How do I fix problems on my Microsoft Surface?

Overview

The main problem encountered with Surface devices is the incorrect camera being used in the lesson space. This can be very frustrating in a lesson, but thankfully it’s easily solved.

Microsoft Surface devices can have two cameras, a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera. Due to the way the Surface devices are designed, it can be difficult to ensure your Surface uses the correct camera in the lesson space. As it often defaults to the rear camera, this can make it difficult for you to be seen in your lesson.

Depending on which camera you want to use, you can either enable or disable these cameras in Device Manager in your computer's settings.

Steps

1. Open Windows Device Manager (Right click on the Start/Windows Menu icon, then select Device Manager).
2. Scroll down to System Devices; click to expand the menu.
3. Double click on either Microsoft Camera Front or Microsoft Camera Rear
4. Select Enable Device on the camera that you want to use; Select Disable Device on the other.
   
   
   

Return to the MyTutor lesson space and the correct camera should now be showing!

If you're unable to find the cameras under System Devices, they should appear under Cameras or Imaging Devices.

Disabling and enabling devices in this way is not permanent, and will not harm your computer - you can always enable the rear camera again later.

We always recommend following these steps to make sure you’re getting the most out of your tutorials when they’re happening and to improve the quality of your lesson recordings. This also helps us maintain the highest levels of safeguarding on the site, which is really important to us. If you’re having any trouble, just let us know by reaching out to us on livechat and we’d be happy to help.