Bambu Lab camera not working? Start here

First: is it the printer or the Mac?

Open the camera in Bambu Handy on your phone.

• No picture there either: the camera or the printer is the problem. Restart the printer, install the latest firmware, and see Bambu Lab's support if the camera still shows nothing.
• Handy shows it, your Mac doesn't: it's the connection between your Mac and the printer, or a setting on one side. Read on.

X1, H2, H3C, P2S and X2D: LAN Only Liveview

These printers (X1, X1 Carbon, X1E, X2D, P2S, H2D, H2D Pro, H2C, H2S and H3C) send their camera as video over RTSPS. They only open that stream to apps on your network when LAN Only Liveview is on.

1. On the printer's screen, open the network settings: Settings → Network on most models, Settings → LAN Only on the newest screens.
2. Turn on LAN Only Liveview. Full LAN Only mode isn't needed for the camera.
3. In Bambu Bar, close the camera and open it again.

If it still doesn't start, the camera port may be blocked between your Mac and the printer: see the network checks.

P1S, P1P, A1, A1 mini and A2L

These printers send a stream of JPEG pictures that needs no setting on the printer. If status works in Bambu Bar but the camera doesn't:

• Make sure the camera is turned on in both places in Bambu Bar (below).
• Close the camera in Bambu Handy and Bambu Studio, then try again.
• On a P1P, check that the camera works in Bambu Studio or Bambu Handy first.

The P1 and A-series cameras send still frames at a low rate. A picture that updates every so often is working normally; it's the camera's own rate.

Bambu Bar's two camera switches

The camera is off until you want it, and it needs two switches:

1. Settings → Camera → Show the printer camera. While this is off, the camera is hidden everywhere: the menu bar panel, the Printer page and the menus.
2. The Printers page: turn the camera on for each printer you want to watch.

Then open the preview in the menu bar panel, or press ⌘K for the floating window. The stream starts when the picture is on screen.

Too many viewers

A printer serves only a few camera connections at the same time. If Bambu Studio, Bambu Handy, another computer or a home automation tool already has the camera open, a new viewer may get nothing.

Close the camera everywhere else and try again. In Bambu Bar, Keep the camera connected during prints holds a connection for the whole print: turn it off if Bambu Studio or Bambu Handy can't get the picture while Bambu Bar is running.

The network between your Mac and the printer

If status shows in Bambu Bar, the network is mostly fine, but the camera uses its own connection:

• Put the Mac and the printer on the same network, not a guest Wi-Fi, and not a VLAN or a VPN that blocks traffic between devices.
• Firewalls and security tools on the Mac can block the camera's connection while allowing others.
• Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and make sure Bambu Bar is on.

If status doesn't show either, start with printer not connecting.

Camera not working in Bambu Studio

Bambu Studio shows the camera on its Device page. The same rules apply:

• In LAN Only mode, Bambu Studio needs LAN Only Liveview on to show the camera of an X1, H2, H3C, P2S or X2D printer.
• Close the camera in Bambu Handy and Bambu Bar if the printer has reached its connection limit.
• If Studio says the printer is offline, the camera won't show either: see Bambu Studio not connecting.

What no setting can change

• The P1 and A-series cameras' frame rate is set by the printer.
• Bambu Bar shows the printer's built-in camera only: no external webcams.
• Bambu Bar doesn't record video or make timelapses.
• It works on your local network, not from outside your home.