How to Change WhatsApp Default Webcam & Mic on PC & Mac

Do you make WhatsApp voice and video calls on your computer? If so, it’s likely that you may want to change the webcam or the microphone it uses by default. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do and it just takes a few seconds of your time.

For those who aren’t aware, WhatsApp allows its users to make video calls and voice calls from the WhatsApp desktop app. Some desktop users could run into issues with these calls since the app may not use the hardware that you want to use by default. For instance, you may have an external webcam or a dedicated microphone connected to your PC, but WhatsApp may use the internal hardware that’s usually sub-par instead.

Thankfully, you have manual controls over what hardware you want to use for your calls. Here, we’ll be discussing exactly how to change the WhatsApp default webcam and microphone on your PC & Mac.

How to Change WhatsApp Default Camera & Microphone on Mac and Windows PC

Video and voice calling options are only available on the desktop app and not the web client if you haven’t tried out the feature before. The following steps are identical for both Windows and Mac, so let’s get started:

1. Launch the Whatsapp desktop app on your computer and open a conversation with the contact that you want to voice or video call. Click on the phone or video icon located at the top of your chat, depending on whether you want to video call or voice call.
   
   
2. Whether you chose to video or voice call, you’ll get access to a similar calling interface. Here, simply click on the triple-dot icon to access more options.
   
   
3. This will bring up a context menu where you’ll be able to select your desired hardware for your camera and microphone. Simply click on the webcam and mic that you want to use.
   
   

That’s all you need to do. WhatsApp will immediately switch to the selected hardware.

As you can see it’s really not hard to switch to different hardware for WhatsApp calls. However, you won’t be able to change the default webcam and microphone for WhatsApp unless you place a call. So, make sure you do this real quick before the recipient picks up the call.

WhatsApp’s default hardware selection for the microphone depends on your system defaults. Therefore, if you really want to select a particular microphone before actually placing the cam, you’ll need to change the default sound input source on Mac and Windows before you open the desktop app.

If you’re someone who uses virtual camera software like OBS, Logi Capture, or ManyCam to enhance your webcam, we hate to break it to you, but you will not be able to access them from the list of available cameras.

Did you set the camera and microphone that you actually intended to use rather than the default ones in WhatsApp? How long have you been using the WhatsApp desktop app on your PC and Mac without knowing about this hidden hardware selection menu? Share with us your experiences and feel free to drop your valuable feedback in the comments section down below.