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Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update, released Aug 2, 2016 has broken webcams for millions of people. If you use Skype and your webcam freezes after about a minute, this is the reason. Webcams stopped working after the update because Windows 10 now doesn’t allow for USB connected webcams to use MJPEG or H264 encoding, a default for many webcams.

 

 

Fixing Your Webcam for Skype

windows-10-updateIf your webcam freezes in Skype after applying this Windows 10 update you can fix it, but it requires tweaking the registry of your Windows 10 computer.
Note: Using the registry editor can be dangerous and changes can affect the performance and running of your computer, be careful!

  • Press CTRL-R and type regedit, then press Enter.
  • Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform
  • Add a DWORD called ā€œEnableFrameServerModeā€
  • Click the new entry and set the DWORD to 0
  • Restart Skype, or reboot your computer
  • For many this has resolved the freezing issue.

    Microsoft initially tried to defend the change, but quickly realized the magnitude of the issue and should be releasing a fix in September.

    Thanks to Thurrot.com for detail and the registry fix.