Razer Kiyo made a noise and stopped working mid-use | Razer Insider
Question

Razer Kiyo made a noise and stopped working mid-use

M
Userlevel 1

I’d been using my Kiyo without issue for a long time. One time I was in a video call and it made a weird grinding noise and then went totally out of focus. I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in, and it reported available to my computer again, but once I selected it the ring light came on at a kind of pulse-y half brightness and then it  disappears from the cameras list. I tried letting it sit unplugged for a week and the problem still persists. Tried multiple computers, ports, etc.

 

Normally my Razer accessories last forever. Is there anything I can do to get this functioning again?

27 Replies

HouseOnTheHill

Just had the same issue. It seemed to be the light ring and when i finally managed to turn it off ( by physically turning the bezel) the cam is working ( sans light). 

 

 

auggieboogie

My Razer Kiyo died in the exact same manner.

It pulses the light, rather it flickers fast, and is no longer functional.

Used with a Mac mini M2

Sad stuff.

That is the last Razer product I´ll buy for my part.

 

T

Mine died too exactly same way just couple of days ago.

 

Camera started making noise and light was pulsating or something.

 

After unplugging and plugging, there is no noise but light is still flickering / pulsating and camera is not working.

G

Is there a fix for this issue? Turning the bezel does not turn off the light in my case and the light flickers when I try to open it through the laptop’s camera app or Synapse app and turns off.

 

JustMrPresident

Same here. Was in a work call and it started making weird electrical or grinding noises. Plugged into my other Personal PC to update Firmware, no change after updating firmware. 

Same reaction on both computers, regardless of update and restarts. Cannot turn light ring off manually by turning bezel nor in Synapse as it disappears when it turns on and continues with the odd noises and flickering. 

 

L

Same here. Was in a work call and it started making weird electrical or grinding noises. Plugged into my other Personal PC to update Firmware, no change after updating firmware. 

Same reaction on both computers, regardless of update and restarts. Cannot turn light ring off manually by turning bezel nor in Synapse as it disappears when it turns on and continues with the odd noises and flickering. 

 

I’m having the exact same issue. Very frustrating that this happened a few weeks after the warranty expires. 

upGrullopulse653

It is so crazy to think that so many people have had the same issue over the last month. This happened to me last night on a conference call over zoom, the thing started making the whirring/grinding noise and then cut out. I had to unplug it in order to shut it up and haven’t tested it since. Won’t be buying from the brand again, I got it delivered on October 6th, 2021. Clearly a life expectancy of two years for ~$60 ain’t much, could’ve stuck with my bogus fisheye from some unknown brand.

NavyPurplehomebuzz808

I’m now on my second Kiyo. First one lasted a year and 2 months. Of course, right after the warranty ended, I got the dreaded flickering ring light, constant feedback noise, and then the webcam video feed goes out and the computer can no longer recognize the device. In May of this year, I decided to buy the same model as a replacement (mistake.) And here I am, 6 months later, and this one stared doing the same thing!!! Updating the firmware makes no difference. I don’t think there is a fix unfortunately and looks like I’m having to buy yet another webcam in 2 years time!!! If anyone has a fix, I’d love to know what to do. Are both of these devices now doomed for the e-waste pile? 

PastelBluesmartSHELL561

My Razer Kiyo did exactly the same thing a few days ago: It started buzzing madly in the middle of a call. then Blanked out. I thought a reboot might help, but nope, Same thing when I plugged it back in. One month after the warranty expired. This seems a bit suspicious, right? Everyone is having the same problem at the same time?  Razer customer support please contact me ASAP (Have they posted anything helpful in this chat?)  - Scott from Montreal

N

Wow, i honestly didnt expect to see so many people with the same issue, and seemingly all around the same time. Is it just a coincidence that all our cameras were about the same age? or could it have been some kind of software issue causing them all to malfunction. It would be nice to get some answers, especially when yeah, you expect these things to last longer than 6mo to a year.

EerieBlacklabsmart116

I'm a little bit shocked, but I have exactly the same problem. I bought a camera a year ago and everything was ok until today. I just turned on the stream and for the first time ever I turned the ring illumination to maximum. A couple of minutes passed and the camera began to make a crackling noise and the image froze. No matter how many times I tried to reconnect the camera, it only turned on for a couple of seconds and froze again. It looks like some kind of manufacturing defect, because the commentators above have exactly the same probblem... So what should we do?

EerieBlacklabsmart116

I'm a little bit shocked, but I have exactly the same problem. I bought a camera a year ago and everything was ok until today. I just turned on the stream and for the first time ever I turned the ring illumination to maximum. A couple of minutes passed and the camera began to make a crackling noise and the image froze. No matter how many times I tried to reconnect the camera, it only turned on for a couple of seconds and froze again. It looks like some kind of manufacturing defect, because the commentators above have exactly the same probblem... So what should we do?

P.S. By the way, I found out the exact date of purchase, it was exactly a year ago.  Accordingly, the camera broke exactly on the day the warranty expired... I don’t believe in coincidences, but according to previous comments this is very strange

O

This happened to mine as well. Seems like potentially a firmware issue. 

X

Having the same issue. Only seldomly used mine. Never been disappointed with Razer until now.

C

Same exact issue as OP and others in this thread. It was working perfectly fine for just about 1 year, then today it stopped working - buzzing sound, light flickering, video is initially picked up but immediately stops.

 

Coincidentally, the device is out of warranty.

 

Your product is out of limited warranty and ineligible for free support. If you have a RazerCare Protection plan, willing to pay a repair fee (for laptops only), or feel this is an error, please make the appropriate selection. Proof of purchase is required if you do not have a RazerCare Protection plan. We recommend posting your questions to our Razer Insider where you may get your answer faster.Your product is out of limited warranty and ineligible for free support. If you have a RazerCare Protection plan, willing to pay a repair fee (for laptops only), or feel this is an error, please make the appropriate selection. Proof of purchase is required if you do not have a RazerCare Protection plan. We recommend posting your questions to our Razer Insider where you may get your answer faster.

 

On a Windows laptop, I’m getting a system error message indicating it is not recognized and has malfunctioned. On a Mac, I was able to get the camera to work by plugging it in and immediately turning off the light. So, it’’s not entirely useless, but what’s the point if I can’t use the light - the entire reason I originally purchased this model - and if I can only use it on 1 of my 2 laptops.

 

I found a video with the exact problem we all seem to be facing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9esjRAvp6JQ.

According to one of the commenters, the problem is in the camera module, whatever that means. I’m also not sure how he opened it, but it got me wondering whether it might be repairable.

 

...I opened it and the main problem is in the camera module, which can be easily replaced, but I did not find the sensor module anywhere in the internet...

 

MrMoonshot96

Add me to the list, it just happened this week. :(

Mine is also making a sort of buzzing/crackling noise whenever it’s plugged in. If unplugged and plugged back in it’ll show as an option but the second anything tries to actually use it, it disappears.

Super disappointing and really strange that we’re all experiencing this at the same time...

E

This exact thing just happened to me while I was on a work call. I bought the webcam from Best Buy in July 2022, and I only use it a few times a week for work. During the call it started flickering, making the buzzing noise, and then disconnected and did not show up as an option anymore. Tried it on my other computer and same thing. Started researching and now see this is an unfixable problem happening to so many others as well :( This webcam costs too much to only last for 1-2 years with very light use, makes me not want to buy any other Razer products..

HeatWaveTANZANITEfast203

Mine just started doing the same thing as well. I’m unable to adjust brightness so cannot comment on lowering that to fix the issue.

Z

Same situation happened to me. I tried to use it then it just made a loud electrical whine and I haven’t been able to get it to work since. It doesn’t even show as available in Device Manager, no changes when unplugging and replugging. It was also on the latest firmware version as of writing this. Basically it’s just dead.

 

So for newcomers reading this; as the thread above verifies: the Razer Kiyo does indeed have very limited lifetime of usage before a common hardware failure takes place...

D

Same thing happened to me a week ago.
 

Webcam just sits on top of my screen, does not get massive amounts of use maybe 4 hours a week.

Went to use it, light flashed on and off on the ring, device manager goes crazy refershing with added and removed hardware. High pitched screeching.

Loads of event logs with the following warning:
‘A connection to the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) could not be established.’

I won’t be buying anything Razer again.

S

Same thing has happened to me. Middle of a call it started whirring and grinding like the servos inside it were working overtime. This continued even when the PC was switched off. Upon disconnecting and reconnecting I can’t get the device to work. Last Razer product I buy.

T

Same problem this is ridiculous, I have a less than 20€ webcam from amazon and it still works after 4/5 years, this webcam in less than 2 years breaks and everyone is having the same problem? It’s a bit strange...

ptspacetea

Happened to me today! Sheesh. And yes, out of warranty as well. Being my only Razer device (had a few mice but they’re now discarded in favour of the Glorious Core) and after battling with support for months  last year for the low-light issue, this is truly a disappointment and failure of the product. Only good thing is now I can completely clean out the Razer software from my machines. Until they release an explanation for this, I will actively be not recommending anything Razer-made for a while.

PalmLeafgeobase915

im here to tell you folks that this also happened to me just now. i thought i was being spoofed or something, turns out it is a hardware problem. mine lasted for around almost 2 years, which is is a long time but considering the investment of buying this 50$ camera, i expected it would be at better quality. i found a short that had a similar issue (mine did not have coil whine but the lights were bugged as well). 

 

anyways, as the previous insider said, i will also clear out razer software in my pc since the webcam is my only product, though a problem would be finding a replacement which is on the same price or lower with that similar specs and features. razer kiyo was nice to have but i dont want the same experience to happen to me twice. 

to the next person who is interested in this model, just avoid it entirely. weirdly enough that this randomly happened to all of us just after our warranty period. such a pity.

smartTOURMALINERusset699

Just happened to me today. Bought mine in 2021 I believe. Exact same crackling and flickering of the light. Sure seems this should be a recall issue if we’re all having this same issue at the same time??

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