The meeting app is the worst place to discover a dead camera. Test the hardware in a plain browser tab first. If the preview and the mic meter work there, Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams are using the same permission path.
Do this before you join
- Open the webcam test and microphone test.
- Click Start camera & microphone and allow the prompt.
- Confirm you can see yourself. Speak. The meter should move.
- Optional: play the speaker bell, or record three seconds and play it back.
- Stop the test, then join the call.
That is the whole ritual. No install. No account.
If it fails here
The device is busy, blocked, or the wrong one is selected — not “the website is down.”
- Click the lock icon and set Camera / Microphone to Allow
- Quit the other meeting window. One app at a time owns a webcam
- On a Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and Microphone
- On a phone: Settings → the browser → Camera / Microphone
- Switch devices in the list if you have a headset and a built-in mic
The longer failure list is webcam not working in Chrome, Safari, or Firefox.
Is a random webcam test safe?
Often no. This one is a static page. The stream stays in the tab. We do not upload video or audio. Close it and it is gone. The trust checklist: is an online webcam test safe.
Camera and mic are not in the automatic leak dump — those need a click. What websites know is the list they can read without asking.