Why Does My Laptop Camera Flicker? | Fix It Fast

What flicker looks like

You’ll see rolling bands, pulsing brightness, or a screen-like strobe. It might come and go as the scene changes or when you switch apps. LED desk lamps and overhead tubes tend to trigger it. Recording a monitor can set it off as well.

Causes at a glance

The list below maps symptoms to fixes so you can act right away.

Why powerline frequency matters

Room lights often ride the mains. That means their light output varies at 100 Hz in 50 Hz regions and 120 Hz in 60 Hz regions. When your camera’s exposure window lands out of sync, the sensor samples different bright and dim slices and the picture flickers. Switch the camera’s anti-flicker from 60 to 50 or the other way round, and the bands usually vanish.

On Windows, the Camera app includes a setting to set flicker reduction. Many external webcams expose the same control through their driver panel or UVC sliders. Some models also offer an Auto mode that reads the region from the OS or tries to detect it on the fly.

Windows steps that work

1. Open the Camera app. Hit the gear icon.
2. Find Flicker reduction. Try 50 Hz, then 60 Hz.
3. If your webcam has a vendor app, match the same rate there.
4. Still see bands? Pick a manual shutter near 1/50 or 1/60 and keep exposure steady.

Mac and Linux options

macOS hides global camera controls, but many apps include rate picks in their video settings. Third-party webcam tools can also set the camera’s power line frequency. On Linux, v4l2 controls let you set 50 or 60 for UVC devices.

How LED lights cause trouble

LED fixtures often use drivers that chop current rapidly. Many dimmers modulate by turning the light on and off in short bursts. That pattern shows up on rolling-shutter sensors as shimmer or bars. Try full brightness on the lamp, or swap to a unit sold as flicker-free. If you’re lighting a face, bounce the light off a wall to soften peaks.

For background, see the U.S. Department of Energy’s overview on flicker basics, which explains how mains and drivers create temporal changes in light output.

Recording a monitor without banding

When a laptop camera points at a display, two refresh systems collide. The screen scans at its refresh rate while the camera reads rows at its own pace. If they beat against each other, you get bars. Set the monitor to 60 Hz and the camera shutter to 1/60, or set them to the 50 Hz family with 1/50. Keep exposure fixed so the shutter doesn’t drift.

Stopping a laptop camera from flickering under LED lights

This is a fast playbook for LED setups in homes and offices.

• Pick 50 or 60 in the anti-flicker menu based on your region.
• Turn the lamp to full, then back it down only as far as flicker stays gone.
• Move lights farther from the sensor and aim through diffusion.
• If a dimmer causes trouble, bypass it or use a different lamp.

Why laptop cameras flicker on Zoom calls

Many meeting apps try to manage exposure and frame rate. That can undo your camera panel choice. If a call starts to flicker, reopen the vendor app or system camera app, set 50 or 60 again, then return to the call. Some users route video through a virtual camera to hold the setting.

Locking exposure, white balance, and gain

Auto modes react to every brightness change on screen. That can cause a slow pulse that looks like flicker. If your app offers manual sliders, set exposure time, ISO or gain, and white balance once. Then tweak light levels in the room rather than letting the camera chase the scene.

Driver and app checks

Flicker in one app but not another hints at software. Update the camera driver from Windows Update or the maker’s site. Test in the system Camera app to rule out the meeting app. If the webcam works fine there, reset the meeting app’s video settings. Close any tool that also tries to control the camera at the same time.

USB cabling and hubs

High-res streams pull steady bandwidth. On a crowded hub, the data can hiccup and the exposure loop may misbehave. Plug the webcam straight into a USB 3 port. Try a different cable. If you must use a hub, pick a powered one. Avoid long chains of adapters.

A region quick guide

Match the anti-flicker rate to the local mains.

Lighting tweaks that help

Small changes often clear bands fast.

• Raise overall light so the camera can use shorter exposures.
• Avoid mixing many lamp types in one scene.
• Keep bright signs and screens out of frame when they strobe.
• Use daylight by a window when you can; it’s steady.

When to look at hardware

If settings don’t hold, the camera might need a firmware update. Check the maker’s app. Heat can also push sensors to misbehave; let the device cool and try again. A rare sensor fault shows as flicker that appears even in bright sunlight and across every app. In that case, use a different webcam to confirm.

Extra notes for power users

Many webcams follow the UVC spec, which includes a power line frequency control with 50, 60, and sometimes Auto. Some apps expose it under “anti-flicker,” others place it on a “Video Proc Amp” tab. If your app doesn’t show it, a vendor tool often will.

OEM guides also point out that LED dimming and phase-cut wall controls tend to increase visible modulation. If you use a ring light, run it near full and shape the beam with diffusion rather than dimming electronically.

Step-by-step for three platforms

Windows 11 or 10

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras.
2. Select your camera and set flicker to 50 or 60 if available.
3. Open the Camera app and confirm the same rate in video settings.
4. In vendor software, match the rate and lock exposure if flicker returns.

macOS

1. Check the app’s video panel for anti-flicker or shutter picks.
2. Use the webcam’s utility to set 50 or 60.
3. If a call app keeps changing it, feed the call with a virtual camera from a tool that holds manual exposure.

ChromeOS and Linux

1. In Camera on ChromeOS, look for anti-flicker in settings.
2. On Linux, use v4l2-ctl to set power_line_frequency to 1 for 50 or 2 for 60.
3. Lock exposure in your chat or recording app once rates match.

Trusted sources and next steps

Microsoft documents how to reach Camera settings and enable flicker reduction. The U.S. Department of Energy explains why LED drivers and mains rates create visible flicker. For Windows users who still see bands in the Camera app, Acer’s knowledge base shows the same fix and where to find it.

Read Acer’s note on webcam flicker in the Windows Camera app.

Picking frame rate and shutter pairs

Match your video rate to the local grid family. In 50 Hz regions, pick 25 fps or 50 fps and use shutter times near 1/50, 1/100, or 1/200. In 60 Hz regions, pick 30 fps or 60 fps and use 1/60, 1/120, or 1/240. Those pairs sample each cycle evenly and the sensor avoids bright-to-dark swings. Many webcams hide frame rate, so you’ll anchor the result with shutter or by toggling the anti-flicker menu. If your app shows a band that crawls slowly, move one click toward a shorter shutter while staying in the rate family. Frame rate and shutter should stay in the same family. If your app offers 24 fps, skip it under mains-lit scenes because 24 pairs poorly with 50 or 60 Hz and tends to produce slow, wide bands.

A five-minute diagnostic routine

1. Start with the system’s own camera app. Keep third-party tools closed.
2. Turn on a steady room light. Place the camera at the desk height you use for calls.
3. Set anti-flicker to 50 Hz. Watch the preview for ten seconds.
4. Flip to 60 Hz. Pick the cleaner of the two; keep it for now.
5. Lock exposure at a shutter close to 1/50 or 1/60 based on the chosen rate.
6. Wave your hand near the lens. If the brightness pumps, lower ISO or gain.
7. Dim the lamp and see if shimmer appears. If it does, raise brightness again.
8. Open your meeting app and confirm the picture stays stable on a test call.

Diagnosing by light type

Fluorescent tubes driven by ballasts pulse strongly. That usually creates thick rolling bars if the rate is wrong. LED bulbs vary. Some budget lamps dim by PWM and shimmer at every setting. Others use drivers that smooth output, so flicker is low at full power and only shows up when dimmed. Filament-style LED bulbs can beat with cameras too because their driver sits in the base and often uses simple chopping. Incandescent bulbs barely flicker because the filament glows between cycles, so they are a handy fallback when you need a steady source.

Meeting app quirks you can tame

Some apps reset camera controls at launch or when you switch devices. If your picture is stable in the Camera app but not during a call, set the rate in your webcam’s utility and close it before you join. That lets the driver hold the value. If an app keeps reverting, route the webcam through a virtual camera that locks exposure and frequency for you. Also check any “auto low light” toggle; it often raises gain and lengthens shutter, which brings bands back.

Filming whiteboards and glossy screens

Whiteboards bounce light straight into the lens. Small brightness swings become obvious. Add a soft key light at an angle and gentle fill from the other side. Keep the screen or board slightly off axis to avoid direct reflections. If you must capture a high refresh screen, switch it to 60 Hz and cap the shutter at 1/60, or use 1/50 in 50 Hz regions. Rotate the laptop a few degrees until any remaining bars fade.

If you record at night

Night shots push exposure up. Keep light warm and bright near your face rather than behind you. A simple desk lamp bounced off a wall works well. Set anti-flicker to the regional rate, fix shutter near 1/50 or 1/60, and lift ISO only as far as you need. Close any brightness auto-adjust in your call app so it doesn’t fight your chosen settings. Avoid backlit windows that force long exposures and rising gain indoors.