‘Device Access Denied’ Error in Chatroulette: Fix

What the MEDIA_DENY Error Means

The message You have denied access to your devices (or its Russian equivalent, "Вы заблокировали доступ к устройствам") appears immediately after loading the Chatroulette page. The service uses WebRTC technology for real-time video and audio streaming. If the browser or operating system explicitly denies access to media resources, the web application cannot initialize the connection and displays a warning. The problem is not related to Chatroulette's servers and depends entirely on your device's local settings.

Causes

1. Manual denial during the first request. When you first visit, the browser asks for permission to use the camera and microphone. Clicking "Block" or "Deny" saves the prohibition in the site's cache.
2. System-level OS restrictions. Windows 10/11 and macOS have system privacy switches that can disable media resource access for all browsers.
3. Conflicting extensions. Ad blockers, tracker blockers, or privacy managers can automatically interrupt WebRTC requests, mistaking them for surveillance.
4. Device capture by other software. If the camera is busy with Zoom, Discord, OBS, or a built-in camera app, the browser will receive a NotReadableError, which is interpreted as an access denial.

Solutions

Method 1: Restore Permissions in the Address Bar

The quickest fix is to reverse the block at the browser level. The interface is the same for Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Yandex Browser:

1. Open the Chatroulette tab.
2. On the left side of the address bar, click the 🔒 icon or the settings icon.
3. In the dropdown menu, find the Camera and Microphone sections.
4. Toggle both switches to Allow or On.
5. Refresh the page with Ctrl + R (or Cmd + R on Mac).

💡 Tip: In Firefox, the settings icon is located to the right of the address bar. Click it, go to "Permission Settings," and change the status to "Allow."

Method 2: Check System Privacy Settings

If browser permissions are already enabled, the restriction might be at the operating system level.

For Windows 10/11:

1. Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera.
2. Ensure the Allow apps to access your camera toggle is enabled.
3. Scroll down to Allow desktop apps to access your camera and enable access for your browser.
4. Repeat the same steps for the Microphone section.

For macOS:

1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security.
2. Select Camera and Microphone one at a time.
3. Find your browser in the list and ensure the toggle next to it is active.
4. Restart your browser to apply the changes.

Method 3: Disable Blockers and Check Device Capture

If the previous steps didn't help, third-party utilities might be intercepting the media signal.

1. Temporarily disable extensions: uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, AdGuard, or any browser-based antivirus module.
2. Close background applications that might use the camera (Skype, Discord, OBS Studio, Teams).
3. Check if the camera works in the system "Camera" app (Windows) or "Photo Booth" (macOS).
4. If the system app shows an image, return to Chatroulette and click the Allow access button in the system dialog that appears.

Prevention

To avoid the error recurring in future sessions, follow these simple rules:

• Do not click "Block" during the browser's initial request. If you're unsure, select "Ask next time."
• Regularly update your browser. Outdated versions may handle WebRTC tokens incorrectly.
• Add chatroulette.com to the whitelist in your antivirus or network firewall.
• Use incognito mode for diagnostics. If video works there, the issue is definitely in your extensions or cache.