No camera detected on My Macbook Pro running Mint Cinnamon

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danepak

1112 posts

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#289196 18-Aug-2021 23:37

I'm testing Linux Mint Cinnamon on my old Macbook Pro (late 2013).

Everything seems to be working absolutely fine...apart from the webcam.

I've tried with Cheese and it states that no webcam is detected.

If I can solve this issue, I think I'll install this permanently on the Macbook Pro.

Mehrts

1046 posts

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#2762874 19-Aug-2021 09:54

Are you wanting to move to another OS because MacOS Montery (12.0) will drop support for your machine?

If so, just wait a little bit because there are always ways to install newer OS versions on "unsupported" hardware.
Hell, my old 2008 MacBook is running MacOS 10.10 Yosemite just fine, even though OS X 10.7 (Lion) is the last supported release. This machine is not connected to the internet.

I also use a Late 2013 MacBook Pro for my daily duties. It's still in great condition, even the battery is holding up fine, so I'm keen to hold on to it for as long as possible. Certainly got my moneys worth out of this one.

I have Linux Mint installed on a couple of other machines, but they don't have webcams.

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danepak

1112 posts

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#2762918 19-Aug-2021 11:15

Mehrts:
Are you wanting to move to another OS because MacOS Montery (12.0) will drop support for your machine?

If so, just wait a little bit because there are always ways to install newer OS versions on "unsupported" hardware.
Hell, my old 2008 MacBook is running MacOS 10.10 Yosemite just fine, even though OS X 10.7 (Lion) is the last supported release. This machine is not connected to the internet.

I also use a Late 2013 MacBook Pro for my daily duties. It's still in great condition, even the battery is holding up fine, so I'm keen to hold on to it for as long as possible. Certainly got my moneys worth out of this one.

I have Linux Mint installed on a couple of other machines, but they don't have webcams.

A bit of background:

I haven’t used the machine for nearly a year.
Back then it was running Catalina.
It stopped working and I was told that a repair wouldn’t be worth it.
I found someone who could fix logic boards for a fair cost and it’s now up and running again.

But it’s an old machine and I thought that Linux would run better than MacOS on and older MacBook Pro.
Testing Linux yesterday was great. Fast performance and everything seemed to work…apart from the webcam.
I did actually try to install Catalina, but it wouldn’t install. Maybe as it wasn’t an official copy, but as I currently run Windows on it, I can’t download from the Apple Store.

Behodar

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#2762920 19-Aug-2021 11:18

Does the camera work in Windows?

danepak

1112 posts

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#2762922 19-Aug-2021 11:18

Behodar:
Does the camera work in Windows?

Yep!

Mehrts

1046 posts

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#2762937 19-Aug-2021 11:24

Even if everything was wiped, you should be able to boot to the recovery/internet install partition, and then that will allow you to install MacOS Big Sur from scratch directly from Apple without having to install anything else. I've just installed Big Sur on a virtual machine with no troubles at all, so Mac hardware will be even easier.

To enter the recovery partition, hold down command+option+R at the same time until a menu is presented where you can format the drive and install a new copy of MacOS.

Big Sur runs very smoothly on this laptop with no issues at all that I've come across. It'll still be supported for a while yet, even if the age of the hardware is deemed to be too old by Apple.

michaelmurfy

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#2762940 19-Aug-2021 11:27

You can run with "Internet Recovery" to restore the MacBook: https://support.apple.com/en-nz/HT204904

But do a Google on "Ubuntu + MacBook Model" to find your answer. As Mint is based on Ubuntu this will give you better results for troubleshooting.

I suspect the reason is because the webcam isn't a USB webcam on these MacBooks so it isn't automatically detected. There may be workarounds, but really you're going to have better luck with MacOS if you do manage to restore it. Your other thread has a whole lot of tips that you're yet to follow such as as suspected failed hard drive over logic board based on the kernel panics.

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danepak

1112 posts

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#2762942 19-Aug-2021 11:29

michaelmurfy:
You can run with "Internet Recovery" to restore the MacBook: https://support.apple.com/en-nz/HT204904

But do a Google on "Ubuntu + MacBook Model" to find your answer. As Mint is based on Ubuntu this will give you better results for troubleshooting.

I suspect the reason is because the webcam isn't a USB webcam on these MacBooks so it isn't automatically detected. There may be workarounds, but really you're going to have better luck with MacOS if you do manage to restore it. Your other thread has a whole lot of tips that you're yet to follow such as as suspected failed hard drive over logic board based on the kernel panics.

Thanks, I’ll give it a go reg recovery.

In regards to the other thread, an Apple shop confirmed that it was a logic board issue.
I found a guy who fixes logic boards. Took him a few weeks, but it’s working well again.

danepak

1112 posts

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#2762974 19-Aug-2021 12:49

Hmm, Mac Recovery not doing anything, apart from allowing me to choose my WIFI.
Been showing a spinning globe for quite some time now.

danepak

1112 posts

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#2762979 19-Aug-2021 13:05

Working now, when I connected to my phones hotspot. Downloading.

Mehrts

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#2762985 19-Aug-2021 13:24

I see the anti-reflective coating on your display is wearing off. You can use some IPA to remove it completely so it at least looks nicer, albeit a bit more reflective.

Apple covered display replacements for this as long as the machine was less than four years old. I had mine replaced with one month left on the clock! That's not bad service. People do hate on Apple for various reasons, but you can't argue with them for the length of product support.

danepak

1112 posts

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#2762987 19-Aug-2021 13:26

Mehrts:
I see the anti-reflective coating on your display is wearing off. You can use some IPA to remove it completely so it at least looks nicer, albeit a bit more reflective.

Apple covered display replacements for this as long as the machine was less than four years old. I had mine replaced with one month left on the clock! That's not bad service. People do hate on Apple for various reasons, but you can't argue with them for the length of product support.

Yep, I just missed out unfortunately.
Will follow your advise reg the IPA (I assume you don’t mean Indian Pale Ale, as I prefer this to end up in my tummy, lol)

Mehrts

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#2762991 19-Aug-2021 13:32

danepak:
Will follow your advise reg the IPA (I assume you don’t mean Indian Pale Ale, as I prefer this to end up in my tummy, lol)

As long as you don't put the Isopropyl Alcohol in you, cos that'd be really bad! According to this article, baking soda and water does the trick due to the slightly abrasive properties. Might have that on hand around the home & is worth a shot before anything else.

danepak

1112 posts

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#2763660 20-Aug-2021 12:22

danepak: Working now, when I connected to my phones hotspot. Downloading.

MacBook Pro keeps crashing, when I run it in BigSur.
Been told to downgrade and see if same issue occur.