The webcam indicator on my HP Victus 16 started turning on unexpectedly while I was browsing. After running several Windows Defender scans, it went off temporarily, but now it turns on immediately when I press the power button and remains lit until the laptop is shut down—even before the Windows login screen appears.
The camera is physically covered, and both camera and microphone access are disabled in Windows 11 settings. I also tested with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned off, but the light still stayed on. Windows privacy settings do not show any recent camera activity, and I could not find anything obviously suspicious in Task Manager.
Could this be a webcam hardware problem, BIOS or firmware behavior, or a driver issue rather than malware? How can I determine what is activating the webcam, and could a compromised system still access the microphone or screen despite those Windows privacy settings? The laptop is an HP Victus 16 running Windows 11 Home Single Language, version 25H2.
3 Answers
A webcam LED that stays on does not automatically prove that the camera is being accessed. The webcam module, its driver, or the LED circuit could be malfunctioning, and similar symptoms have been reported when a camera driver crashes or conflicts with another device. Keeping the physical cover in place is still a good precaution while you troubleshoot.
Run a full Microsoft Defender scan, then try an offline scan if you are concerned about malware. Review startup items and installed applications, remove anything unfamiliar, and update Windows and HP drivers. If the light still turns on before login after the webcam is disabled in BIOS, that points more strongly toward a firmware or hardware fault. Disabling camera and microphone permissions in Windows helps block ordinary applications, but it is not an absolute defense against highly privileged malware; keeping the camera covered and using a hardware mute switch, if available, provides additional protection.
Because the light comes on before Windows reaches the login screen, a normal Windows application is less likely to be responsible. Check whether the webcam can be disabled in the BIOS or UEFI settings, and install the latest HP BIOS, chipset, and webcam drivers. You can also test from the BIOS or a clean boot to help separate firmware or hardware behavior from a Windows driver conflict.
I have not checked the BIOS before, but I will look for a camera or webcam setting there. There is no recent camera activity shown in Windows privacy settings.