Google Meet camera not working on iPad

The short answer

When Google Meet shows no video on an iPad, the cause is usually camera access rather than a broken camera. iPadOS may not be letting the app you joined from use the camera, another app or setting may be holding or blocking it, or the camera is switched off inside the call. Start by opening Apple's built-in Camera app. If the camera works there, the problem is with Meet's access or settings, so work through the checks below in order. If the Camera app also shows a black screen or an error, the problem is at the iPad level (a restriction, a device-management policy or the hardware), and changing Meet's settings will not fix it.

Three different things can each stop the picture, and it helps to keep them separate. Detection means the iPad recognises a working camera. Permission means iPadOS allows a particular app or website to use it. Selection means the correct camera is active and switched on in the call. The microphone has its own permission and its own on/off control, so video and audio can fail independently.

First, note how you joined the call

On an iPad you can join Meet from the Google Meet app, from the Meet feature inside the Gmail app, or from a web browser such as Safari. iPadOS stores camera permission separately for each app, and a browser keeps its own per-website permission on top of that. Before changing anything, confirm which of these you used, because only that app's settings matter.

Checks in order

1. Make sure the camera is on in the call

In the Meet controls, find the camera button. If it is crossed out, tap it. If you see your own preview but other people do not see you, or the reverse, check that the button shows the camera as on. You can also use the switch-camera control to change between the front and rear cameras. A case, cover or sticker over the lens also produces a black image even when everything else is set up correctly.

If the camera button is greyed out or you get a message that you cannot turn on your video, the meeting host may have restricted participants' video. Host controls like this are available in some Google Workspace meetings. Only the host can change that setting, so ask them.

2. Check the app's camera permission in iPadOS Settings

Open Settings and go to Privacy & Security, then Camera. Find the app you joined from (Meet or Gmail) and make sure its switch is on. You can also scroll to the app itself in Settings and check its Camera switch there. In recent versions of iPadOS, individual apps are listed under Apps in Settings. Changing the switch while the app is open may cause the app to restart.

If you tapped Don't Allow the first time the app asked for the camera, iPadOS usually does not ask again. You have to turn the permission on in Settings yourself. If the app is missing from the Camera list, it has not asked for camera access yet. Opening a call in that app normally triggers the request.

3. If you used a browser, check the website permission

In Safari, a website can have its camera access set to Ask, Deny or Allow. You can change this for the current site from the page settings menu in the address bar, or for all sites in Safari's settings within the Settings app. If Meet was set to Deny, the browser blocks the camera even when everything else is correct. If browser access is unreliable, try joining from the Meet app as a comparison. Google's own documentation is the authority on which iPad browsers it currently supports for Meet; that list was not part of the evidence for this guide.

4. Close other apps that might be using the camera

Usually only one app at a time can capture video from the camera. Close other video-calling, camera or scanning apps. With Split View, Slide Over or Stage Manager, an app may lose camera access when it is not the active app. Some apps are built to keep camera access while multitasking and others are not. If the video stops when you open a second app, bring Meet back to full screen and try again.

5. Check Screen Time and device-management restrictions

In Settings, open Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, then Allowed Apps. If Camera is turned off there, the camera is blocked across the iPad and the Camera app disappears from the Home Screen. On an iPad managed by a school or employer, a configuration profile may restrict the camera. In that case, the device's administrator has to change the setting, and changing it may not be possible from the iPad itself.

6. Restart and update

Fully close Meet (or Gmail, or the browser) and reopen it. If that does not help, restart the iPad. Then install any available updates for iPadOS and for the app from the App Store. As a later step, deleting and reinstalling the app clears its stored state. iPadOS will then ask for camera and microphone permission again, so tap Allow when prompted.

7. If the Camera app also fails

If restrictions are off and Apple's Camera app still shows black or reports an error with both the front and rear cameras, the problem is not specific to Meet. Contact Apple Support or an authorised service provider to check the hardware.

Matching what you see to the likely cause

What you see | Most likely area to check

Camera button crossed out in Meet | Selection: the camera is off in the call

Cannot turn video on; message about the host | Meeting host controls

No camera prompt ever appears and video is black | Permission: app switch off in iPadOS Settings

Works in the Meet app but not in the browser | Browser website permission for Meet

Video stops when another app is opened alongside | Multitasking or another app holding the camera

Camera app is missing from the Home Screen | Screen Time or device-management restriction

Camera app also shows black with both cameras | Hardware or iPad-level fault

If the problem is sound rather than video

Microphone access is a separate permission. Check Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone, as well as the microphone button in the Meet call, which can be muted on its own. If a Bluetooth headset or other audio accessory is connected, sound may be routed to it rather than to the iPad's built-in microphone. Fixing camera permission does not change microphone permission, and the reverse is also true.

What this guide does not cover

The evidence for this guide contained no confirmed details specific to Google Meet on iPad. That includes supported app or iPadOS versions, known current bugs, whether Meet can use external USB cameras on iPads that support them, and the exact menu labels in the current Meet interface. The steps above are based on how iPadOS camera permissions and restrictions generally work. Menu names can differ between iPadOS versions. For version-specific behaviour or a current known issue, check Google's Meet help documentation and Apple's iPad support documentation.