The following article is for a software that is now considered Legacy (EOL) status and no longer in active development. The information below may be outdated, no longer available or it may not match what is possible with current Elgato products. |
When opening 4K Capture Utility, you may encounter an error which reads "Device is in use by other software". The information in this article can help to resolve this error.
The device is in use by other software error most often appears when a capture device is actively used in more than one software.
Why Does This Error Occur?
Some video capture devices can only be accessed by one software at a time. The first software to access the device will be the only software that can receive video from the device. If a second software, such as 4K Capture Utility tries to access the device, it will not work.
As an example, this can happen when the capture device is added to a scene in OBS Studio, and then 4K Capture Utility is opened.
Multi App
Some Elgato devices feature Multi App support- A feature which allows multiple programs access to the video capture device at the same time. Learn more about which Elgato devices support Multi App here.
Troubleshooting Steps
Close Other Video Applications
Close any program that may be using the video capture device. For example OBS Studio, XSplit, Streamlabs OBS, Windows Camera, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Once the program is closed, close and re-open 4K Capture Utility.
Restart 4K Capture Utility
4K Capture Utility may be showing the error message without the error being present. Close and re-open the 4K Capture Utility.
Restart The Computer
In some cases, programs that have accessed the video capture device do not properly "release" it when closed, and the device is still being accessed. Should this occur, restarting the computer is necessary.
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