In this article we will show you in a very simple and step by step how to activate the camera in Skype, one of the most popular communication software since some years ago.
Video call applications, although for many they seem to come out of science fiction movies, are a fundamental part of our lives and Skype or Whatsapp It is one of the favorites both in the workplace and in the personal.
Tutorial to activate the camera in Skype for PC
At first, it can be a bit confusing to use Skype, mainly because of the large number of elements. To facilitate your use, We will teach you in a simple way how to activate your camera in the desktop version of Skype.
- Open the app and sign in if it's not set to sign in automatically when you turn on your computer.
- Go to the “Calls”, which will allow you to make the call or video call.
- To make the video call we will look for our contacts we have two options, the first is to click on the "Contacts" tab and locate it directly.
- The second possible option is within the “Calls” and click the button “New call”, where it will allow us to search for the contact between the recent calls and the notebook that we have saved.
- We choose the contact and press the blue button “Call”, which is located in the lower area. Remember that you can call several people at the same time.
- Two options will be displayed, call and video call, we will choose the second.
- After waiting a few seconds, you will hear the hold tone until the other person answers the call.
- When starting the call we will find three buttons in the lower central part, where we will control the microphone, the camera and end the call.
- We click on the central button that has a camera icon and it will be activated.
- At the end of the conversation, we just have to click on the red button with a phone icon, which will end the call.
How to configure audio and video elements in Skype
If, on the other hand, you are seeking to properly configure your device or computer in terms of audio and video Before the calls, this series of steps will be of great use to you.
Customizable video and audio elements from the computer in Skype
There are many other options that we can customize to have a better experience in calls and video calls through Skype, here we mention some of the most used
Video
- Camera: select the device that we want to use, this in case of having several connected cameras.
- camera preview: Shows you how the image will look during a video call.
- Background change: a very comfortable tool to use in various meetings, there are several customizable elements to hide your real background.
- General camera settings: Allows you to enhance default elements, such as contrast, brightness, and some other details. This is only available on computers.
Audio
- Noise suppression: another essential element when meeting in environments with little sound control. It will allow you an intelligent configuration to eliminate unwanted sounds in your calls.
- microphone selection: when we have several connected devices we can choose which one to use during your calls.
- Automated volume settings: thanks to artificial intelligence, we can give the computer the option to choose the volume level when speaking that best suits us.
- Choice of speakers: In case you have an additional audio system, you can choose it as default for your calls. This option is not available to use through the web browser.
How to access the settings for audio and video elements
Like the previous procedure, it is available for both web browsers and the application for computers. In other devices, the procedure is very similar, but some elements may have changes.
These are the steps you must follow to access the video and audio settings from your computer:
- Open the Skype app on your computer and sign in as usual.
- Click on your profile image, located in the upper left area of the screen.
- Look for the “Settings” option, which is located near the bottom of the column that was displayed.
- Finally, we must look for the option “Audio Video”, which allows access to the aforementioned options.
What to do if the camera does not work in Windows
This can be a complex topic, but the solution is quite simple and punctual. The causes can be multiple, from configuration problems, missing drivers or even system damage due to computer viruses.
The first step we must take when we have this problem is get a diagnosis by the operating system, for this we can run the troubleshooter, there we will possibly have indications of the problem.
In case the troubleshooter does not find the problem, we can try updating the camera and video drivers, for this we can access through the configuration, located when displaying the Windows start menu.
Later, we look for the option “Update and Security", then "Windows Update” and finally we will locate the option of “Search for updates".
In case of having updates, the equipment will indicate it to us, possibly the missing update is optional, so it was not carried out automatically. These types of updates are carried out periodically for an optimized operation of the system resources and its peripherals.
After proceeding the updates, we must restart the computer and then try the camera again. In many cases, at the end of the process, Windows itself will tell us that we should do it or if we prefer to wait a few minutes while we finish some activity.
This type of procedure is very common, especially when the peripherals used are not the ones that originally came with the equipment, which is why we must keep your drivers updated to guarantee its perfect operation.
Regularly, audio and video failures in Skype directly depend on the way the computer communicates with the peripherals, which has a series of simple, fast and punctual solutions, go ahead and do it easily, surely you will not have any inconvenience when following the indicated steps.