How To Deal With A Lagging Webcam On Windows 11/10?

Have you ever been told that your lip-sync and audio did not match on a video call? Or, what you did something on your webcam was seen a few seconds later? It’s quite likely your webcam’s lagging.

If it’s a fairly old laptop or an old webcam on your desktop, you can expect a slight deterioration in the webcam’s performance. But what if your laptop and its webcam are brand new? You shouldn’t be facing a webcam lag, isn’t it?

And unless it has blacked out completely, you needn’t immediately rush for a moneyback. Here are some simple steps you can perform to bring your webcam on track.

What To Do If Webcam’s Lagging On Windows PC

The movement I make on my webcam (face movement, hand movement, lip sync, etc) is seen 2-3 seconds later. This is hampering my presentations. What do I do?  

Before you sit down for your presentation, try out the following fixes. Let’s see if we can stop your webcam from lagging –

1. Check For Slow Internet Connection

If you are someone who uses applications that use your webcam such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc., a slow internet connection might be the culprit behind the webcam lag. You can check if the slow internet speed is the actual issue.

2. Change Resolution and Frame Rate

Sometimes a higher resolution (and frame rate) can put a lot of pressure on your system or your webcam. Try to tone down the resolution and then check if the webcam is lagging or not. Here are the steps that may help you in this regard –

1. In the Windows search bar, type camera.
2. Click on Open from the right-hand side.
3. When the Camera application opens, click on the gear icon at the top-left that signifies Settings.
4. Click on the Photos settings and Video Settings. Under each, click on the Quality dropdown and select a low resolution than the one you are using.

Check if this has put an end to webcam lagging or not.

3. Test External Webcam On A Different Machine

Not using your laptop’s inbuilt camera? Have you installed an external webcam on your desktop PC? Detach it and use it on a different system. If it even doesn’t work there, you may need to fix or replace it.

4. Close Third-Party Applications

Some third-party apps our outright resource eaters. So much so, that they even hamper other applications as well. To determine this, check if your webcam started to lag after you installed a third-party app. For the next course of action –

1. Fire up your Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Locate the culprit app and select it.
3. Click on the End Task

Feel that the app is redundant and an outright resource eater? Can you find an alternative? Uninstall this one and move on to the alternative for good.

5. Update Your Webcam Drivers

A corrupt or outdated camera driver can be the reason why your webcam’s lagging. You can either manually update your webcam driver or let’s discuss a more effective way. You can install a driver updater tool like Advanced Driver Updater. Wondering Why?

A tool like Advanced Driver Updater automatically notifies you of outdated drivers and installs the latest version. It’s a foolproof tool since it lets you backup drivers that you can restore in an event of an emergency. Additionally, you can schedule scans.

How Does Advanced Driver Updater Work?

1. Download, install and run Advanced Driver Updater.

2. Click on the Start Scan Now

4. Select your outdated webcam driver by clicking on the checkbox located to the left.

5. Click on the Update driver option on the right. You can even select multiple drivers and click on the Update All button if need be.

That’s how easy it is to update drivers using Advanced Driver Updater. Once updated, check if you are still facing webcam lag or not.

6. Run The Troubleshooter

Let Windows try and resolve your lagging webcam. Your computer has an inbuilt troubleshooter that can identify what’s causing your webcam to lag. Here are the steps –

On Windows 11 – 

1. Type Troubleshoot in your Windows search bar and open Troubleshoot Settings.
2. Click on Other troubleshooters.
3. Under Other click on Run next to Camera.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

On Windows 10 –

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows + I.
2. Click on Troubleshoot from the left-hand pane.
3. Select the appropriate troubleshooter.

Is Your Webcam Lagging Still?

We hope not. And, if your problem is gone, do share with us in the comments section, which of the above solutions worked out for you. For more such content keep reading WeTheGeek because we regularly help you get rid of OS-related pet peeves. We even post the apps and tools that’ll make your life smooth on your devices. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flipboard, and Pinterest.