/dev/video* no such file or directory

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

I have only just realised that the webcam is not working and it appears that the FW does not even recognise the existence of the hardware. The microphone and its privacy slider are working. Any suggestion please?

/$ v4l2-ctl --list-devices
Cannot open device /dev/video0, exiting.

2

Have you disabled the webcam via the hardware switch?
(The microphone is a separate switch)
IIRC the switch physically removes the webcam from the device, therefore it makes sense, that your OS cannot find it / does not create the device in your file system

3

Thanks @Simon_F. I don’t recall turning any switches off other than the two sliders on the bezel. Where are these hardware switches and how do I check their status and reset them please?

4

those sliders in the bezel are the “hardware switches”. So if you have switched their state to off, then the device is also gone, until you slide the switches again.

5

I have “toggled” both of them. I can verify the microphone being turned off and turned on, but the slider for the webcam does nothing. They are off when showing red and otherwise on, correct?

Currently, both the webcam and microphone slider are in the “on” position, but still:

$ v4l2-ctl --list-devices
Cannot open device /dev/video0, exiting.

6

Yes, those are the hardware switches i was talking about.

  • Check if the bezel is seated correctly, maybe even pull the bezel of and check if the switch is in the expected position.
  • Check if the webcam is enabled in the bios (Security > I/O Interface > Camera Device)
  • If not already done so, boot with your webcam enabled (maybe hot plugging does not work)
  • If you are using some exotic distro, maybe try booting a known working distro (e.g. Fedora or Ubuntu)

If all of this is not working, i guess you should contact support