Over time, webcams have become a common and efficient method of communication between users in different locations. With the rise of remote work, peripheral devices have gained more popularity. Nonetheless, if the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) configurations aren’t perfectly in place, these devices can cause problems, especially accessing webcams on a remote desktop.
To resolve webcam issues during Remote Desktop (RDP) sessions, ensure that your Remote Desktop Connection Manager is properly configured. This involves selecting your webcam under the "Local Resources" tab. If problems persist, adjust Group Policy settings to permit Plug and Play device redirection and verify that camera privacy settings allow applications, including desktop apps, to access the camera. This article provides a comprehensive checklist to troubleshoot and resolve common problems, ensuring your webcam functions seamlessly over RDP. By following these steps, you can enhance your remote working experience and maintain efficient connectivity.
The first thing to check is to verify that the Remote Desktop Connection Manager is correctly configured. If it isn’t, you won’t be able to get the webcam to work on remote desktop sessions.
If the webcam is not showing up in remote desktop after the configuration has been verified, you may need to modify the Group Policy setting on your Windows machine.
1. On the PC you are connecting to, update the setting in Edit Group Policy as follows:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Device and Resource Redirection > Do not allow supported Plug and Play device redirection: Disabled
2. Reboot the remote computer.
You also need to enable the following policy when connecting remotely to a physical workstation.
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Remote Session Environment > RemoteFX for Windows Server 2008 R2 > Configure RemoteFX: Enabled
If you still can't use the webcam when connecting over RDP after making the preceding changes, you may need to look at the camera privacy settings.
Use the following steps to ensure the settings are correct on a remote Windows 11 computer.
Note: You may also have to enable these settings on the local computer to resolve the problem of the webcam not passing through RDP.