- Affected OS: macOS with support for Apple Mobile File Integrity (Sierra and newer).
- Webcams:
- Webcam is supported by macOS and is working fine in Facetime and/or Photobooth but not in 3rd party apps
- No Audio: You can't get audio from the webcam Mic or Headset
- No Video: Webcam won't turn on in 3rd party conferencing apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc.
- Wireless Mice:
- Pairing Logitech Wireless Mice via Logitech Unifying Software might not be possible. If the mouse can also be paired via BT, then it's not an issue.
- Prompts for granting permissions to 3rd party apps don't pop-up if Apple Mobile File Integrity (AMFI) is disabled.
Since disabling AMFI requires System Integrity Protection (SIP) to be disabled in the first place, re-enabling SIP can be a solution. Below you will find 4 different solutions for fixing this issue…
The beta version of OpenCore Legacy patcher 0.6.7 introduced a new Kext called AMFIPass
which allows booting macOS with SIP disabled and AMFI fully enabled even if root patches have been applied – which would be impossible otherwise. This not only enhances security it also resolves the issue of not being able to grant 3rd party applications permissions to cameras and microphones.
- Download
AMFIPass.kext
from the OpenCore Legacy Patcher Repo and unzip it - Mount your EFI
- Add the kext to
EFI/OC/Kexts
- Open your config.plist
- Add the kext to Kernel/Add manually or create a new OC Snapshot in ProperTree
- Optional: Adjust
MinKernel
to the kernel version which would require AMFI to be disabled in order to boot. For example:20.0.0
for Big Sur,21.0.0
for Monterey,22.0.0
for Ventura, etc. - Delete boot-arg
amfi_get_out_of_my_way=0x1
orAMFI=0x80
(if present) - Save your config and reboot
Voilà: Now, you can boot with AMFI enabled and grant 3rd party apps access to Mics and Cameras again!
Note
You might still need AMFI=0x80
before re-applying root patches after installing system updates
- Change
csr-active-config
to00000000
to re-enable SIP - Save your config
- Reboot
Once SIP has been re-enabled, the prompts for granting access to the cam/mic will pop-up immediately once you launch the app requiring access to them. The apps will be listed in the Privacy Settings for Camera and Microphone afterwards.
Problem: If you are using legacy hardware which requires booting with SIP and/or AMFI disabled you cannot use this method. So you either have to upgrade macOS from an existing previous install where you already granted these permissions so they are carried over to the new OS or use Method 3 instead.
- Enable
PollAppleHotkeys
(under Misc/Boot)in your config.plist - Reboot into Safe Mode (in BootPicker, hold Shift and Press Enter)
- Run the App that needs access to the mic/cam
- The system will ask for permissions to access the mic/cam
- Once you grant them, the apps will be listed in Privacy Settings for Camera/Microphone
- Reboot normally
- Webcam and Mic will work
Problems:
- This works fine for Zoom but Microsoft Teams won't run in Safe Mode. There's no GUI so the prompts for granting the app access to the mic/cam are not triggered.
- Only applicable if you can boot into Safe Mode with SIP disabled. If you did apply any Root Patches with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (like re-installing iGPU/GPU drivers), booting in Safe Mode will get stuck since the graphics drivers can't be loaded. In this case you have to resort to Option 3 as well.
If you can't boot with SIP enabled, you must add permissions to the SQL3 database manually wit tccplus, as explained here: Unable to grant special permissions to apps
Note
This guide is applicable to any 3rd party app which requires access to the microphone and/or camera – Digital Audio Workstations and Video Editing Software included!
- More about TCC: What TCC does and doesn't
- More about AMFI: AMFI: checking file integrity on your Mac
- AMFI in macOS 13: How does Ventura check an app's security