"Hardware error" Troubleshooting Steps - Win

3 min. readlast update: 11.09.2023

If you receive one of the hardware errors listed below when attempting to start your webcam or take your student photo or ID, this may be caused by a number of different configurations or permission issues. Review each option below to ensure Honorlock can successfully access your camera.

Hardware Errors:

  • Not Allowed Error
  • Screenshare Permission Denied by System
  • Not Found Error
  • Requested Device Not Found

Check that your device meets Minimum System Requirements

1) Ensure your device meets our Minimum System Requirements found on THIS page, approximately half way down. 

Verify that Google Chrome has access to your Camera and Microphone

1) Please click the Windows button, which should be located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

2) Type "Microphone privacy settings" in the search bar and select that setting; it should appear as one of the very first results.

3) At the very top of the new settings window that has just appeared there should be a toggle switch. Make sure the toggle switch is set to the "ON" position.

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4) After doing this, please do the same for "camera privacy settings" / "webcam privacy settings". 

5) You will be prompted to restart Google Chrome after completing these steps. Please restart Chrome entirely and retry to start your exam. If this does not resolve your issue or you already had rights granted to Chrome, please follow the steps in the next section. 

Verify that Google Chrome has access to your Camera and Microphone

1) Navigate to chrome://settings/content/camera

2) Under "Block", look for any Honorlock websites. Click on the trashcan icons next to the websites that contain the word "Honorlock" to remove this block.

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3) Refresh your exam page and relaunch proctoring. If this did not resolve your issue or if Honorlock did not appear in the Block section, please navigate to the next section. 

Let's test your Camera and Microphone

1) Go to https://webcammictest.com/ 

2) Click the green button that says “START”. 

3) After running, each section on screen will have either a red X or a green checkmark. This may take up to 2 minutes to complete. 

4) If the Camera or Microphone section has a Red X, please note what the issue is and follow instructions on the screen to resolve your Camera or Microphone issues. If Camera and Microphone return with Green checkmarks, please move on to the next section. 

Check for device updates

Look to the lower left corner of your screen and click the Windows button. Once you have done so, please start typing in the word “update” and then click on the option that is titled “check for updates”. Then check to see if there are any pending updates. If there are, please install them and then restart your computer. This includes any feature updates to a newer version of Windows 10.

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