Webcams of computers or even laptops sometimes present not very pleasant surprises to their owners. For example, some users, trying to chat with their friends online, are faced with the fact that the image on Skype is inverted. Of course, this does not interfere with the conversation, but still it causes some inconvenience. If the same trouble happened with you, read this article and you will learn how to fix it.
Reinstalling the driver
Trying to find out why the Skype image is inverted, many people go the wrong way and begin to sin on a webcam malfunction. Although this sometimes happens, in most cases, the cause of the problem lies in the software part of the device, and not in the hardware. Especially often, an inverted image in Skype appears due to the absence or incorrect installation of drivers. To fix this:
- Open the "Device Manager" and find your webcam in it.
- Right-click on the device name and go to "Properties".
- On the “Driver” tab, click the “Uninstall” button or skip this step if the driver is not installed at all.
- Now you need to go to the official website of the manufacturer of your webcam (if it is portable) or a laptop (if the camera is built-in) and download the latest version of the driver from there.
- Install new software and restart your PC.
After that, you just have to launch Skype or another application using the camera and check if the problem has disappeared.
Skype setup
Sometimes it happens that the problem with the inverted image is observed only in Skype, while in other applications the camera works fine. If so, do the following:
- Launch Skype and open the Tools menu.
- After that, go to the "Settings" section, and then to the "Video".
- A window will appear showing the image broadcast by your webcam. At the bottom of it will be the “Camera Settings” button, which you need to click.
- Another window will open, the appearance of which may vary, depending on the device you are using. Here you need to find the option “Rotate” or “Flip vertically”.
- Using these settings, you can return the inverted image in Skype to its normal position.
Here it is worth saying that the option that allows you to rotate the picture is not available on all models of webcams. If you don’t have it, then just go to the next way to solve the problem.
Edit inf file
This method is designed for experienced users, since it involves editing the system files of the webcam driver. It is done like this:
- Download the driver for your device from the official website of the manufacturer, but do not install it. If necessary, extract all files from the archive.
- Go to the folder in which the driver you downloaded is stored. Here you need to find the file with the * .inf extension.
- Once you find the file you need, open it using Notepad.
- Now you need to find the line containing the word flip. Opposite it will be the number 1, which should be changed to 0 (or 1 if the line is 0 in front of the line).
- Save the changes and close the notebook.
Next, you will need to remove the old driver and install in its place the one that you just edited. After that, the problem with the inverted image in Skype should disappear.
Using a special program
And finally, the last way is to use a special program to control the webcam. There are a lot of such applications, but ManyCam is considered the most popular. So, download the utility, and then do the following:
- Install and run the program.
- Go to the Video section, then Sources. Find your webcam in the list and click on it.
- In the right part of the program window, click the “Flip vertically" button or use the arrows to rotate manually. Then close the program.
- Now go to your Skype settings (Video section) and select ManyCam Virtual WebCam instead of your webcam. Confirm changes.
That's all. Now the inverted image in Skype will return to its place.