Home Troubleshooting Cameras on printers and this computer

Cameras on printers and this computer

Last updated on Sep 09, 2026

Audience: SoLoPrint users setting up video for Bambu, Klipper/Moonraker, or USB webcams
Last updated: 2026-08-27 Publish to: help.soloprint.app — Troubleshooting (and link from Getting Started)

The short version

SoLoPrint has two camera kinds. Mix them up and nothing will appear.

Kind Where the hardware lives Where you set it up Where you see it
Printer camera On the printer or its Pi (Bambu built-in, crowsnest on Klipper) Printer / Mainsail — not Settings → This computer That printer’s camera view in the app
This computer camera USB webcam plugged into the computer running SoLoPrint Desktop Settings → This computer → Cameras Shown on every Cloud printer by default; use Settings → Cloud → Cameras to limit it to selected printers

Scenario A — Bambu built-in camera

  1. On the printer: Settings → Camera → Video = ON
  2. Close Bambu Studio / Handy if they steal the feed
  3. Keep SoLoPrint Desktop signed in on a computer that can reach the printer
  4. Open Printers → Cloud and select the printer — the built-in feed should appear

Do not add the built-in camera under Settings → This computer.

Scenario B — USB cam on a Raspberry Pi (Klipper / Moonraker)

  1. Plug the webcam into the Pi, not the desktop computer
  2. Configure it in Mainsail or Fluidd until the live view works there
  3. Add the printer under Printers → This computer as Klipper / Moonraker (same LAN)
  4. Open that printer in SoLoPrint — use the printer camera (built-in list entry)

Do not paste http://pi:8080/... into Settings → This computer. Cameras there are USB devices physically connected to this computer.

If Mainsail works but SoLoPrint does not, SoLoPrint Desktop must be open on the same network. It reads Moonraker’s webcam list and retrieves the snapshot through nginx /webcam/?action=snapshot.

Scenario C — USB cam on this computer

  1. Plug the webcam into the computer running SoLoPrint Desktop
  2. Open Settings → This computer → Cameras, then discover and save it
  3. In Settings → Cloud → Cameras, choose which printers may use it
  4. Open a printer that is assigned — pick the cam from the unified camera list

One PC camera can be shared with several printers; one printer can have several PC cameras.

When you expand a camera from a printer card in the fleet, SoLoPrint keeps the camera you selected in the card. The full view does not switch back to the printer's built-in camera; use the picker or swipe controls there to choose another assigned camera.

If you see “No camera feed”

  1. Wait up to five seconds. SoLoPrint automatically replaces a dead or stale This computer camera worker when the next frame is requested.
  2. Check the cloud-status indicator in the shared header.
  3. Is this a printer cam or a This computer cam? Use the table above
  4. Klipper: does the same cam work in Mainsail?
  5. Bambu: is Video ON?
  6. This computer cam: does the operating system still list it, and is it Streaming in Settings → This computer → Cameras? If the device disappeared, reconnect its USB cable.
  7. Restart SoLoPrint Desktop only if the camera is visible to the operating system but automatic recovery still cannot produce a frame.
  8. For more help, visit help.soloprint.app.

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Title: Cameras on printers and this computer Category: Troubleshooting
Summary: Explains when to use Mainsail or built-in printer video versus USB webcams attached to the desktop computer, including printer assignments.