Webcam in OBS flips after a restart

Quick check for experienced users

If after restarting OBS your webcam becomes mirrored, flips upside down, or rotates 90 degrees, check three places first. In most cases that's enough to find the cause without reinstalling OBS.

1. Reset the transform of the camera source.
2. Check the scene and scene collection.
3. Check the driver and the camera's manufacturer software.

Don't fix all the settings at once. First make a short recording in OBS and check the finished file. If the orientation is wrong in the recording, look for the cause in the source, scene, filters, or the camera itself. If the file is fine and the image is distorted only in another program's window, OBS may no longer be the source of the problem.

How to tell where the wrong orientation appears

A mirrored image is easy to spot by text on clothing, packaging, or a sheet of paper: the text becomes unreadable or looks flipped horizontally. With a vertical flip, the image ends up upside down. A 90-degree rotation is more often related to the device, driver, or manufacturer utility settings.

Launch OBS, open the scene with the camera, and record a few seconds of video. Then view the file in a regular player. Compare it with the image in the OBS preview window and with what the video calling app sees. This comparison splits the problem into two parts: an error inside OBS and a change to the image after it leaves OBS.

Usually the program doesn't change orientation on its own. A rotation or reflection may be set by the source transform, saved in another scene, applied by a filter, loaded from a manufacturer program's profile, or related to the virtual camera. When OBS restarts, these settings are read again from the saved configuration, so the error comes back.

Check the source transform in OBS

In OBS, webcam orientation relates not only to the device itself but also to the source within a specific scene. Even if two scenes use the same physical camera, they can have different rotations, reflections, sizes, and positions.

Open the scene you need, find the webcam in the sources list, and right-click it. Select "Transform." Check horizontal flip, vertical flip, and 90- or 180-degree rotation. For a normal image, reflection should be off and rotation should be set to zero.

The "Edit Transform" option shows the settings more precisely. Don't confuse orientation with size and position: changing the scale doesn't fix a flipped image. You can choose "Reset Transform," but this option usually resets not only rotation but also the source's size and position. If the camera is already neatly placed in the scene, it's safer to change only the reflection and rotation angle.

After fixing it, switch to another scene and back. Then make a test recording. If the orientation changes again right after switching, check the source itself and the filters. If it only broke after restarting OBS, move on to checking how the configuration and scene collection are saved.

Check the scene collection and the selected scene

The source transform is saved in the scene and scene collection. The OBS profile handles a different part of the settings, such as video, output, and encoding parameters. So checking only the profile won't help if a different scene collection loads at startup.

In the top bar of OBS, open the "Scene Collections" menu and select the collection in which you fixed the webcam. Then check the name of the active scene in the workspace. This is a direct way to make sure OBS opened the right configuration and not an old set of scenes for testing or recording.

Different collections can contain sources with the same names but different settings. For example, one collection might have a "Camera" source with normal orientation, while another has a separate source created from scratch and saved with a rotation. Fixing the first source won't change the second.

Also check for duplicates within a single scene. If the camera was added twice, one source may be hidden by another. Click the eye icon on the suspicious item to temporarily disable it and make sure the correct camera is the one left in the preview.

After making changes, close OBS normally and launch the program again. If it crashes, freezes, or the computer shuts down, the latest changes may not be saved. If the setting persists after a normal restart, the cause was the scene selection or an unsaved configuration.

Check the camera, driver, and manufacturer software

If the transform in OBS is off but the image still comes out flipped, check the camera in another app. The operating system's standard camera app or a video calling program will do. If the wrong orientation repeats everywhere, the source of the problem is outside OBS.

First close OBS and any apps that may control the camera. Then open the device's manufacturer program and check the settings named Mirror, Flip, Rotate, Orientation, or similar. The names and available features depend on the camera model.

For compatible devices, the settings may be in Logitech G Hub, Logi Tune, or Razer Synapse. Check whether reflection is on, whether a rotation is selected, and whether a separate profile for OBS is being applied. If the program has a command to restore default settings, use it. Sometimes it's called "Reset settings," Restore defaults, or Reset.

There's no universal factory-reset button for all webcams. If no separate command is provided, delete the camera's custom profile in the manufacturer program or select the default profile. After that, close the app, disconnect the camera, and connect it again. Don't delete system drivers at random unless the manufacturer recommends that procedure for your model.

If the problem appeared after an update or a settings change, you can reinstall the driver using the operating system: remove the camera device in Device Manager, restart the computer, and connect the camera again. For external models, it's better to use the manufacturer's driver and instructions. After reinstalling, check the camera in a separate app again and only then add it to OBS.

Try a different USB port, especially if the device isn't recognized right away. An unstable connection more often affects resolution and frame rate, but reinitializing the camera sometimes restores settings that are then perceived as the wrong orientation.

Rule out the OBS Virtual Camera and third-party programs

A common source of confusion is OBS Virtual Camera. It's not a physical webcam but a virtual device that passes the image from OBS to other programs. If OBS Virtual Camera or another virtual camera is selected in the source properties instead of a regular camera, OBS may be receiving an already processed video stream rather than the original image.

Open the properties of the "Video Capture Device" source and check the device name. For a normal check, a physical webcam should be selected, not OBS Virtual Camera, a video calling program's virtual source, or a duplicate of the device.

If the wrong orientation appears only in Zoom, Discord, a browser, or another program, check the image settings there instead. Some apps mirror their own preview even though the final recording for the other person or viewers stays normal. In that case, the OBS transform isn't the cause.

Close programs that access the camera at the same time: video calls, browser tabs with camera permission, recording apps, virtual mixers, and manufacturer utilities. Then launch only OBS and make a test recording. If the error disappears, enable the apps one by one to identify the conflicting software.

Check filters, properties, and how the source was added

Right-click the camera source and open "Filters." The list may contain image processing filters or third-party extensions that reflect the frame. Temporarily disable suspicious filters and record again. If the orientation is fixed, enable the filters one at a time.

Then open the source's "Properties" and check the selected device. The computer may show the laptop's built-in camera, an external webcam, a virtual camera, and several entries for the same device. The source name in OBS doesn't always mean the correct physical camera is selected.

If the old source behaves unpredictably, create a separate test scene and add the webcam again as a "Video Capture Device." Leave the resolution and frame rate at their defaults, don't add filters, and don't change the transform. Restart OBS several times and compare the result.

Don't delete the working source right away. First note its size, position, selected device, and image settings. If the new source works normally, you can move the camera into the main scene and set up the layout again without losing the old configuration.

What to check before a stream: a strict checklist

Before going live, run through the check in a single order. This helps confirm that the fix persisted after a restart and isn't only working until the program is closed.

1. In the top bar of OBS, open "Scene Collections" and select the collection you need.
2. Open the scene that will be used in the broadcast and select the physical webcam.
3. In the "Transform" menu, check the rotation and both types of reflection.
4. Open the source filters and temporarily disable unknown or recently added filters.
5. Make sure OBS Virtual Camera or another virtual camera isn't selected in the properties instead of the physical device.
6. Check Logitech G Hub, Logi Tune, Razer Synapse, or another manufacturer program: turn off Mirror, Flip, and Rotate, and if available, reset to default settings.
7. Make a short recording and view the finished file, not just the preview window.
8. Close OBS normally, launch it again, and repeat the recording check.

If the orientation stays wrong in all apps, focus on the driver, the manufacturer software, and the camera itself. If the issue appears in only one scene collection, look for a separate source or transform within that collection.