How to Change Advanced Camera Settings in Windows 11
Advanced camera settings in Windows 11 let you pick your default webcam, fix video brightness, and control app permissions in one place. You need Windows 11 version 22H2 or newer to use these built-in controls. To check your version, go to Settings System About and look under Windows specifications.
To get to the camera page, press the Win+I to open Settings, then go to Settings Bluetooth & devices Cameras. From there you can choose a connected camera to rotate the video feed, adjust lighting, or block apps that shouldn’t have camera access. These steps are the same on Home and Pro editions. If your PC is managed by an organization, an administrator may have locked some of these options, and they will look greyed out or be missing.
Open Settings, go to Bluetooth & devices Cameras, and select your webcam under Connected cameras. Click Advanced camera options, then press Edit to turn on Multi-app camera or Basic camera. Click Apply to save. You need Windows 11 version 22H2 or newer, and the options appear only if your build includes them.
What’s New in 🪟 Windows 11 Camera Settings?
Recent Windows 11 camera updates add tools like background blur, video filters, and global hardware controls to improve your video calls. These options let you manage your connected webcams directly from Windows, so you don’t need extra software from your camera maker. Some of them only appear if your camera and driver support them, so your list may be shorter than the one in a screenshot.
This panel has two main features worth configuring:
- Multi-app cameraLets several apps use your camera at the same time. This is helpful if you want to share video with a sign language interpreter and others at once. Normally one app grabs the camera, and a second app gets a “camera in use” error. This setting is meant to avoid that.
- Basic cameraTurns on simple camera features to help fix issues if your camera isn’t working right. This tool was made with help from Microsoft support. Think of it as a stripped-down mode you try when the normal camera pipeline gives you a black screen or a frozen image.
How to Change Advanced Camera Settings in 🪟 Windows 11
Follow these steps to change advanced camera settings in Windows 11, from opening Settings to saving your changes.
- Open Settings. Click the Start menu (the Windows icon) and then click Settings, or press Win+I. The Settings window should open with a list of categories on the left.
- Click Bluetooth & devices in the left pane. The right side should now show your Bluetooth toggle and a list of device pages such as Devices, Printers & scanners, and Cameras.
- Click Cameras on the right side. You should see your webcams listed under Connected cameras. If the list is empty, check that a USB camera is plugged in firmly and that nothing, such as a privacy shutter or a hardware switch, is blocking it.
- Select the camera you want to change under Connected cameras. A page for that camera should open with a live preview and its own settings, such as brightness and contrast, if the camera supports them.
- Click Advanced camera options, then press the Edit button. The advanced switches should now become available. If Edit is missing, your Windows build may not include these options yet, so run Windows Update and look again.
- Switch the Multi-app camera and Basic camera options on or off. Turn on Multi-app camera if you need more than one app to use the camera at once. Turn on Basic camera only when the camera misbehaves. To undo either change later, come back to this page and switch it off again.
- Click Apply to save your changes. If an app was already using the camera, close it and open it again so it picks up the new setting. You shouldn’t need to restart Windows.
Summary
Windows 11 camera settings give you control over your webcams with a built-in troubleshooting mode, video filters, and multi-app access. These tools help you fix broken video streams quickly and let more than one program share your camera feed during video calls.
The Multi-app camera option allows several programs to access your video feed at the same time, which is useful when you run a sign language interpreter alongside a call. If a second app still can’t open the camera, close both apps and start them again.
The Basic camera mode is a fallback for when the camera behaves unexpectedly. Try it when you get a black screen or a frozen image, and switch it off again once the camera works normally.
Going to Bluetooth & devices Cameras takes you straight to Advanced camera options. Adjusting these settings lets you match the camera’s behavior to how you actually work.
Set these preferences up before an important meeting, so you don’t run into camera surprises mid-call.
Review which apps can use your camera from the same Cameras page. It keeps your video calls secure as well as working.
Learn more: Visit the official Windows Blog for the latest updates.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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