Microsoft’s Surface Pro X cameras have stopped working for everyone

Surface Pro X owners are reporting that the cameras on their devices have stopped working this week. Reddit users and posters in Microsoft’s support forums say cameras on their Surface Pro X models stopped working yesterday and that reinstalling drivers hasn’t fixed the issue.

The Verge has confirmed the camera issue on a Surface Pro X unit, with Windows throwing up a “0xA00F4271<MediaCaptureFailedEvent> (0x80004005)” error when you attempt to use the camera app.

The Surface Pro X is Microsoft’s flagship Arm-powered tablet, designed to push Windows toward phone-like battery life and app support. It’s not immediately clear what has caused these camera issues, but there is a workaround that suggests the problem could be related to an expired security certificate in Windows.

Surface Pro X owners have spotted that they can roll their date back to May 22nd, and the camera works again. The workaround might be effective, but rolling the system date back can cause issues with authentication to certain websites and services, so this is only a temporary fix until Microsoft addresses the root cause.

The problems come in the middle of Microsoft’s Build developers conference, where the software giant has unveiled improvements for Windows 11 and a new AI-powered Copilot assistant. Microsoft is even about to release a new Windows 11 update today with improvements for devices like the Surface Pro X, and the company has discussed its plans to improve Arm-powered AI experiences.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft to comment on the situation, and we’ll update you accordingly.