Introduction

I am trying to import cv2 into Python, and I keep getting the following error:

import cv2
ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling opencv, but that does not seem to work. Does anyone know how to fix this?

What is the cause of the error?

The error is caused by a missing or corrupt DLL file. When you try to import the cv2 module, Python looks for the required DLL file (cv2.pyd) in the specified location. If it cannot find the file, it throws the “import cv2 import error DLL load failed” error.

There are several ways to fix this error:

1) Restart your computer and try again. Sometimes, restarting your computer can fix temporary issues with your system and allow Python to import the cv2 module successfully.

2) Reinstall the OpenCV package. If restarting your computer does not fix the issue, you can try reinstalling the OpenCV package. Uninstall OpenCV from your system using the following command: pip uninstall opencv-python

3) Install a newer version of OpenCV. The latest version of OpenCV (4.1.0) was released on July 28, 2019. You can install it using the following command: pip install opencv-python==4.1.0

How to fix the “import cv2 import error dll load failed the specified module could not be found” error

If you’re getting the “import cv2 importerror dll load failed the specified module could not be found” error, it’s usually because you don’t have the right version of Python installed.

Make sure you have at least Python 3.4 installed. If you’re on Windows, you can download Python from the Microsoft Store.

If you’re on macOS, you can install Python using Homebrew.

Once you’ve installed the right version of Python, try importing cv2 again.

Conclusion

We have seen that there can be many causes for the “import cv2 importerror dll load failed the specified module could not be found” error. In most cases, it is caused by a missing or corrupt cv2.dll file. However, it can also be caused by other factors such as incorrect PYTHONPATH environment variable or a corrupted Python installation.