Respondus Webcam Check Spinning Wheel on Mac (Quick Fix Guide)

Q: Should I refresh the page if the webcam check spins?

No - there's no "page" to refresh in LDB's pre-exam phase. Force-quit and restart the launch sequence from your LMS instead.

Q: How long is "too long" for the webcam check?

15 seconds on Apple Silicon, 30-60 seconds on Intel. Past those, declare it stuck and run Fix 1.

Q: My instructor said the webcam check is recorded - does the spinning wheel count?

Monitor records the webcam feed throughout the system check. A spinning wheel is recorded and reviewable, but is universally interpreted as a technical failure, not an integrity event.

Last updated 2026-05-01 · LDBypass Editorial

The spinning wheel during Respondus Monitor's webcam check is the symptom of a stuck camera acquisition - either TCC permission denied silently, another app holding the camera, or the wrong camera selected. Reset Camera permission, quit Zoom/FaceTime/Teams, and verify the right camera is active. Fixes ~80% of spinning-wheel reports.

Symptoms

System check progresses to the webcam step then displays a spinning wheel that never advances.
Wait time exceeds 30 seconds with no preview rendering.
Eventually shows "Camera not detected" or times out.
The webcam green LED may flash briefly then turn off.

Why this happens (root causes)

TCC Camera permission denied silently (~45%) - System Settings shows it allowed but LDB receives a denial.
Another app holding the camera (~28%) - Zoom in a parallel meeting, Teams, FaceTime, Photo Booth.
Wrong camera selected (~15%) - Continuity Camera or external USB selected when you want the built-in.
USB camera driver issue (~8%) - Logitech BRIO requires Logi Tune launched at least once.
Hardware (4%): physical camera failure.

Fix 1 - Reset Camera permission for LDB

This fixes ~80% of spinning-wheel cases. Procedure:

Force-quit LDB (⌘+⌥+Esc → Force Quit LockDown Browser).
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera.
Click LockDown Browser, then click (-) to remove.
Relaunch LDB. macOS shows the Camera permission prompt fresh - click Allow.

Fix 2 - Quit competing camera apps

Activity Monitor → search and quit any of:

Zoom (zoom.us, zoom.us-helper, ZoomPhone)
Microsoft Teams
FaceTime
Photo Booth
OBS Studio
Any browser tab actively using the camera (check via menu bar green dot)

Fix 3 - Verify camera selection in System Settings

System Settings → some apps don't expose camera selection but FaceTime does. Open FaceTime briefly, Video menu → select the correct camera. Quit FaceTime. Relaunch LDB.

Fix 4 - Test camera in Photo Booth before retrying

If Photo Booth works correctly, hardware is fine; LDB-specific. If Photo Booth also fails, restart your Mac before continuing.

Fix 5 - Wait extra time on slow Macs

On a 2018-2019 MacBook Air or older Intel Mac, the webcam check can legitimately take 45-60 seconds (face-detection initialization is CPU-bound on Intel). On an Apple Silicon Mac it should complete in <15 seconds. If you have a known-slow Mac, give it 60 seconds before declaring it stuck.

Fix 6 - Reinstall LDB

If Fixes 1-5 don't resolve, the LDB install may have a corrupted Camera framework binding. Run the complete uninstall (uninstall cluster) + fresh install from your LMS link.

Frequently asked questions

Should I refresh the page if the webcam check spins?

No - there's no "page" to refresh in LDB's pre-exam phase. Force-quit and restart the launch sequence from your LMS instead.

How long is "too long" for the webcam check?

15 seconds on Apple Silicon, 30-60 seconds on Intel. Past those, declare it stuck and run Fix 1.

My instructor said the webcam check is recorded - does the spinning wheel count?

Monitor records the webcam feed throughout the system check. A spinning wheel is recorded and reviewable, but is universally interpreted as a technical failure, not an integrity event.