diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/camera.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/camera.rs
index b1766d58e2..9532807114 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/camera.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/camera.rs
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use tokio::{
     runtime::Runtime,
     sync::{broadcast, oneshot},
     task::LocalSet,
+    time::{Duration, Instant},
 };
-use tracing::{error, info, trace};
+use tracing::{error, info, trace, warn};
 use wgpu::{CompositeAlphaMode, SurfaceTexture};
 
 static TOOLBAR_HEIGHT: f32 = 56.0; // also defined in Typescript
@@ -496,8 +497,23 @@ impl Renderer {
             return;
         };
 
+        let start_time = Instant::now();
+        let startup_timeout = Duration::from_secs(5);
+        let mut received_first_frame = false;
+
         let mut state = default_state;
         while let Some(event) = loop {
+            let timeout_remaining = if received_first_frame {
+                Duration::MAX
+            } else {
+                startup_timeout.saturating_sub(start_time.elapsed())
+            };
+
+            if timeout_remaining.is_zero() {
+                warn!("Camera preview timed out waiting for first frame, closing window");
+                break None;
+            }
+
             tokio::select! {
                 frame = camera_rx.recv_async() => break frame.ok().map(Ok),
                 result = reconfigure.recv() => {
@@ -507,10 +523,15 @@ impl Renderer {
                         continue;
                     }
                 },
+                _ = tokio::time::sleep(timeout_remaining) => {
+                    warn!("Camera preview timed out waiting for first frame, closing window");
+                    break None;
+                }
             }
         } {
             match event {
                 Ok(frame) => {
+                    received_first_frame = true;
                     let aspect_ratio = frame.inner.width() as f32 / frame.inner.height() as f32;
                     self.sync_ratio_uniform_and_resize_window_to_it(&window, &state, aspect_ratio);
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 12c876e2fe..197b37aaba 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -456,12 +456,17 @@ async fn set_camera_input(
                 .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
         }
         Some(id) => {
+            {
+                let app = &mut *state.write().await;
+                app.selected_camera_id = Some(id.clone());
+                app.camera_in_use = true;
+                app.camera_cleanup_done = false;
+            }
+
             let mut attempts = 0;
-            loop {
+            let init_result: Result<(), String> = loop {
                 attempts += 1;
 
-                // We first ask the actor to set the input
-                // This returns a future that resolves when the camera is actually ready
                 let request = camera_feed
                     .ask(feeds::camera::SetInput { id: id.clone() })
                     .await
@@ -473,10 +478,10 @@ async fn set_camera_input(
                 };
 
                 match result {
-                    Ok(_) => break,
+                    Ok(_) => break Ok(()),
                     Err(e) => {
                         if attempts >= 3 {
-                            return Err(format!(
+                            break Err(format!(
                                 "Failed to initialize camera after {} attempts: {}",
                                 attempts, e
                             ));
@@ -488,6 +493,13 @@ async fn set_camera_input(
                         tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(500)).await;
                     }
                 }
+            };
+
+            if let Err(e) = init_result {
+                let app = &mut *state.write().await;
+                app.selected_camera_id = None;
+                app.camera_in_use = false;
+                return Err(e);
             }
 
             ShowCapWindow::Camera
@@ -2758,7 +2770,13 @@ pub async fn run(recording_logging_handle: LoggingHandle, logs_dir: PathBuf) {
                                     let state = app.state::<ArcLock<App>>();
                                     let app_state = &mut *state.write().await;
 
-                                    if !app_state.is_recording_active_or_pending() {
+                                    let camera_window_open =
+                                        CapWindowId::Camera.get(&app).is_some();
+
+                                    if !app_state.is_recording_active_or_pending()
+                                        && !camera_window_open
+                                        && !app_state.camera_in_use
+                                    {
                                         let _ =
                                             app_state.mic_feed.ask(microphone::RemoveInput).await;
                                         let _ = app_state
@@ -2768,7 +2786,6 @@ pub async fn run(recording_logging_handle: LoggingHandle, logs_dir: PathBuf) {
 
                                         app_state.selected_mic_label = None;
                                         app_state.selected_camera_id = None;
-                                        app_state.camera_in_use = false;
                                     }
                                 });
                             }