It’s incredibly frustrating when you join a Zoom call and realize your camera won’t focus properly. The video is blurry, your face is out of focus, and no matter what you try, you can’t seem to get the camera to focus correctly.
Don’t worry – with a few troubleshooting steps, you can likely fix the zoom camera focusing problem on your own without needing to call in tech support.
This post will walk you through the top reasons why the Zoom camera won’t focus along with actionable tips to get your camera back up and running properly.
Why Your Zoom Camera Isn’t Focusing
Before jumping into the troubleshooting steps, it’s helpful to understand why the Zoom camera may not be focusing in the first place. Here are some of the most common culprits:
Dirty Camera Lens
One of the simplest explanations is that the camera lens itself is dirty. Dust, fingerprints, dirt, and other debris can all interfere with the camera’s ability to focus properly. Even a small speck of dust is enough to make images blurry and out of focus.
Start by inspecting the actual camera lens at the back of your phone or webcam. Look closely for any dirt or smudges. If you spot any, the camera lens needs to be cleaned.
Obstruction Over the Lens
Another possibility is that there is something physically blocking or covering the camera lens. For phones, a phone case that extends over the lens is a common reason for focusing issues. Screen protectors can also interfere if they cover up the camera area.
With webcams, simply having an object too close to the lens can prevent the camera from focusing correctly, so check your setup. Any physical barriers need to be removed to restore proper focus.
Low Lighting Conditions
The camera requires adequate lighting to be able to focus sharply. Without enough light, the autofocus mechanism struggles and can’t properly find the right focus.
If you’re in a dim room, the lack of light could be the reason your Zoom camera won’t focus. Try moving to a brighter location or turning on overhead lights or lamps.
Issues With Tap-to-Focus
On phones, the Zoom app relies on a tap-to-focus mechanism where you tap the screen to tell the camera what to focus on. If this isn’t working properly, it can cause focusing problems.
Give the tap-to-focus a try to see if it’s working. Tap directly on your face on the screen while in Zoom. If it’s not focusing on your tap point, there’s likely an issue with this feature.
Autofocus Locks Onto Wrong Subject
The autofocus capabilities built into cameras are imperfect. At times, the autofocus can mistakenly lock onto the wrong subject in the frame which leaves your face blurry.
This often happens if there are busy backgrounds or other objects closer to the camera than you are. The camera focuses on them instead of your face.
Now that you know what may be going wrong, here are the steps to troubleshoot a Zoom camera that won’t focus properly:
Fixes for Zoom Camera Not Focusing
Follow these troubleshooting tips to diagnose and fix any focusing issues with your Zoom camera:
1. Clean the Camera Lens
If you noticed dirt or smudges on the camera lens, the first step is to gently clean and wipe the lens. This alone can often fix most cases of camera focusing problems.
To safely clean the camera lens:
- Use a soft, dry microfiber cloth designed for cleaning lenses and screens. Don’t use paper products which can scratch the lens.
- Very gently wipe the lens in a circular motion. Don’t press too hard or you could damage the lens.
- Take care not to get any moisture or liquids on the lens. Only use dry wiping.
- Inspect closely to ensure you removed all debris from the lens. Repeat cleaning if necessary.
Even a small speck left on the lens can cause blurriness, so inspect it carefully to make sure you fully cleaned the lens.
Once cleaned, open up Zoom again and check if the camera is now able to focus properly on your face without blurriness or distortion. If the focus is still off, move on to the next troubleshooting step.
2. Check for Obstructions Over the Lens
If cleaning the lens didn’t fix the focus, next check for anything obstructing or blocking the lens physically.
On mobile phones, a phone case that extends over the corner of the phone where the rear camera lens is located can interfere with focusing. Pop off the phone case and test the camera without it on.
You’ll also want to check for screen protectors that may cover up the selfie camera lens on the front of phones. Remove any screen protectors to test if they are causing focus interference.
For external webcams, inspect the area around and in front of the lens looking for any objects that may be blocking it. Things like stray cords, headphones, or even just having the webcam too close to your computer screen can prevent proper focus.
Move any objects out of the way and make sure nothing is right in front of the lens by at least a few inches. Oils from your skin and dirt on the lens can also cause focusing issues with webcams, so clean the lens if needed.
With any obstructions moved away, try loading up Zoom again and check if the camera can now focus correctly without issues.
3. Ensure Adequate Lighting Conditions
If the first two steps haven’t resolved your focus problems, low lighting could be the culprit. Cameras need sufficient lighting to focus properly.
Move your camera setup to a brighter location and see if it makes a difference. Turning overhead lights on, opening blinds to let in natural light, or positioning a desk lamp or other light source to shine on your face can all help.
Ideally, position a light source in front of you pointed towards your face rather than behind you. Avoid having too strong of a backlight behind you, which forces the camera to focus through shadows on your face.
Test out different lighting angles and intensities to find what works best to provide bright, even lighting on your face without harsh shadows. With enough light, the camera should be able to lock in the focus clearly.
4. Use Tap-to-Focus
If you’re using Zoom on a smartphone, utilize the tap-to-focus feature. This allows you to manually tap a point on the screen for the camera to focus on rather than relying on autofocus.
Open the Zoom app and join a call. Before your face appears on the screen, tap directly on your face in the middle of the preview screen. This cues the camera to focus precisely on that spot.
Once you see it focus on your face, you can start the call. With tap-to-focus activated, the camera should stay locked in on your face properly without blurriness.
If tap-to-focus isn’t working, try holding your finger continuously on the screen over your face to lock the focus throughout the call.
5. Lock the Focus
If tap-to-focus fails, you can also manually lock the focus, which may force it to focus properly on your face.
Start a Zoom call and position your face centered in the frame. Next, aim your phone at something with details and texture that’s about the same distance away as your face, like a printed paper with text.
Tap the screen to focus on the paper, locking the focus distance. Then swivel the camera back to point at you without losing your tap. This should hold the focus at that set distance.
Test to see if it stays focused on your face properly now. You may need to periodically tap to refocus if it loses the lock. But this technique can override autofocus issues in Zoom.
6. Force Quit and Restart Zoom
Like any app, Zoom can sometimes run into errors that cause freezing, lagging, and other glitches. If camera problems persist, force quitting and restarting the Zoom app can help refresh things.
On an iPhone, double press the Home button and swipe up on the Zoom preview to fully close it. To force quit on Android, open Settings > Apps > Zoom and choose Force Stop.
With Zoom fully closed, reopen it and start a new call. Testing the camera now may show the issues disappeared by fully restarting the Zoom processes.
7. Restart Your Device
If force closing Zoom doesn’t work, the next step is performing a full reboot of your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Completely restarting the device essentially functions as a reset for any software issues.
On an iPhone, hold down the side or volume button and slider to power off. For Android devices, hold down the power button and choose Restart.
For computers, click the Start menu and choose Restart. Once your device fully powers back on and reloads, reopen Zoom and check if the camera works properly now.
8. Update the Zoom App
Outdated app versions can also be the culprit behind camera glitches and focusing problems in Zoom. Updates often contain bug fixes and performance improvements.
Android:
- Open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Select “Manage apps & device”.
- Tap “Updates Available”.
- If Zoom is listed, tap “Update”.
iPhone:
- Open the App Store app.
- Tap the “Today” tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down and tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- If an update for Zoom is available, it will be listed under “Pending Updates”. Tap “Update” next to Zoom.
Install the latest Zoom update and then test out the camera again in a call. Using the newest version may resolve incompatible app issues causing focusing problems.
9. Disable Autofocus Features
Many smartphone cameras come with autofocus features enabled by default that are designed to enhance photos but can interfere with video calling focus.
Open your smartphone’s default Camera app and look for settings to disable features like:
- Face Detection – Looks for faces to focus on which can prevent focusing on your face in Zoom
- Scene Optimization – Automatically adjusts focus based on analyzing the scene, which you don’t want
- Auto Macro Focus – Forces close-up focus which isn’t ideal for Zoom calls
With any interfering autofocus features disabled, the camera should be able to focus solely on your face without other optimizations creating confusion.
Here are some additional troubleshooting tips I’ve added to the post:
10. Check Camera Permissions
Zoom needs access to your camera to function properly. If you haven’t allowed camera permissions, it could prevent Zoom from being able to focus correctly.
- Open the Settings app on your Android device.
- Tap on Apps & notifications (or Applications, depending on your device’s version).
- Find and tap on the Zoom app in the list of installed apps.
- Tap on Permissions.
- You will see a list of all permissions granted to Zoom, including Camera.
- Tap on Camera to see if the permission is Enabled or Disabled.
- If the camera permission is disabled, you can tap on the toggle switch to enable it.
On an iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Camera and ensure Zoom is toggled on.
Granting Zoom permission to use your camera may resolve the focusing difficulties if permissions were disabled.
11. Test in Another Camera App
See if the focusing problem also occurs within your device’s default camera app to determine if it’s an issue with Zoom specifically or the camera itself.
Open the Camera app and check if the rear and front cameras can focus properly on subjects or your face. If they focus correctly outside of Zoom, then the issue is isolated to Zoom.
But if the native camera also struggles to focus, it may be a hardware or OS-level issue with your device’s cameras in general.
12. Check for Physical Damage
Inspect the actual camera lens for any signs of damage like cracks, scratches, or dents around the lens.
Carefully examine the lens and use a flashlight if needed. Even tiny cracks in the lens glass can make images appear out of focus.
If the lens is damaged, you’ll need to get the camera repaired or replace the device to fully resolve focusing problems.
13. Remove Third-Party Camera Apps
Some third-party camera apps like beauty filters and editors can interfere with Zoom’s camera integration. If you have any extra camera apps installed, try uninstalling them.
Restart your device after removing the apps and test if zoom can now focus properly without other apps causing conflicts.
14. Reset Zoom Settings
Resetting the Zoom app to default settings can fix problems caused by customized options.
Open the Zoom app, go to Settings > Advanced > Reset to Factory Settings to reset settings without losing meetings or contacts.
Test the camera again after resetting to see if any customized settings were causing trouble.
15. Clear Zoom App Cache
Corrupted cache and data files can also create issues. Clearing the cache may fix unstable performance problems.
Here’s how to clear the Zoom app cache on both Android and iPhone:
Android:
- Open the Settings app on your Android device.
- Tap on Apps & notifications (or Applications, depending on your device’s version).
- Find and tap on the Zoom app in the list of installed apps.
- Tap on Storage and Cache.
- Tap on Clear cache.
iPhone:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on General.
- Tap on iPhone Storage or iPad Storage.
- Scroll down and find the Zoom app in the list of apps.
- Tap on the Zoom app.
- Tap on Offload App to clear only the cache. This will keep the app installed but remove temporary data like cached files.
Deleting the temporary files could resolve errors preventing proper camera focus.
16. Reinstall Zoom App
If your troubleshooting hasn’t resolved the issue yet, try fully uninstalling then reinstalling the Zoom app from scratch.
Delete the app from your device, restart, then freshly download and install Zoom from the app store. Test out the camera focus in a new call.
A fresh install of the app may fix compatibility issues or corrupted files causing focusing problems.
17. Contact Zoom Support
If you still can’t get your Zoom camera to focus after trying all the above steps, reach out to Zoom’s customer support for additional help.
On the Zoom website, visit the Support page and click “Contact Support” to reach out to Zoom’s troubleshooting experts.
They may be able to diagnose why your particular device’s camera won’t focus properly in Zoom and assist with specialized fixes.
Conclusion
Having an out-of-focus camera in Zoom meetings and calls can be incredibly frustrating and make it hard to see your face clearly. But in most cases, you can resolve the issue on your own without needing to replace your device.
Start with the easy steps like cleaning the lens, removing obstructions, improving lighting, and updating Zoom. If those don’t work, try manual focusing techniques like tap-to-focus and locking the focus.
With some systematic troubleshooting and testing different adjustments, you should be able to isolate the cause of the focusing issue and correct it to get your Zoom video looking crisp and clear again.
Just be patient and work through each potential solution. Before long, you’ll have the camera focusing flawlessly once again so you can participate in Zoom calls without distraction.
