Webcam Test
Click start and allow camera access. The video stays on your device — nothing is recorded or uploaded.
How to read the results
Resolution is what the camera is actually delivering right now — browsers often start below a camera's maximum to save bandwidth. A "1080p" webcam showing 640×480 here usually just means no app requested more; it doesn't mean the camera is broken.
Measured frame rate should sit close to the reported one (typically 30 fps, 60 fps on better cameras). If it's far lower, the usual causes are poor lighting (cameras slow the shutter in the dark), a busy USB hub, or another app using the camera at the same time.
Camera not showing up?
Close other apps that may hold the camera (Zoom, Teams, OBS), then re-allow access via the padlock icon in the address bar. On macOS also check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera; on Windows, Settings → Privacy → Camera. External webcams: try a different USB port, ideally directly on the computer rather than through a hub.
Why you look grainy or laggy on calls — it's usually light
Webcam sensors are tiny, and in a dim room they compensate by slowing the shutter and boosting gain: the result is exactly the grainy, smeary, low-FPS look people blame on the camera. Watch the measured frame rate above while you turn on a desk lamp facing you — on most laptop cameras it visibly climbs. Light in front of you (not behind — a bright window behind your back turns you into a silhouette) is the single highest-impact upgrade, ahead of any new hardware.
Advertised vs. actual resolution
Two different gaps show up here. First, browsers and meeting apps often request less than the camera's maximum — 640×480 or 720p — to save bandwidth, so the number above reflects the current stream, not the hardware ceiling. Second, some cheap webcams advertise "1080p" achieved by upscaling a lower-resolution sensor; they'll deliver 1080p on paper and mush in practice. The honest check: fill the frame with printed text at a normal sitting distance — real 1080p keeps it legible, upscaled 1080p doesn't.
Meeting apps override your camera anyway
Zoom, Meet and Teams apply their own resolution caps, compression, and "touch up" filters after the camera hands over the image — so you can look worse in a call than in this clean preview. If this page looks sharp but calls look bad, the bottleneck is the app or your upload bandwidth, not the camera. Conversely, if this preview already looks bad, no meeting-app setting will save it: fix light first, then consider hardware.