[SOLVED] Laptop Integrated Camera not detected at all

[kevinkz]

So a while ago I dropped my laptop (Lenovo Flex 5) and shattered the screen with a large chunk in the camera/speaker region. The screen still worked, the touch would be finicky and sometimes work and some other times not; the camera worked at first but then it would randomly disconnect until it finally gave up and would not be recognized as installed/connected. Some times moving the screen panel back and forth to a specific point would cause the camera to be connected and disconnected. I ordered a replacement LCD screen and just replaced it today. Everything's fine except for the camera.

I went into Device Manager (Windows 10) and at first it didn't show under there but then I checked "Show Hidden Devices" and a toggle for "Cameras" appeared with the "Integrated Camera" as the only entry; it was disabled. I tried to enable it and there was no option to do so. I tried to update the driver and there was no update. So I did the next logical thing - I uninstalled the device thinking that on reboot, Windows would detect the camera and install the driver for it but that never happened. The Camera category doesn't show up in Device Manager anymore nor does it show up under other categories like Imaging Devices or Sound/Audio/Controllers. When I open up the Camera app, I get a NoCameraAttached error; it doesn't just happen in the Camera app though. Here's what I've tried so far in an attempt to troubleshoot:

1. There's no on/off fn key on my keyboard so that's not the case.
2. There's no option to enable/disable in BIOS either.
3. I tried Lenovo Vantage app and there's no Camera entry there. I checked privacy settings and the camera is turned on.
4. I ran a BIOS update as well as windows update. Rebooted several times.
5. I ran another Lenovo diagnostics tool and the Camera option is greyed out.
6. I installed the driver from Lenovo's website several times. The thing that confuses me is that the driver is for a camera that's manufactured either by AVC or Bison but when I looked up the camera module itself, it's manufactured by Lenovo so is there any chance the drivers are for the wrong device? Also, when I extract the driver's contents, it's a bunch of .inf files and .dll files but no .sys files.
7. I tried to do a manual install by doing "Add Legacy Hardware" and add a Camera device manually by pointing to the folder with the driver's files. Nothing happens and I can't continue with the manual method.
8. The built-in mic works though. I did a test using the voice recording app and it worked fine.
9. I booted into a live usb copy of Ubuntu to check if it would detect the camera and nothing.
10. After checking out all the boxes on the software side, I checked out the hardware side. I removed the cable that connects the camera/mic module to the motherboard and did another voice recording test and obviously nothing was recorded since the mic was unplugged. I plugged the cable back in hoping the camera might get recognized now but it didn't; the mic went back to normal so there's nothing wrong with the module itself which makes it very likely (although not improbable) that the cam itself is not damaged - they're all on the same module/panel - the camera, the mic, the LED, and the hall sensor.

I am starting to consider ordering the part online and replacing it to see if that would fix the issue but it's as if it doesn't exist at all which really makes no sense. Is there a way to force Windows to detect the device? I mean it's there, it's connected; the driver has to be installed by now so why isn't it showing up? What should I try next? Thank you!

 

[Ralston18]

All in all it appears that the camera was damaged.

A physical connection does not mean that something is not broke.

With both wire ends connected:

For example a wire "-----------------" is not broke.

But you may have "-----------~------" that is broke.

Where ~ is equal to some "make and break " condition in the wire itself but the problem could be in some component along the path that that wire is serving. A camera perhaps.

And the problem could be plural: wires and components.

"I am starting to consider ordering the part online " : you mean the camera correct?

 

[kevinkz]

All in all it appears that the camera was damaged.

A physical connection does not mean that something is not broke.

With both wire ends connected:

For example a wire "-----------------" is not broke.

But you may have "-----------~------" that is broke.

Where ~ is equal to some "make and break " condition in the wire itself but the problem could be in some component along the path that that wire is serving. A camera perhaps.

And the problem could be plural: wires and components.

"I am starting to consider ordering the part online " : you mean the camera correct?

Hi! Thanks for the reply.
This is what the module looks like. I'm thinking the cables/connectors in the red circles are fine since it seems like they connect the mic (to the right) to the left side where the blue circle depicts the main cable that connects the module to the motherboard. The camera itself is in the middle; at first glance; nothing seems broken or damaged but I'm thinking I should take that board out and check the testing points for continuity with a DMM. And by the part, I mean the entire module as shown in the picture.

 

[Ralston18]

Agree: damage may or may not be visible.

Overall, the wires may be the least likely to break in a fall.

More possible, I think, that there is a crack in a PCB trace, a solder point, etc..

If you are familiar with and able to do such testing there is no harm in trying.

Remember that the problem is intermittent.

Test may be okay with the camera out of the laptop but when the camera is reinstalled some flexing occurs and continuity either varies or is completely lost again.