First, good to know: your camera is optional — it's off by default, and your study time and streaks count either way. But if you want it on and it won't cooperate, work through this list.
The camera won't turn on
On the web
- Check that your browser has camera permission for app.studystream.live: click the padlock/settings icon next to the address bar and allow Camera. (In Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Camera.)
- Make sure no other app is using the camera (Zoom, Teams, OBS…) — close them and try again.
- Pick the right device: in the room, open the camera selector ("Video Settings") and choose your camera from the list.
- Still nothing? Restart the browser — or the whole device; this fixes most "camera is in use" errors.
On the mobile app (iOS & Android)
- If the camera won't turn on, open the room's Settings (the gear): when the app has no camera permission, the preview area says "Please enable camera permission in settings" with an "Enable camera" button. Tap it; if the phone has blocked the permission you'll see "Your camera is off! You have disabled camera permissions for StudyStream" with "Open permission settings", which takes you to the phone's settings page for StudyStream (iOS: Settings → StudyStream → Camera; Android: Settings → Apps → StudyStream → Permissions).
- If you see "Camera is used by another application at the moment", close other camera apps or restart the device.
- In the room's Settings you can switch between the front and rear camera.
"Camera is being used by another application"
Despite the wording, this message often actually means the browser was denied camera permission — check the site permission for app.studystream.live first (padlock icon next to the address bar). If permission is fine, close video apps that may be holding the camera (Zoom, Teams, Meet, OBS, the system camera app). If the message persists, restart the device — that releases the camera almost every time. One known stubborn case: if you use an iPhone as a Continuity Camera with a Mac, only restarting the entire laptop clears it.
My video looks mirrored
Mirroring only affects your own preview — other people see you the right way around. That's normal!
My camera turned off by itself mid-session
Two possibilities:
- A moderator or automated check paused your video. If your video tile is reported or flagged, it can be temporarily paused (typically for a few minutes) while our moderation team takes a look. If everything is fine, no action is taken on your account — you can turn the camera back on afterwards.
- New accounts may need to pass a quick automated safety check before the camera becomes available — wait a moment and try again.
Microphone
Focus rooms are silent by design, so there's usually no mic in play. Where audio is used (e.g. pods/private spaces with audio enabled), the same permission rules apply — allow Microphone for StudyStream in your browser or phone settings if you see "You have disabled microphone permissions for StudyStream".
Mobile: video is cropped in landscape
Check that your device's rotation lock is off when you rotate the phone.
Using OBS or a virtual camera (timers and overlays)
Some people show a timer, their current track or a wallpaper on their tile. They do it with OBS Studio (or a similar app) running as a virtual camera: StudyStream doesn't offer a stream key or an RTMP address, and you don't need one.
- In OBS, build your scene and click "Start Virtual Camera".
- On the web, open your tile panel → "Video Settings" and pick "OBS Virtual Camera" as the camera. Pick it again after restarting OBS if it drops off the list.
Overlays are fine as long as they follow the community guidelines. OBS isn't our product, so we can't support its setup; if the virtual camera doesn't appear at all, make sure OBS is actually running the virtual camera and no other app is holding it.
Still broken?
Start a chat with us — at app.studystream.live, or from the StudyStream app — with:
- A screenshot or screen recording of the problem
- Your device model and OS version (we support iOS 15+ and Android 8+; tablets are not supported)
- Your browser (if on the web)
- When it started, and whether it happens in other apps too