Asus K52JE | Camera upside down

steferrari · 10 Apr 2020

Hi everyone.
Since I installed Windows 10 on my laptop, the camera is upside down.
I know that this is a common problem, I googled a lot and searched on the forum as well, some managed to fix it by installing Sonix drivers but nothing has worked for me so far.

There's nothing in Windows update and Windows 7 x64 drivers from Asus's website installs correctly, but then the camera is not detected if I launch the Camera app or Skype.

I would be extremely grateful if someone could help me!

Thanks!

- - - Updated - - -

Hardware ID details:

This morning I also sent an e-mail to Asus Support, let's see if they can do something (I guess they won't...)

TV2 · 10 Apr 2020

What driver did you try and install?

Try this:
1) Go to the Asus website, search and find your K52JE, go to the Driver and Tools page

Please select an OS > choose Windows 7 64 bit (assuming you are running 64 bit Windows 10)
Scroll down to Camera > the first driver (today) is the one you want. (Azurewave Camera Driver v5.8.54000.205) > Download
Extract the zipped folder to a convenient location.

2) Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > check to see if there is any Camera software or driver listed here, if so > Uninstall it.

3) Go to Device Manager > Navigate to your Camera/Webcam device > Right click on the device > Uninstall Device > When asked if you want to uninstall the drivers for this device, say Yes. > Restart

4) Navigate to the folder with the Azurewave driver package

Find the PNPINST64.EXE file in the folder > Right click on the file and choose: Properties
Go to the Compatibility Tab > Under Compatibility Mode, choose Windows 7 > Apply > OK
Now run the Asus installer by double clicking on PNPINST64.EXE

See if that works.

Note: check the webcam after you restart when you uninstall the device in Device Manager. Windows 10 may install a generic webcam driver automatically and this might work for you.

steferrari · 10 Apr 2020

TV2 said:

What driver did you try and install?

Try this:
1) Go to the Asus website, search and find your K52JE, go to the Driver and Tools page

Please select an OS > choose Windows 7 64 bit (assuming you are running 64 bit Windows 10)
Scroll down to Camera > the first driver (today) is the one you want. (Azurewave Camera Driver v5.8.54000.205) > Download
Extract the zipped folder to a convenient location.

2) Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > check to see if there is any Camera software or driver listed here, if so > Uninstall it.

3) Go to Device Manager > Navigate to your Camera/Webcam device > Right click on the device > Uninstall Device > When asked if you want to uninstall the drivers for this device, say Yes. > Restart

4) Navigate to the folder with the Azurewave driver package

Find the PNPINST64.EXE file in the folder > Right click on the file and choose: Properties
Go to the Compatibility Tab > Under Compatibility Mode, choose Windows 7 > Apply > OK
Now run the Asus installer by double clicking on PNPINST64.EXE

See if that works.

Note: check the webcam after you restart when you uninstall the device in Device Manager. Windows 10 may install a generic webcam driver automatically and this might work for you.

I did exactly what you said, but when I install the Azurewave 5.8.54000.205 driver, this is what happens:

Windows 10 generic webcam driver works, but the picture is upside down.
I read that this happens because Asus phisically installed the webcam upside down in some of its laptops, and then the driver "fixed" this by flipping the picture, but unfortunately it seems that W7 x64 driver is not compatible with W10.

And of course the generic one doesn't know that the camera is installed upside down.

Asus should do something about it, probably it would be very easy for them to release a new driver, but I doubt they will since this model is a few years old now.

TV2 · 10 Apr 2020

Mmmm.
"The camera cannot be found." "Check that it is connected and installed correctly, that it is not affected by antivirus software and that the camera drivers are updated"
It seems that Windows 10 does not like that driver.

If the camera were installed upside down then it is possible to open up the unit and switch it around.
The problem I have with the idea that it is upside down is that on the K52 laptop I have worked on the webcam is rectangular - long and thin - and the connection only reaches from one side. If your camera was the same there would not be enough wire to reach to the other side.
But maybe it is different.
I'm sure it would be tough to get it to a repair shop given our current circumstances, but it could be an idea.

Unfortunately, the generic Windows driver does not have any options for changing the screen orientation.

It will be interesting to see what Asus support has to say.

TV2 · 10 Apr 2020

I looked at some web pages and other people are having success with Asus laptops using the Windows 7 driver.
I know that is the correct driver for the K52JE because your VID and PID numbers are listed in the driver details.
I'm wondering if your antivirus might be causing a problem.
Try this:

Go to your antivirus settings and disable the protections for 30 minutes or so. You can usually do this by right clicking on the icon in the taskbar.
Then go back to Device Manager and Uninstall the webcam again > restart
Then install the driver without setting the compatibility mode. (You may need to right click on the PNPINST64.EXE again to go to properties and uncheck Compatibility Mode. You want to try it in default mode this time.)
When you restart the computer your antivirus should be back on.

TV2 · 10 Apr 2020

Here's another method to try:

Go to Device Manager > select the webcam > right click > Properties
Go to the Driver Tab
Select: Update Driver
Select: Browse My Computer For Driver Software
Browse to the extracted folder with the Asus driver
See if it finds a driver to install > and install it.

steferrari · 10 Apr 2020

I'll try again tomorrow, thanks for all your help.

I'm not very optimistic though because I really tried in many ways during these days and it never worked.

I don't have a third party antivirus, just Windows Defender, I doubt it could depend from that but I can always try.

In the meantime I'll let you know if Asus answers me back.

TV2 · 10 Apr 2020

Yeah, try the second method first. The one in Post #6.

steferrari · 12 Apr 2020

First of all happy Easter!

Unfortunately it still didn't worked.
Post #6 method installed the Asus driver, but then I received the same error of post #3.

No luck also after I temporarily disabled Windows Defender.

It seems that for some reasons Windows 10 doesn't like the Asus driver.
Their support hasn't come back to me yet, I suppose they will after Easter holidays.

I'll keep you updated.

idgat · 12 Apr 2020

Have you tried it without the Asus drivers, i.e. just let Windows install its/the drivers ? Did you ever see if/how it worked before installing the Asus drivers ?