Windows has two independent gates for privacy: a system-wide switch and a per-app list. A blocked app usually fails silently, which is why this is confusing.
Turn on the **system-wide** access first, then allow apps **per app**. The classic desktop exceptions are a separate list from Store apps, and a device switch can also be off in Device Manager.
A global toggle off makes every per-app setting irrelevant. It sits at the top of each privacy page and is the first thing to verify when an app cannot see the device.
Settings > Privacy & security > MicrophoneEach app has its own toggle. A browser may appear as several entries depending on how it was installed, and only one of them is the one that runs.
The camera page is separate and includes its own hardware switch. On laptops a function key or a physical shutter also disables the sensor before Windows is involved.
Settings > Privacy & security > CameraWindows shows an indicator when the microphone or camera is in use. If the indicator appears and the app still fails, the problem is in the app, not in the permission.
A disabled device in Device Manager overrides every privacy setting. A camera that vanished after an update is often disabled there rather than blocked here.
devmgmt.msc > CamerasThe recent-activity list shows which apps used the device and when. Removing access from an app you no longer use costs nothing and shrinks the attack surface.
A policy or an organisation manages the device. Check with your administrator.
It is a desktop program, covered by the desktop app switch on the same page.
The other app lacks permission. Add it or run it as the same user.
Disabled in Device Manager or in firmware. Check there before the privacy page.
It stops Windows giving it the device. A driver-level tool could still exist but is unusual.
The per-app list is per user, the global switch is per device in most cases.
Switch the global toggles back on and re-enable the per-app entries you turned off. Nothing is uninstalled, so the app works again immediately.
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