External webcam always chosen for FaceTime on iPad Pro. How do I turn it off so I can just use the iPad Pro’s built-in camera?

[EugW]

I have a monitor which has a USB/Thunderbolt hub, and it has a webcam plugged into it. It’s for my Mac mini.

If I plug my iPad Pro into the monitor instead, the webcam is automatically recognized by the iPad Pro. However, FaceTime always chooses that external camera over the internal camera. I’d rather use the iPad Pro’s built-in camera in FaceTime but for the life of me cannot figure out how to do that when an external camera is plugged in. On the Mac, you can choose which video source you want, but it appears to me on the iPad Pro you cannot. Is there any way to choose which camera to use in FaceTime?

 

[sparksd]

I don't believe that the iPad has an override - if there's a webcam attached and available, it will always use that. You have to detach the webcam.

 

[DaniTheFox]

The current video conferencing software, such as Microsoft Teams and FaceTime, consistently selects the last camera, speaker, or microphone you pluged in. However, with the release of iPadOS 26, users now have the option to select the microphone. Prior to iPadOS 17, external cameras were entirely inaccessible.
Before initiating a FaceTime call, please ensure that the camera on your monitor is turned on. FaceTime does not receive a signal from a USB camera newly connected (hence it is allready connected); instead, it utilizes the camera on your iPad. Additionally, the speaker on your iPad will also be used during the call.
It is a Little Connection Ballett.

 

[EugW]

FWIW, my workaround was to buy a new webcam. My previous desktop webcam kinda sucked, but it was cheap and looked OK for very occasional Zoom/Teams video conferences. I now have an Insta360 Link 2C webcam with 1/2" sensor, that looks way, way better. FaceTime only uses 1080p for it because I think that's the highest FaceTime will support on any camera. 4K is supported with other video recording software though. Not sure about Zoom/Teams, but I don't care since 1080p already looks excellent on it.

The current video conferencing software, such as Microsoft Teams and FaceTime, consistently selects the last camera, speaker, or microphone you pluged in. However, with the release of iPadOS 26, users now have the option to select the microphone. Prior to iPadOS 17, external cameras were entirely inaccessible.
Before initiating a FaceTime call, please ensure that the camera on your monitor is turned on. FaceTime does not receive a signal from a USB camera newly connected (hence it is allready connected); instead, it utilizes the camera on your iPad. Additionally, the speaker on your iPad will also be used during the call.
It is a Little Connection Ballett.

I guess the other workaround would be to first initiate FaceTime on the iPad, before plugging in the monitor with the external web cam on it. From what you describe, it sounds like FaceTime should continue to use the iPad's built-in camera.