Black screen on the FaceReady camera
A black picture almost always means the FaceReady camera is fine, but the video app grabbed it before FaceReady was ready. Work down this list — the first step fixes it most of the time.
1. Quit and reopen the video app
This is the fix nine times out of ten. Zoom, Teams, Meet and the rest read the camera once, when they start. If yours was open while FaceReady was starting up, it's holding an empty connection. Quit the video app completely and open it again, then pick FaceReady as the camera.
On a Mac, "close the window" isn't the same as quit. Press ⌘Q in the video app, or right-click its Dock icon and choose Quit, then reopen it.
2. Check FaceReady itself shows your face
Open the FaceReady window. If you see yourself there, the app is working and it's just the hand-off to fix (step 1). If FaceReady's own preview is black, your webcam is the issue — close any other app that might be using it (Photo Booth, another call), then click Start in FaceReady.
3. Make sure FaceReady is running
FaceReady has to be open for its camera to send a picture. If you'd quit it, reopen it — then the camera in your video app comes back to life.
4. The right webcam is selected
If you have more than one camera, open Settings → Use camera in FaceReady and make sure the one you're actually using is chosen. "Automatic" picks your built-in camera.
5. Still black? Restart
If none of the above clears it, a full restart of your computer resets the camera system cleanly. It's rare to need this, but it always works.
Still stuck? Email our contact form with your computer and the video app you're using, and we'll get you sorted.