Skype does not find a camera: solution

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kukamuumuka

Skype does not find a camera: solution

Post by kukamuumuka »

With SkypeForLinux and old version can be a situation where Skype does not find a camera. At first is good to check Skype-version.

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apt show skypeforlinux
... and the output should something like Versio: 8.17.0.2

If camera does not work, run

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apt install libv4l-0:i386
.... probably installed already

Make a script

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sudo nano /usr/local/bin/skypeforlinux
… a contents

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#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skypeforlinux
... or

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#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l1compat.so
 /usr/bin/skypeforlinux
… save and quit and make the file executable
Ctrl o
Ctrl x

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sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/skypeforlinux
Open Skype and check the camera.
skype-test.jpg
if camera does not appear, to check if system sees the camera:

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dmesg | grep video

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ls /dev/video*


An alternative library for Skype can be v4l2convert.so, so the /usr/local/bin/skypeforlinux file goes as

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#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/bin/skypeforlinux

.... or

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#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l2convert.so
 /usr/bin/skypeforlinux
.. or

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#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/bin/skypeforlinux
gbksiazczak
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed May 02, 2018 10:46 am

Re: Skype does not find a camera solution

Post by gbksiazczak »

I tried all Your advices - unsuccessfully. Webcam usb works with cheese and vlc. Not with skype. How to associate skype with webcam?
kukamuumuka

Re: Skype does not find a camera solution

Post by kukamuumuka »

gbksiazczak wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 10:58 am I tried all Your advices - unsuccessfully. Webcam usb works with cheese and vlc. Not with skype. How to associate skype with webcam?
Do you see web-camera in the Skype-settings?
webcamera-in-skype.jpg
phd21
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 10103
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:42 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Skype does not find a camera solution

Post by phd21 »

Hi administrollaattori,

Thank you for your post, good information.

I do not usually use Skype unless I have to because I cannot get other Skype users to use a secure multimedia messenger like "Wire", or "Qtox", "Ring", "Linphone", "Jitsi", etc...

I usually do not have a problem accessing my USB webcam through various applications, and If I do, all I usually have to do is unplug it and wait about 12 seconds and plug it back in and wait another few seconds for it to be recognized by the system.

If you have another application running that accesses the webcam, then that could interfere with another application that is also trying to access the camera, like running "cheese" and Skype at the same time. Rebooting or restarting your computer may help too.

FYI: Some people using Linux have told me that Skype works better through an application like "RamBox" or "Franz" over the "Skype For Linux" application?
...
Phd21: Mint 20 Cinnamon & xKDE (Mint Xfce + Kubuntu KDE) & KDE Neon 64-bit (new based on Ubuntu 20.04) Awesome OS's, Dell Inspiron I5 7000 (7573) 2 in 1 touch screen, Dell OptiPlex 780 Core2Duo E8400 3GHz,4gb Ram, Intel 4 Graphics.
chrispbacon

Re: Skype does not find a camera: solution

Post by chrispbacon »

Get rid of Skype, and use "Wire Desktop", get the world to install it, both camera and Mic work out of the box, and you can still Conference!
Once Wire desktop is installed, go into "Software Manager", put Wire in the search box, press enter, and when you see Wire Desktop, you will see
on the right "Permissions", click on that, and allow camera and Mic!That is that all sorted.
Works on Mint and Ubuntu, without issue, it will give you update message from time to time, and when you update it just keeps working!
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