Here you can find help on some of the issues you might experience while using a webcam during an exam.
If an external USB webcam does not show up in the list of webcams to use in the browser, it is because the browser could not find it. The external USB webcam needs to be plugged in and the latest drivers installed and ready to use, before you start the browser.
This is due to the browser being unable to detect your webcam or the browser having inadequate permissions to access to your webcam.
Make sure your webcam drivers are up to date and that the webcam is functional before opening the browser.
You may also want to make sure the computer's privacy setting for the webcam is not blocking access to the webcam (see below "Webcam Light is on but no Webcam Image is Shown on Screen" for MacOS and Windows 10 Privacy settings).
If you are unable to take an image during the facial comparison process and you are only presented with a black screen or the logo of a program (e.g. "Imaging Edge Webcam" or "Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)", etc.), it indicates that your webcam is currently used by another program. One of the following should resolve the issue: try to switch to "Integrated Camera" (1) or close the lockdown browser (2) and close all applications that are using your webcam.
All browsers need permission to use the webcam before it is capable of accessing it properly. Adjusting the webcam privacy settings is done differently on MacOS and Windows.
Start by going into your Settings and find the settings for your camera.
After finding the Camera settings, the menu should look like the above picture. Under Allow access to the camera on this device, make sure that you have a text saying Camera access for this device is on. If it does not, then you can press the Change button to turn it on. Besides this, there is the section underneath Allow apps to access your camera, make sure that this is turned on as well.
After allowing these options, scroll down further on the page and look at the section Allow desktop apps to access your camera. This setting needs to be turned on as well, and you should see an app-icon for a Lockdown Browser OEM, which is the lockdown browser when you have given it permission.
First open up your settings/System preferences, and when opened, go to the Security & Privacy panel.
After entering Security & Privacy, choose the Privacy panel at the top. This should display a list of various applications or equipment installed on your Mac on the left side. Find the camera in this list and click on it.
After clicking it should give you a list of applications that have permission to access the camera. Make sure that the Lockdown Browser OEM is ticked on.
If your webcam has been disabled, you will have the option to Enable device in the right-click menu.
If the image taken during the facial comparison step gets stuck while uploading, it is most likely due to you losing your internet connection during the upload. The process will stop and the image cannot be saved even if you regain your internet afterwards. In order proceed you will have to leave the exam and restart it again.
Your image might also get stuck uploading if you have a very strict firewall/anti-virus system that disallows the upload and blocks it. Alternatively, VPN on your device, may be preventing the browser from communicating properly with WISEflow. Try turning these off and re-enter the exam to see if the image can be uploaded.
The advanced power saving setting USB Selective Suspend seems to deactivate unused USB ports to minimise power usage on a device.
This can potentially affect the use of webcam during an exam as the service is not actively using the webcam for more than a quick picture. If the power management system deactivates the webcam (both internal or external) you will be getting black images taken every time.
You can deactivate this setting by entering the Control panel and choose Hardware and Sound.
After you have entered the Hardware and Sound page, look under Power Options and choose Edit power plan.
When you have entered the power plan you must choose Change advanced power settings. This will open a pop-up window with advanced settings. Scroll down and open the row called USB settings. Further open the USB selective suspend setting and change the setting under On battery to be disabled. Press Apply and OK.
Your camera should now be available during the exam and not return black images.
Note: A restart/reboot of the device might be necessary for certain setting changes to take effect. If you do still have issues with the camera in the browser, make sure you restart/reboot and the changes should have been applied.
If ManyCam is not fully uninstalled as an application from Mac, it can prevent the user from opening the lockdown browser properly. Removing or deleting the application is not sufficient.
The uninstallment process can be found on ManyCam's website.