You’re at brunch, and the most picture-perfect Eggs Benedict is looking up at you, so naturally, you have to snap a pic. Whether it’s to document life for posterity (or for our fans — hey Ma!) or for snapping QR codes, most of us rely on our phone cameras in one way or another. This article gives some basic troubleshooting techniques to help you fix a camera that isn’t working.
General Tips
While phone cameras may differ slightly based on the brand and model, some general troubleshooting techniques apply across the board.
- When in doubt, restart
- Check to make sure nothing is blocking the lens
- If you have multiple photo apps opened, you might want to close them first
- Make sure you've updated to the latest OS on your phone
- Toggle between the front and rear camera, so you can isolate the problem
- Check your storage; without enough storage, you won't be able to take any photos
- If your flash isn't working, try to clean the LED sensor with a clean, soft cloth to make sure there isn't any dirt blocking it
Select the brand or type of phone you have:
iPhone
My camera opens to a black screen, doesn't focus, or can't zoom in
When you open your camera app, and all it gives you is a black screen, or if it lags when you try to take a pic, the problem could be the camera app itself. You can verify this by opening other apps that use your iPhone's camera, like Snapchat or Instagram. While you're on those apps, toggle between the front and rear cameras, so you can better diagnose the issue. If the camera works on other apps, then you might want to force close your camera app by double-tapping the home button for iPhone 8 (and earlier models) or swiping up from the bottom of the screen for iPhone X (and later models). You can also use the tried-and-true method of turning your phone off and on again.
Sometimes the solution your phone needs is a software update. To check if you have any pending updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
If that still doesn’t work, you may want to reset your phone. Go to Settings > General > Reset (scroll all the way down) > Reset All Settings. This shouldn't delete your files or photos, but you may have to type in all your passwords again.
If all else fails, you can always reset your phone to its factory settings by clicking “Erase All Content and Settings,” but make sure you back up all your data first!
The flash isn't working
If your flash doesn't seem to be working, test the LED flash by turning on the flashlight feature of your phone. Go to the control center of your iPhone (swipe down from the upper-right corner of your screen if you have an iPhone X or later and swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen if you have an iPhone 8 or earlier) and click on the Flashlight button. Please reach out to Back Market Customer Care if the light does not turn on. If it does turn on, this could mean that your flash is turned off. Go to your camera app and click the flash button to change this setting.
Samsung
My camera opens to a black screen, doesn't focus, or can't zoom in
If your phone camera displays an error message saying "Camera Failed" or is lagging or freezing up all the time, this may point to a software issue rather than an actual problem with the camera's hardware. For Samsung phones, the first step would be to reset your camera app:
Open the Camera app > Settings > Reset Settings > Reset
If you're still having an issue, you can check for updates that need to be installed:
Camera app > Settings > About Camera > click on the update if one is available
Usually, if there are no updates for you to install, your screen should read "The latest version is already installed."
Sometimes it may be your Samsung phone that needs an update. To do this, go to your Settings app > Software Update or System Updates > Download and install or Check for system updates. When the download is complete, follow the on-screen instructions.
Make sure that while you're doing all this, you're connected to a Wi-Fi network (sometimes carriers won't allow you to update using your mobile data) and that your phone is charged at least 50% of the way!
If all else fails, you could try to do a factory reset on your Samsung device but don't forget to back up all your files and data and make sure to remember the username and password associated with your account. To perform a factory reset, navigate to Settings > Factory Data Reset > Factory Data Reset (again) > Reset. From there, you can follow the on-screen instructions to complete the factory reset. Once done, you'll need to complete the initial setup of your phone.
The flash isn't working
Some common causes of flash not working for Android phones are:
- Camera filters that have disabled the flash
- The flash setting is turned off
- The phone battery isn’t sufficiently charged
- Physical damage to the LED sensor
To start some basic troubleshooting, make sure your Flash setting is turned on by going to Apps > Camera > Settings > Flash. You can also set your camera to Auto mode by going to Apps > Camera > Mode > Auto. Make sure to disable filters on your camera app that may also prevent the flash from functioning. For any physical or water damage to your LED sensor, please reach out to Back Market Customer Care.
Google Pixel
Here are some basic troubleshooting techniques for your Google Pixel phone if you're having trouble with the flash. Take note though that some of these steps work only on Android 8.0 and up.
Step 1: Clean your camera's lens and laser sensor gently with a soft piece of cloth
Step 2: Restart your phone by pressing the power button > Power off. Wait for a minute and then turn your phone back on
Step 3: Clear your camera app's cache by going to Settings > Apps & Notifications > See all apps (if you don't see this, click on App info) > Camera > Storage > Clear Cache
Step 4: Update your apps by going to the Google Play Store app > Menu > My Apps & Games > check to see if your apps need to be updated > Update
Step 5: Check to see if other apps may be causing the issue. Press and hold your phone's power button then on the screen, touch and hold Power off. This should put your phone on "Safe Mode" and the words should appear on the bottom of your screen. While in this mode, open your camera app and check to see if it's working. If the camera app works in safe mode, then the problem may be caused by another app. Turn off safe mode by restarting your phone, then delete the most recent app you've downloaded and check if you camera works after — if not, repeat this step until you've isolated the app causing the problem. Then re-download all the previous apps once you've found the app causing the problem.
Still need help?
Remember to reach out to Back Market Customer Care with your concerns by logging in to your Back Market account > My orders > "Ask for help". Even if you're out of warranty, the seller may provide you with non-warranty options that can still help you out.