9 Best Fixes for Facebook Messenger Video Calls Not Working

Skype has been everyone’s favorite for video calls for a long time. Other messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger compete with it fiercely. Unfortunately, many users cannot use the video calling feature of Facebook Messenger on their computers. If you are also experiencing the same issue, read the article to learn how to fix Facebook Messenger video calling issues on your Windows computer.

Facebook users get a hardware access error when trying to make a video call, or incoming calls don’t ring for them. While for some users the video doesn’t work, others have problems with Windows laptops that don’t detect their microphone.

Whatever the problem, let’s see how to fix Facebook Messenger video calls that don’t work on Windows 10 laptops.

1. Restart

You should start to resolve the video calling problem on Facebook using the traditional method of restarting. So restart your browser first. To do this, close the browser. You should even kill it from the Task Manager. Then open it again. If that does not resolve the problem, also restart your computer.

2. Check availability

The video calling feature of Facebook Messenger is limited to a few browsers only, as noted on the Facebook support page. These are Google Chrome, Opera and Microsoft Edge. Although you can also use it on other browsers, the above three are recommended for better use. However, group calls are not available on Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

3. Log out

You should also try logging out of Facebook Messenger to resolve video call issues. To do this, open messenger.com. Then click on the settings icon at the top and choose Logout. Restart the PC. Then reconnect to Facebook.

4. Check the connected Bluetooth device

Are you using a Bluetooth speaker or headset with your PC? Make sure it is disconnected when you try to make a video call if you hear no sound. Sometimes a Bluetooth device is connected to our PC, and this is where the sound comes from Facebook calls.

5. Grant authorization in Windows

You must grant camera and microphone permission to your browser in Windows settings to use them in a Messenger video call. For that, proceed as following:

Step 1: Open Settings on your PC.

Point: Use the Windows + I shortcut to open the settings.

2nd step: Go to Privacy.

Step 3: Scroll down the left sidebar and click Camera. Then click Edit under All camera access on this device. Activate the toggle. In addition, flip the toggle for Allow apps to access your camera.

Scroll down and activate Camera in the list of Microsoft applications.

Scroll down further and you can activate or deactivate the applications that have access to your camera. First, turn on the toggle under Allow desktop applications to access your camera. Then make sure your browser is listed in the app. If you are using the Messenger app, it should be added here.

Step 4: Likewise, you must grant permission to use the microphone. To do this, click on Microphone in the left menu in Confidentiality. Then grant access under Allow access to microphone on this device and Allow apps to access your microphone.

Scroll down and make sure your browser is listed under the applications that can access the microphone.

Step 5: Restart your computer.

6. Grant the necessary permissions to the Facebook website

In addition to granting authorization to your browser, you must separately authorize each website that needs access to your microphone and camera. Typically, when you first open such a website, you will be asked to grant permission. Click Allow for microphone and camera.

Don’t worry if you missed it. There are two ways to grant permission.

Method 1: Change the privacy setting directly

Open messenger.com in your browser. Then click the lock icon at the far left of the address bar. Choose Allow next to Camera and Microphone. Restart the browser. Then try to make a video call on Facebook Messenger. I hope you can do it.

Method 2: Remove Facebook from the Block List

Note: The following steps are mentioned for Google Chrome. Other browsers will also have similar steps.

Step 1: Launch Chrome and click the three-dot icon at the top. Select Settings from the menu.

2nd step: Scroll down and click Site Settings under Privacy and security. You can open it directly using chrome: // settings / content.

Stage 3: Click on Camera.

Now you need to remove Facebook.com or Messenger.com from the blocking list. To do this, click on the delete icon next to it. Otherwise, click the arrow next to the website and choose Allow Camera on the next screen.

Step 4: Go back and click Microphone.

Remove Facebook.com or Messenger.com from the block list. Or click the arrow and grant microphone permission.

Step 5: Restart your computer.

7. Change the default camera and microphone

Many laptops today have more than one camera and some users even connect an external camera. Your browser must support your default camera. Only then can you use it on websites such as Facebook.

So you need to change the default camera to fix the Facebook Messenger video calling problem. To do this, repeat steps 1 to 3 to remove Facebook from the blocking list, as mentioned above. In other words, go to Chrome settings> Site settings> Camera. You will see a drop-down list of the default camera. Switch to another camera if the current camera does not work. Repeat the same steps and choose a new default microphone. Restart the computer.

8. Disable the second camera

If the camera continues to switch to the problematic camera in the above method, try to disable it. To do this, follow these steps:

Note: Once you deactivate it, you will no longer be able to use it in other applications.

Step 1: Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager.

2nd step: Expand Cameras. Then right-click the second camera you want to deactivate. Select Disable. Do not click Delete if prompted.

Pro tip: You should also try to update and uninstall the camera driver to fix bugs there. Once the uninstall is complete, click Action at the top in Device Manager and choose Analyze hardware changes or restart your computer to install it again.

9. Reset Chrome settings

You should also try to reset Chrome settings to remedy this. To do this, go to Chrome Settings> Advanced> Restore settings to their original values. We’ve covered in detail what happens when you reset Chrome and how to do it.

Last hope: use registry modification

This method should be your last resort if nothing else solves the problem on supported browsers like Chrome, Edge and Opera.

To add a new value using Registry Edit, do the following:

Step 1: Press Windows + R keys to open Run. Type regedit and press Enter.

2nd step: Then go to the following folder:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/WOW6432Node/Microsoft/WindowsMediaFoundation

Stage 3: Click on Platform to enlarge it. Then go to the sign on the right side. Right-click on the empty area and select New. Choose the DWORD value (32 bit). Name it EnableFrameServerMode.

Step 4: After adding, double-click it. Change the value to 0. Click OK.

Step 5: Restart your computer.

Try alternative methods

We hope that one of the methods mentioned above will restore the video calling functionality for Facebook on your Windows PC. As mentioned earlier, video calls on Facebook only work on a limited number of browsers. If you use another browser, switch to the supported browser. If nothing works and you want to use video calling anyway, try using the Messenger apps on your mobile devices.