept telling me it couldn’t find my camera, even though I could see my own preview in the corner of the screen. I tried the obvious stuff, nothing worked, and eventually the problem went away on its own. Unsatisfying.
Plenty of people are still searching for an answer, though, so here’s what actually fixes it. Mac-focused, because that’s where most of the search traffic comes from.
Quick check first
Open Photo Booth. Can it see your camera?
- Yes: your camera and macOS are fine. It’s a Chrome or Meet problem. Skip to Fix 1.
- No: it’s a macOS or hardware issue, not a Meet issue. Restart, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and check what’s allowed.
Fix 1: Re-grant Chrome camera access in macOS settings
This is the most common cause on Mac. macOS updates sometimes silently revoke camera permission for apps.
- System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera.
- Find Google Chrome in the list.
- Toggle it off, wait two seconds, toggle it back on.
- Quit Chrome completely and reopen it. (Closing the window isn’t enough; use Cmd+Q.)
Fix 2: Check meet.google.com’s camera permission inside Chrome
Even if macOS is letting Chrome use the camera, Chrome itself can be blocking it for the Meet site.
- While on a Meet page, click the padlock (or tune icon) at the left of the address bar.
- Click Site settings.
- Find Camera, set it to Allow.
- Reload the tab.
Fix 3: Quit anything else that might be using the camera
Only one app can hold the camera at a time on macOS. The OS doesn’t always tell you what’s already got it. Quit:
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
- FaceTime
- Photo Booth
- Skype
- OBS, Loom, or any screen-recording or streaming tool
Then reload Meet.
Fix 4: Force-quit Chrome and reopen
If a camera handle is stuck, force-quitting Chrome releases it.
- Right-click Chrome in the dock and choose Quit. If it doesn’t quit, hold Option and pick Force Quit.
- Wait five seconds.
- Reopen Chrome and rejoin the meeting.
Fix 5: Remove Microsoft Teams leftovers
If you’ve ever installed Microsoft Teams, this is the one to try. Teams adds background services that can hold the camera, and Teams’s own uninstaller often leaves them behind.
- Open Activity Monitor and search for “Teams”. Force-quit anything that’s still running.
- In Terminal, run
launchctl list | grep -i teamsto see what’s loaded. - For anything that shows up, run
launchctl remove <name>(replace<name>with what you found). - Delete
~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teamsif it still exists. - Restart your Mac.
Fix 6: Restart the Mac
Unglamorous, often works. Releases every camera handle the system has open.
If your own preview shows but Meet still says no camera
This was my original 2021 case. The camera detection works, but the moment you join a call Meet says it can’t use the camera. Try, in this order:
- Try a different browser. Safari and Firefox both handle Meet. If the camera works there, Chrome is the culprit.
- Disable any VPN. WebRTC handshakes sometimes fail through certain VPN configurations.
- Open Meet in an Incognito window. This rules out a browser extension as the cause.
FAQ
Does “no camera found” mean my camera is broken?
No. In nearly every case the camera works fine in other apps. The error is about Meet’s access to it, not the camera itself.
Why does Meet say no camera found when Zoom works fine?
Browser-level permission, usually. Meet runs in Chrome and Chrome’s macOS camera access can be off even when other apps have it. Fix in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera.
Does uninstalling Microsoft Teams fix this?
Sometimes, but Teams’s own uninstaller often leaves the background services that cause the conflict. See Fix 5.
Will restarting Chrome fix it?
Often, yes. A full quit and relaunch releases a stuck camera handle. Closing the window isn’t the same as quitting.
Why does the error happen after a macOS update?
macOS sometimes resets app permissions during a system update. Re-granting Chrome camera access (Fix 1) brings it back.
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