If your virtual camera does not show up in Microsoft Teams, the usual cause is the new Teams app, which reads cameras differently from older apps and may not list a virtual camera like FakeCam. The quickest fixes: use Teams in your browser, or start the camera before Teams and check your Windows camera permissions. Here is how.

First, the quick checks

  1. Start FakeCam and press Play before opening Teams. Apps read the camera list at launch, so the camera must already be running.
  2. Let desktop apps use your camera. Open Windows Settings > Privacy & security > Camera, and turn on "Let desktop apps access your camera" (the toggle near the bottom governs all desktop apps).
  3. Fully quit Teams (right-click its tray icon, then Quit) and open it again, so it re-reads the camera list.

Why the new Teams sometimes cannot see it

Windows has two ways for apps to talk to cameras: a classic one and a modern one. FakeCam uses the classic one, so older apps and web browsers see it. The new Teams app (rebuilt in 2024) uses the modern one, which does not list classic virtual cameras. That is why FakeCam can work everywhere else but not in the new desktop Teams.

The reliable fix: use Teams in your browser

Open teams.microsoft.com in Chrome or Edge and join your meeting there. The browser uses the classic camera path, so FakeCam appears in the camera list. Pick it under the meeting's camera settings.

If you have to use the desktop app, the start-first and camera-permission steps above are your best bet.

Still stuck?

  • Confirm the FakeCam virtual camera is registered.
  • Check that it works in another app (Zoom desktop or Discord). If it works there, the camera itself is fine and the issue is Teams' camera handling.