Lights on, but no picture

Lights are not a picture

The LEDs show that the camera has power. They say nothing about whether video can get through: a charge-only cable, an adapter without data lines, a browser that cannot do USB, a permission that was not granted, or a camera this viewer does not understand all look the same from the outside. Find the stage where yours stops.

1. The page says this browser cannot talk to USB devices

You are in Safari, Firefox, or any browser on an iPhone or iPad. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer, or Chrome on Android. iPhone and iPad cannot do this at all; nothing to install fixes that.

2. Press Connect, and the camera is not in the list

The list only shows cameras this viewer knows (USB IDs 2ce3:3828 and 0329:2022). If it is empty:

• Cable or adapter without data. Many short USB-C cables and some OTG adapters carry power only. Try the cable the camera came with, or one you know transfers data.
• The computer does not see it. Check: Mac, System Report, USB; Windows, Device Manager; Linux, lsusb. If it is absent there, the problem is physical: port, cable, hub, or the camera.
• It is there, with a different ID. Then it is either a normal webcam (use any camera app; how to tell) or a variant we do not know yet. Send us the ID.

3. It is in the list, but connecting fails

• You pressed Cancel in the browser's picker, or chose nothing. Press Connect again.
• "Another program has the camera." Something else holds it. What is usually holding it. On Linux this message can also mean your user account is not allowed to open the device: add the udev rule. On Windows the device may still have the vendor's driver: the one-time WinUSB step.
• "Camera error" with a message: unplug, wait two seconds, replug. If it repeats, note the exact message for a help request.

4. Connected, but the picture is black, frozen or broken

• Black: the LED wheel is at zero, or the lens is pressed against something. Brightness and focus.
• "Frozen" in the title: you pressed Freeze or the space bar. Press it again.
• Torn or garbled frames, or a frame rate far below the normal 15 to 19: remove any hub or extension and plug the camera in directly; close other viewers; turn off Smooth noise and stop any recording to compare. Persistent garbage with a correct USB ID can mean a stream variant we have not seen; tell us.

5. The picture is fine, but photos or clips do not save

• On a computer: the first capture asks you to choose a folder and allow writing to it. If you dismissed that, press Choose folder in the Captures card. After a reload the browser asks again once ("Use folder again").
• "Can't open this folder because it contains system files": Chrome refuses write access to Downloads, Documents, Desktop and your home folder themselves. Make a folder inside one of them (Pictures/Endoscope, say) and choose that.
• On Android: captures go to Downloads. Chrome may ask once whether this site may download several files; allow it.
• Clips: saved as WebM. If a player refuses it, VLC and any Chromium browser play it; QuickTime on older macOS does not.

Asking for help

Include: the camera's name and USB ID, your computer or phone and its OS, the browser and version, the adapter or cable, the exact message, and the stage above where it stops. Leave out serial numbers, folder paths and anything personal; do not send inspection pictures unless they are needed and you are happy to share them.