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Has anyone else had privacy settings completely reset after upgrading to Windows?

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 12:49 am
by 3rzDr
Has anyone else had privacy settings completely reset after upgrading to Windows 11? I did the upgrade last week, and now my microphone and camera access for apps like Zoom is blocked. I'm getting error 0xA00F4243 in Camera. I know I can change them back, but it's frustrating that everything was turned off. Did Microsoft change how these permissions work, or is this a known glitch with the upgrade?

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 12:54 am
by ht5515865934
Had the same problem. Yeah, that's a common issue after a major upgrade. Windows sometimes resets privacy settings to default during the installation. It's not a new policy, just a glitch in the upgrade process. You'll need to go back into Settings > Privacy & security and re-enable everything for your apps. Hope that helps.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 1:16 am
by Google Desktop
Agreed. You could also try running the built-in privacy troubleshooter by going to Settings > Privacy & security > Troubleshoot. Hope that helps.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 1:16 am
by 32mj70HYB
+1 Yeah, that's exactly it. A quick tip: after you fix them, consider taking a screenshot of your privacy settings page as a backup for next time.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 1:17 am
by j2U31s
Agreed, and it's a good idea to also export your privacy settings using the built-in diagnostic tool if you can. Let me know if that works.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 2:06 am
by ilc2679242
This happened to me after the November update. I had to go back and manually re-allow everything, which was a real pain.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 2:40 am
by 6vfwXXldrz83
Yeah, that error code usually means the privacy settings are the culprit—have you checked the Camera privacy section in Settings to make sure it's toggled on for all apps? Hope that helps.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 6:40 am
by 3rzDr
Thanks so much! That fixed it!

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 6:43 am
by trd74171
Glad I'm not alone. Same issue on my PC.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2026 9:31 am
by q6Zs3Cv
Add me to the list - same error message.