Webcam issue on MacbookPro 2012 mod. A1278

Hi everyone!
I just installed EndeavourOS on this MacbookPro

inxi -Fxxc0z
System:
  Kernel: 6.4.7-arch1-1 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.1.1
    Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.6 tk: Qt v: 5.15.10 wm: kwin_wayland dm: SDDM
    Distro: EndeavourOS base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Apple product: MacBookPro9,2 v: 1.0
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Mac-6F01561E16C75D06
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Apple model: Mac-6F01561E16C75D06 v: MacBookPro9,2
    serial: <superuser required> UEFI: Apple v: 429.0.0.0.0 date: 03/18/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 10.0 Wh (29.4%) condition: 34.0/62.9 Wh (54.0%)
    volts: 10.8 min: 10.9 model: SMP bq20z451 serial: N/A status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: dual core model: Intel Core i5-3210M bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    arch: Ivy Bridge rev: 9 cache: L1: 128 KiB L2: 512 KiB L3: 3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1405 high: 2011 min/max: 1200/3100 cores: 1: 1212
    2: 1200 3: 2011 4: 1200 bogomips: 19962
  Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics vendor: Apple driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-7 ports: active: LVDS-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3,
    HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2, HDMI-A-3, VGA-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:0166
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.8 with: Xwayland v: 23.1.2
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: crocus gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: LVDS-1 res: 1280x800 size: N/A
  API: OpenGL v: 4.2 Mesa 23.1.4 renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 4000 (IVB
    GT2) direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:1e20
  API: ALSA v: k6.4.7-arch1-1 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.76 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    4: pw-jack type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: Broadcom NetXtreme BCM57765 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe driver: tg3
    v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: N/A bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 14e4:16b4
  IF: enp1s0f0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Broadcom BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n vendor: Apple AirPort Extreme
    driver: wl v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 02:00.0
    chip-ID: 14e4:4331
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 447.13 GiB used: 7.74 GiB (1.7%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Patriot model: Burst size: 447.13 GiB
    speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: <filter>
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 446.15 GiB used: 7.57 GiB (1.7%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0
    mapped: luks-b334892d-eeb5-4630-8921-22c17962bf4f
  ID-2: /home size: 446.15 GiB used: 7.57 GiB (1.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/dm-0 mapped: luks-b334892d-eeb5-4630-8921-22c17962bf4f
  ID-3: /var/log size: 446.15 GiB used: 7.57 GiB (1.7%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/dm-0 mapped: luks-b334892d-eeb5-4630-8921-22c17962bf4f
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 512 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
    file: /swap/swapfile
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 67.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
  Processes: 210 Uptime: 22m Memory: total: 8 GiB available: 7.67 GiB
  used: 1.89 GiB (24.7%) Init: systemd v: 253 default: graphical Compilers:
  gcc: 13.1.1 Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1002 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9
  running-in: alacritty inxi: 3.3.28

Everything works fine OOTB except the webcam, which is not even detected in the system.

❯ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev c4)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 3 (rev c4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM77 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries NetXtreme BCM57765 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe (rev 10)
01:00.1 SD Host controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader (rev 10)
02:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 02)
03:00.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): LSI Corporation FW643 [TrueFire] PCIe 1394b Controller (rev 08)
04:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
05:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
05:03.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
05:04.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
05:05.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
05:06.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
06:00.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010]
❯ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 05ac:0253 Apple, Inc. Internal Keyboard/Trackpad (ISO)
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 05ac:8242 Apple, Inc. Built-in IR Receiver
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0424:2513 Microchip Technology, Inc. (formerly SMSC) 2.0 Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 03f0:2141 HP, Inc HP Wireless Mouse
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

If it helps, I’ve already tried the Arch guides on isight and facetimehd webcams without success.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? He will be eternally grateful to you!

Nobody?

Apple hardware isn’t too popular on linux. Hope somebody that has that equipment or has had that problem when they did have that hardware comes along to help.

Thank you, but just yesterday I arrived at the solution to the mystery.
I reinstalled MacOS to test the webcam and … surprise! It is not detected here either. I deduce that it is faulty, all I have to do is replace it.

1 Like

Glad you figured it out.

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