Guide
SwapCam troubleshooting
6 min read · Updated
Quick checks first
Before working through a specific symptom, these four resolve a large fraction of problems on their own:
- Reload the video application's tab. Pages read the camera list when they load.
- Confirm SwapCam is enabled on Chrome's Extensions page, not merely installed.
- Close other applications that might be holding the camera.
- Confirm the transformation is switched on and the SwapCam preview is running.
Specific problems
SwapCam does not appear as a camera
Almost always a stale camera list. The page enumerated the available cameras before SwapCam was running, so reloading the tab is the fix.
If a reload does not do it, check in order: the site has camera permission, the transformation is actually enabled, no other application is holding the camera, and the application is running in a Chrome tab rather than as a separate desktop program. The camera selection guide covers each of these.
Camera permission problems
Click the icon at the left of Chrome’s address bar to see what the current site is allowed to do, and make sure camera access is allowed rather than blocked. A site that was blocked once stays blocked until you change it.
Reload the page after changing the permission. Changes do not apply to a page that is already open.
On macOS there is a second layer: Chrome itself needs camera access in System Settings under Privacy & Security. If no site in Chrome can use the camera, that is where to look.
The extension does not load
An error mentioning the manifest means Chrome was pointed at the wrong folder. Load the folder that directly contains manifest.json, not a parent folder that merely contains it.
If SwapCam vanishes after restarting Chrome, the extracted folder has likely been moved or deleted — Chrome reads it from disk on every start. Extract it again somewhere permanent and load it once more. If Developer mode has been switched off, turn it back on; see the Developer mode guide.
Video is not showing, or the preview is black
A black preview usually means the camera is not actually being delivered. Check that no other application holds it, that the site has permission, and that your camera is not physically covered or switched off at a hardware shutter.
Test the camera on a different site that uses it. If it is black there too, the problem is the camera or its permissions rather than SwapCam.
The camera is already being used
Most cameras can only be held by one application at a time. Close other video calls, recording software, and any other browser tab that has claimed the camera — including tabs you have forgotten about in another window.
If nothing obvious is holding it, quitting and reopening Chrome releases a camera that a closed tab failed to let go of.
Performance problems and stutter
Real-time transformation is continuous work for your machine, and how much it can sustain depends entirely on the computer. Close heavy tabs and background applications, which is the cheapest improvement available.
Lowering the video resolution in the call application also helps, since fewer pixels per frame means less work per frame. If a session degrades over time rather than starting badly, heat is a likely factor — particularly on a laptop on a soft surface.
Tracking is unstable or the face slips
Tracking depends on being able to see your face clearly. Light your face from the front rather than from behind, put the camera near eye level, and avoid strong backlight from a window.
Fast movement, steep angles and partial occlusion — a hand across the face, hair falling over it — are the conditions where any real-time transformation struggles.
Restarting the camera source
When things are in an odd state, this sequence clears most of it: turn the transformation off and on again in SwapCam, reload the video application’s tab, then re-select SwapCam in the application’s camera settings.
If that is not enough, press reload on the SwapCam card on Chrome’s Extensions page, then reload the tab again.
After updating SwapCam
Updating means extracting the newest ZIP over the existing folder and then pressing reload on the SwapCam card in Chrome’s Extensions page. Skipping the reload leaves Chrome running the old version, which produces confusing results.
Reload any open video-call tabs afterwards as well, so they pick up the current camera source.
Extracting to a new folder each time
Still stuck
Email support@swapcam.online with your operating system, your Chrome version, the application you were using, and what you saw on screen — including the exact text of any error. The contact page lists what is worth including for each kind of problem.