Fix screen recording problems on Mac

Screen recording not working on your Mac? Find your symptom: a black recording, no sound, a shortcut that does nothing, or an app you can’t find.

Screen recording not working on your Mac? Find the symptom below that matches what you see. Each one gives the likely cause, the fix in a few steps, and a link to the full page.

Shift + Cmd + 5 opens Apple’s recorder, not ScreenCameo #

Shift+Cmd+3, Shift+Cmd+4 and Shift+Cmd+5 belong to Apple’s own Screenshot app. ScreenCameo uses Option+Shift instead, so the two never clash.

Would you rather use Apple’s keys for ScreenCameo? Free them up in macOS first, then give them to ScreenCameo:

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard and click Keyboard Shortcuts….
2. Choose Screenshots in the list, untick the shortcuts you want to free, and click Done.
3. In ScreenCameo, open Settings (Cmd+Comma) → Shortcuts.
4. Click the box next to an action, such as New recording (Capture Bar), and press the new keys.

A shortcut does nothing #

1. Check that ScreenCameo is running: its ring icon should be in the menu bar at the top right. If it isn’t there, open ScreenCameo from your Applications folder.
2. Another app may use the same keys. Pick a different combination in Settings → Shortcuts.
3. Editor keys such as S, Z or Space don’t work while you’re typing in a text box. Click the timeline first, then try again.
4. Shift+Cmd+/ belongs to macOS: it opens the search field in the Help menu. To open ScreenCameo’s own help, press Option+Cmd+/.

Can’t find the app #

ScreenCameo lives in the menu bar, so it often has no window open. Look for the ring icon at the top right of your screen.

1. If your menu bar is crowded, the icon may be hidden behind the camera notch. Open ScreenCameo from Applications or Spotlight instead: that shows the Home window (or the activation step if it isn’t activated yet).
2. When a ScreenCameo window is in front, Cmd+0 opens Home too.
3. Pressed Cmd+Q? That closes ScreenCameo’s windows but keeps it in the menu bar, so your recording shortcuts keep working. To quit completely, choose Quit ScreenCameo from the menu-bar icon.

Black screen recording on Mac #

A black or empty recording means macOS isn’t letting ScreenCameo see your screen. Either the Screen Recording permission is off, or it was just turned on and hasn’t taken effect yet.

1. Open Settings (Cmd+Comma) → Privacy → Permissions.
2. Click Allow (or Open Settings) next to Screen Recording.
3. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on ScreenCameo.
4. Back in ScreenCameo, click Relaunch ScreenCameo. Screen Recording only starts working after a relaunch.
5. Record a short test.

Every permission, what it’s for and when it’s asked for, is on the permissions page.

No sound from your Mac in the recording #

ScreenCameo records the sound playing on your Mac only when Mac sound is on in the Capture Bar. It’s off by default, so notification sounds stay out.

1. Press Option+Shift+5 to open the Capture Bar.
2. Click Mac sound so the speaker shows waves.
3. Record again. Sound that played while it was off can’t be added afterwards.

More on recording your Mac’s sound, your microphone and your camera together: camera, microphone and Mac sound.

No voice or no camera in the video #

Microphone or camera access was off when you recorded. The message when the recording started says so, and so does the editor’s Audio or Camera tab.

1. Click Fix… in that message, or open Settings → Privacy → Permissions and click Allow next to Microphone or Camera.
2. Turn on ScreenCameo in System Settings → Privacy & Security when it opens.
3. In the Capture Bar, check that your microphone and camera are picked (not No camera), then record again.

The shortcuts you pressed don’t show in the video #

Showing the shortcuts you press needs the optional Keystrokes permission, and it has to be on before you record.

1. Open Settings → Privacy → Permissions and click Allow next to Keystrokes. System Settings calls it Input Monitoring.
2. Turn on ScreenCameo there, then click Relaunch ScreenCameo.
3. In Settings → Recording, turn on Detect typing & shortcuts.
4. Record again. In the editor, open the Cursor tab and turn on Show shortcuts you press under Keyboard.

Low disk space while recording #

• The small dot at the right of the recording pill turns orange when less than 1.5 GB is free (or when frames are being dropped).
• Below 0.5 GB, ScreenCameo stops the recording by itself so the file isn’t damaged. Everything up to that point is saved.
• Free some space, or delete old recordings in Home → Recordings. Find out how much each project takes on the files and storage page.

A recording stopped on its own #

When a recording ends without you pressing Stop, ScreenCameo opens what was saved and tells you why. The usual reasons:

If ScreenCameo quits unexpectedly while recording, or your Mac loses power, it recovers the recording the next time it opens. You’ll see “Recovered 1 recording”, and everything up to the last couple of seconds is there.

ScreenCameo says my license isn’t valid #

Recording, editing and exporting need a valid license. Your recordings and projects stay safe in Home either way. Open Settings → License to see what’s wrong; each message there comes with the link that helps most.

• Pasted key not accepted? Copy the whole key again from your purchase email. It starts with L1. and line breaks from your mail app are fine.
• Lost your key? Recover your license key and it’s emailed to you again.
• Every license message, and what to do about it, is in license messages.

Updates don’t install or aren’t offered #

1. Check for an update yourself: click the menu-bar icon → Check for Updates…, or open Settings → General → Updates. The same place shows the Version you have.
2. Nothing new offered? ScreenCameo only offers versions released while your license includes updates. Settings → License shows Updates included until; read renew updates to get newer versions.
3. Installed a newer version and see “Your license includes updates until …, and this version was released after that”? Click Renew updates, or reinstall a version released before that date. That version keeps working with no time limit.
4. Update fails to download? Updates come from GitHub. Check your connection or firewall, or download the latest version from the download page and drag it to Applications.

Still stuck? #

Email us and you’ll usually hear back within 2 business days. Contact support explains what to include so the first reply can fix it. You can also search the whole ScreenCameo Guide.

Shortcuts on this page#

See every shortcut