Microsoft developers have provided a temporary fix for a common issue: built-in cameras on some ARM-based Windows devices (including Surface Pro X) have stopped working due to a problematic driver.
The issue began on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, when many users reported that their cameras had suddenly stopped working. When attempting to use the Camera app, users encountered the error “0xA00F4271 (0x80004005)”. It should be noted that the error does not affect cameras connected via USB.
Affected devices are running Windows 10 22H2 or Windows 11 21H2/22H2 and use 1st Gen Qualcomm 8cx, 2nd Gen Qualcomm 8cx, Microsoft SQ1, and Microsoft SQ2 processors.
Microsoft has already begun rolling out a patch designed to fix the problem, which will be applied automatically and cannot be run manually. However, on devices where troubleshooters are disabled, users will have to complete the following steps themselves: press the “Start” button and enter cmd, then run the command line as an administrator; copy and run the command by pressing Enter: reg add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Qualcomm\Camera” /v EnableQCOMFD /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f; restart all applications using the camera or restart the device; as a result, the built-in camera should work in normal mode.
Microsoft has stated that this workaround may disable some camera features or reduce image quality, but should allow the camera to function until the device manufacturer fixes the issue with an updated driver. The company is currently working with partners and OEMs to ensure this bug is fixed through driver updates.
