Work top to bottom and stop when it starts working.
1. Confirm what kind of permission is failing (camera vs. files vs. location)
Before changing settings, do a 10-second check: what exactly won’t work?
- Camera/Mic: the app opens but shows a black preview, “no camera found,” or the mic meter never moves.
- Location: “can’t detect location,” stuck on a spinner, or always shows the wrong city.
- Photos/Files: the picker opens but is empty, “no permission,” or uploads fail immediately.
This matters because each permission has its own system-level toggle, and “Allow” in the app may not be the last word.
2. Fully quit the app (or close the browser tab) and try again
- Mobile app: fully close it (app switcher) and reopen.
- Desktop app: quit the app completely and relaunch.
- Web app: close the tab, open a new tab, and reload the site.
If the permission prompt never appears again, you may be in a “remembered block/allow” state—keep going.
3. Toggle the permission off, then back on in system settings
This is the most reliable “reset” across platforms because it forces the OS to re-register the grant.
- Find the app under system settings (or the browser under settings if you’re using a website).
- Turn the specific permission off (Camera/Microphone/Location/Photos/Files).
- Wait 5–10 seconds, then turn it on again.
After toggling, reopen the app/site and trigger the feature again (start a recording, attach a file, request location, etc.).
4. If it’s a website: check both browser site permissions and OS permissions
Web apps can be blocked in two places at once.
- Browser site permission: the site can be blocked even if the OS allows the browser.
- OS permission for the browser: the browser itself may not be allowed to use camera/mic/location.
Fix approach: allow the browser at the OS level, then allow the specific site in the browser’s site settings. If it’s still stuck, remove the site’s permission entry and re-allow it.
5. Turn off VPN, private relay, strict tracking protection, or “lockdown” privacy modes (temporarily)
Some privacy tools can interfere with permissions indirectly—especially location and uploads.
- Location: VPNs can make location look wrong or cause apps to fail region checks.
- Camera/Mic in web apps: strict anti-fingerprinting or hardened privacy modes can break device enumeration.
- File uploads: content blockers or security filters can stop an upload request.
Temporarily disable one thing at a time, test, then re-enable. If disabling fixes it, you’ve found the conflict.
6. Check the “precise” vs. “approximate” location option (and background access)
- Switch to precise location if available.
- If the app needs updates while minimized (navigation, tracking a delivery), make sure background location isn’t restricted.
Then test by moving a small distance or toggling airplane mode briefly to force a fresh fix.
7. Last-resort resets: clear site data, reset app permissions, or reinstall
If toggles didn’t help, something may be corrupted in cached permissions or site storage.
- Web: clear the site’s data (cookies/storage) for just that site, then sign in again and re-allow permissions.
- Android: reset app permissions (or clear storage/cache for the app) and re-open.
- iOS/iPadOS: if the app never re-prompts, delete the app and reinstall to force a clean permission prompt.
After a reinstall, test the permission before changing any in-app settings so you can tell what actually fixed it.
Final thoughts
Most “allowed but still blocked” permission bugs come from a stale grant, a second layer of site/browser settings, or a privacy tool interfering with the request.
If you do only two things: toggle the specific permission off/on at the system level, and (for web) re-allow the site permission in the browser.