Question Front-facing camera is freezing and jittery on brand new Surface Pro 7 ?

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con6r

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Jul 8, 2015
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I just opened a brand new Surface Pro 7 (i5, 8gb RAM, 128gb SSD) earlier today and was super excited until the time came to set up Windows Hello. I noticed that the window showing the camera feed during setup kept freezing and would get stuck at "stay in frame/hold your position" or something to that effect. I decided to skip the setup and try again after I completed the OOBE. Sure enough, trying to set it up in the Settings app produced the same result. I opened the Camera app to see if the front facing camera would work there, but it would either immediately freeze or lag considerably and have weird artifacting, like an interlaced video effect, only with vertical instead of horizontal lines.

I tried everything I could think of to fix: uninstalled and reinstalled the camera drivers, uninstalled and reinstalled ALL drivers and UEFI, tried using different camera software (it would just freeze), ran SFC, and disabled and re-enabled the front facing camera in the UEFI all to no effect. I was able to Windows Hello working by disabling the front facing camera and just using the IR camera, but I'm at a loss for what to do about the ffc. I don't know if this is a software or a hardware issue, and unfortunately the only MS store near me permanently closed down due to COVID-19. I actually bought the Surface at Best Buy, but I don't know if they would do anything for me if I brought it in. For now, I am leaving the front facing camera disabled. Everything else works just fine. Has anyone else experienced this and found a fix? Thanks.
 
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sizzling said:
At this point I’d take it back for an exchange, there could be a hardware fault. I have a 7 Pro 256gb version and have no issues with the front facing camera.
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The problem is I can't simply exchange it. I'd have to ship it Microsoft which I am reluctant to do because I need it for school and who knows how long they'll keep it. Worse yet, if they replace it with a refurbished model (which would be particularly irksome considering mine is brand new), I'd have to reinstall all of my software and debloat Windows 10 all over again. I guess that's just the way it is. Hopefully it's just a software thing that'll get fixed with a new firmware update. If not, I'll send it in.
 
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con6r said:
The problem is I can't simply exchange it. I'd have to ship it Microsoft which I am reluctant to do because I need it for school and who knows how long they'll keep it. Worse yet, if they replace it with a refurbished model (which would be particularly irksome considering mine is brand new), I'd have to reinstall all of my software and debloat Windows 10 all over again. I guess that's just the way it is. Hopefully it's just a software thing that'll get fixed with a new firmware update. If not, I'll send it in.
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As you had problems during Windows Hello setup while the system was brand new and before any other Software was installed this makes me think hardware. The out the Box Windows should work, mine did and still does.

It is still under warranty, you can try contacting Microsoft through the their online help. If it is software related they may have seen the problem before and know a fix. They may also be able to determine if it’s likely a hardware fault.
 
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sizzling said:
As you had problems during Windows Hello setup while the system was brand new and before any other Software was installed this makes me think hardware. The out the Box Windows should work, mine did and still does.

It is still under warranty, you can try contacting Microsoft through the their online help. If it is software related they may have seen the problem before and know a fix. They may also be able to determine if it’s likely a hardware fault.
Click to expand...
That's true
 
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sizzling said:
As you had problems during Windows Hello setup while the system was brand new and before any other Software was installed this makes me think hardware. The out the Box Windows should work, mine did and still does.

It is still under warranty, you can try contacting Microsoft through the their online help. If it is software related they may have seen the problem before and know a fix. They may also be able to determine if it’s likely a hardware fault.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it seems that my only option through Microsoft's support is to ship it in and get a refurbished model. I find that unacceptable. Considering how new it is (I'm only a week past me being able to return it to Best Buy) I shouldn't get stuck with some refurb. You all have been helpful, and I appreciate it, but I'm just very frustrated right now.
 
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