Develop Bugs

Camera stopped working

The camera has stopped working randomly. The only thing I could think of that might of caused it would be the phone some how shut down when it was in my pocket. When I start up the camera app it immediately closes. When I attempt to use Google goggles, it says cannot connect to camera. What can I do?

First off you can give us some more details as to what software you are running. Are you on a stock Sprint ROM? A custom ROM? Did you install any software and then notice this change? Does this happen 100% of the time?

I'm running the stock 2.2 rooted odexed rom. Stock kernel. And haven't installed any new software to cause this...

I've cleared cache, dalvik cache, camera app's cache and it still doesn't work...

No one has any idea? Has this ever happened to anyone else?

It happens to me on both ava stock 2.2 and now netarchys 2.2... I have to wipe everything to get it back for a few hours... it just did it to me again do you have netarchys fps fix?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

This is the craziest thing ever. The camera has returned to working after 10 hours of not working. I didn't do anything to get it to return. I will be continuing to monitor the camera to see if it happens again... This is the first time it has ever happen and the first time I've been on a 2.2 Rom for a significant amount of time.

This just barely happened to my phone too! Grrrr!!!
I'm running Fresh.02 + I tried flashing several kernels to see if it would fix it but none of them helped.
kernels I tried, latest versions of: kingX, snap, netarchy
Will try to do a full wipe and flash the stock 2.2 rooted w/o any fancy mods. <--- ok this fixed it!

Does installing the 3D Gallery app cause the Sense camera app to randomly stop working?
I'm getting the same problem again on a different ROM.
UPDATE: I've uninstalled 3D Gallery & cleared data on the Camera app and it still doesn't work.

i am having this same problem. have flashed several roms with no fix. cannot pin point when this happened either. really frustrating. ive done reboots, wipe, you name it.

happened to me
blix1337 said:
No one has any idea? Has this ever happened to anyone else?
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Click to collapse
Yes it happened to me, but i have HTC EVO 3D i used leedriod rom and it happend exactly i changed rom to ics and still didnt work know i will call htc and ask them how to get the official ics rom after that if camera wont work i will tell them that the camera was working before i made this update and they must fix it for free

Hi guys
Any luck with this problem? I'm using a rooted xperia neo running [email protected] #2 with an unlocked boot loader - I've used Google goggles many times before and then today its coming up with "Cannot connect to camera. You may need to restart your device" and yet the camera is working because behind this pop up I can see the image that the camera is seeing. I've tried to take a screen shot of this but the screen shot uses the camera and therefore I blanks out the image through the back lens.
I've also uninstalled the app and reinstalled it - cleared all Dalvik cache - as well as moved it to SD and made it a system app - none of these trials have made any difference.

hilfordjames said:
Hi guys
Any luck with this problem? I'm using a rooted xperia neo running [email protected] #2 with an unlocked boot loader - I've used Google goggles many times before and then today its coming up with "Cannot connect to camera. You may need to restart your device" and yet the camera is working because behind this pop up I can see the image that the camera is seeing. I've tried to take a screen shot of this but the screen shot uses the camera and therefore I blanks out the image through the back lens.
I've also uninstalled the app and reinstalled it - cleared all Dalvik cache - as well as moved it to SD and made it a system app - none of these trials have made any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure there are no problems or known bugs with the rom you are using? Have you tried reflashing your rom? (it might be a pain to do, but something in the rom might have broke and it can help to start fresh).

I never post here but I have had a problem with my phone's camera that I fix by some random thread I found a while ago so I thought I would share what helped me. The thread stated it is something to do with the camera's connection to the phone and sometimes with drops or bumps of the phone it becomes loose. All I had to do was turn the phone face down, put my thumb over the camera and press down with some force. Not enough to break it but just to reseat the connection. After that, restart the phone. I have done this a few times and it has been successful ever time. I hope you guys have the same success.
Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk 2

hippy70 said:
I never post here but I have had a problem with my phone's camera that I fix by some random thread I found a while ago so I thought I would share what helped me. The thread stated it is something to do with the camera's connection to the phone and sometimes with drops or bumps of the phone it becomes loose. All I had to do was turn the phone face down, put my thumb over the camera and press down with some force. Not enough to break it but just to reseat the connection. After that, restart the phone. I have done this a few times and it has been successful ever time. I hope you guys have the same success.
Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk 2
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That is correct, in some cases i have found the camera has come unseated. but it could also be the board.

[BUG] Camera Flash when turning off

Is anyone else's camera flash flashing 5-6 times when powering off? This happens right after the pink T-Mobile goodbye screen.

Turned mine off at least ten times now and no such report here.

Nothing here. Have turned mine off about 3 times since I received it earlier.

Last night my battery was very low when this started happening.
After a full night charge the phone boots down normally.

Mine flashed 1 time when I turned it off. I've only turned it off twice. I did it the 2nd time, because I thought I was seeing things.....now I know I wasn't imagining a lightning bolt in my hand;-(
---------- Post added at 02:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 AM ----------
WOW, 11 minutes later I turn the phone off........the LED on back flashes @ least 6 times!!!!! Sad part is I have no box or receipt to exchange

Has anyone gotten a guick camera flash when rebooting after using these files? I've seen it happen a few times now.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

RRSpikes said:
Has anyone gotten a guick camera flash when rebooting after using these files? I've seen it happen a few times now.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
wrong topic.... some one already mentioned that in a separate topic, it's a bug or defective unit, you should exchange it for a good one

I spent quite a bit of time trying to find out what was causing the camera flash to happen after changing the files.
Reverting back to stock: can't duplicate camera flash on reboot/startup.
Using the international SGS2's bootup/shutdown: can duplicate random camera flash on reboot/startup.
It appears that the camera flash is being caused by trying to reboot the phone to quickly after shutting it down. The original T-mo shutdown is longer in length than the international version.
When I wait 3 seconds after the shutdown vibration occurs while using the international version I am not able to reproduce the camera flash.
My conclusion: User error. No exchange necessary.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

RRSpikes said:
I spent quite a bit of time trying to find out what was causing the camera flash to happen after changing the files.
Reverting back to stock: can't duplicate camera flash on reboot/startup.
Using the international SGS2's bootup/shutdown: can duplicate random camera flash on reboot/startup.
It appears that the camera flash is being caused by trying to reboot the phone to quickly after shutting it down. The original T-mo shutdown is longer in length than the international version.
When I wait 3 seconds after the shutdown vibration occurs while using the international version I am not able to reproduce the camera flash.
My conclusion: User error. No exchange necessary.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Actually this isn't caused at all by user error, as one of my old units did exactly this. It was a problem with the unit. Only one of the 7 I've tried have done this. . .
____________________
Deebo took your bike too?

there much better moved
next time, use search before posting and don't hijack unrelated threads
RRSpikes said:
Has anyone gotten a guick camera flash when rebooting after using these files? I've seen it happen a few times now.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Had this problem only once among my 30'ish number of shutdown's.
Thought I saw ghost or something...

no worries, it's probably just CIQ snapping some photos for their logs to match up with your GPS at the time of shutdown...

I've never had this problem. (I've had this phone for 2 days
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

That's happened to me twice. Weirdest thing ever.

Yeah this happened on juggernaut twice..
FREAKED ME THE F OUT
sent from my real Gs move in silence like lasagna

Just recently flashed bombaridier, haven't had the camera flash do that yet on stock or bombaridier. Will keep an eye out for it though

I've been thinking this may be related to using a "flashlight" app (not app specific, possibly after using any flashlight app)
I never had this happen until I installed a flashlight app... I've noticed when you use the flashlight, after you turn the "flashlight" off, it will always flash one time.
Uninstall the flashlight app, reboot once, after that - anytime I shut down, no flashing.
Just a thought..

Im going to have to turn my wifes phone off now to make sure that hers is not doing this.

mbernusg said:
Yeah this happened on juggernaut twice..
FREAKED ME THE F OUT
sent from my real Gs move in silence like lasagna
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm on Jugger, never seen it yet
and i hope it remains that way
i'm pretty sure it must be a software bug
for the records, i do not use the stock SMS/MMS i have it frozen, because it sucks
i use Go SMS Pro, free, and has more feature than i can use, but has no use for them (that's a good thing )

Just witnessed this for the first time on my phone after having it for close to 3 months. I just flashed CWM for the first time on it a few minutes ago. Wonder if it's related? I'm guessing the consensus is to just ignore it?

[Q] Camera is stuck in thermal mode and won't change back

I'm running MIUI v4 2.5.18.2, and for the past couple weeks my camera has been stuck in thermal mode. I have tried to flash new roms after wiping everything multiple times, but nothing has helped. I did accidentally jump into a pool with my phone a month ago, but I was able to clean everything out and restore it to work properly..
I took a screenshot of what the camera looks like..

My phone was doing that too recently. It would only reset to normal with a battery pull. I finally just took The battery out and pressed firmly on the camera lens to ensure it was seated, as I've dropped it a few times. My camera has yet to revert back to thermal mode.... So, perhaps that might work for you.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA

Try a different cam. Camera ICS or Camera 360

HipKat said:
Try a different cam. Camera ICS or Camera 360
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Click to collapse
Already tried Camera ICS, same problem. Instagram camera does the same thing as well. I'll try Camera 360, but I think the problem is a little deeper than just using a different app.

ckilmer75 said:
My phone was doing that too recently. It would only reset to normal with a battery pull. I finally just took The battery out and pressed firmly on the camera lens to ensure it was seated, as I've dropped it a few times. My camera has yet to revert back to thermal mode.... So, perhaps that might work for you.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA
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Click to collapse
Wow.. I can't believe I hadn't tried that yet. I was actually thinking of opening up my phone and taking the camera out and reattaching it, but this did the trick! Thanks!!

thanks so much!!!
ckilmer75 said:
My phone was doing that too recently. It would only reset to normal with a battery pull. I finally just took The battery out and pressed firmly on the camera lens to ensure it was seated, as I've dropped it a few times. My camera has yet to revert back to thermal mode.... So, perhaps that might work for you.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA
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Click to collapse
my phone started doing literally the SAME EXACT THING and i tried everything.....except pressing on the camera to reseat it....
you're a genius...lol
really..thanks a lot-it seems to be working fine now (the focus seems to be a little weird maybe, but no more thermal so im not *****ing! lmao)

Camera not starting?

in the past two days my phone has failed to start my camera twice. I opened instagram first and when I tried to take a photo it said "unable to start camera" in tried it again and it said the same thing. So I opened the actual camera and it just opened a black screen with the camera controls (shutter buttons, settings, etc)
No matter how many times I opened the camera or cleared the tasks using the camera it still refused to start. only after restarting the phone did the camera start again.
has anyone else experienced this or know any possible reasons as to why this could be happening???
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Try deleting the data of the camera app, if that doesn't work, try a different ROM, if it still happens, it's a hardware problem.

theexel said:
Try deleting the data of the camera app, if that doesn't work, try a different ROM, if it still happens, it's a hardware problem.
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Click to collapse
ill try that the next time it happens but at the moment I'm completely stock and just rooted.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I actually had this happen a few times before I rooted or ROM'd. I have yet to have it happen on JellyBean and, if I did, I could just hot boot. The only thing that ever fixed the issue on stock was a restart.

Is it possible this is an issue similar to webcams and PC's where the permissions get messed up? Can you recreate it? Open app x then try to use the camera in app y and see if it's bonkers.

I have been trying everything in order to reproduce the problem, no luck as of yet unfortunately.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] "Cannot connect to Camera" on Stock/Stock based ROM after Play Services 09/19

[Q] "Cannot connect to Camera" on Stock/Stock based ROM after Play Services 09/19
Hey guys,
So recently Google Play Services updated itself and my camera suddenly stopped working. Yesterday when this happened, I got the "Cannot connect to Camera" error running Task650's initial 4.3 release. I decided maybe it was time for a clean odin and decided to update through Samsung Kies to initialize the firmware to stock. This wiped everything including internal SD so it was a completely fresh start. I then tried using the camera, and it worked for about fifteen minutes until all the updates through Google Play came in. As soon as play services updated, the next time I tried running my camera I got the same Cannot connect to camera message, except this time on a completely stock, un-rooted ROM. I then decided that maybe I should flash again, so I did, making sure to wipe everything. It was working, but this time I kept auto updates off and didn't update any ROMs.
Next, I rooted and flashed Dandroid 4.7 and my camera was working flawlessly all day. Until I tried using snapchat and it required a google play services update. To verify my theory, I updated, and voila, my camera was no longer functional.
So my question is, is there any way around using Google Play Services, or is there a way to flash a version of the app thats not the oldest, but before the newest update? Cause currently I can only revert to factory settings which seems to upset a lot of apps.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Additional info in case you need it: SGH-I747M from Fido. Stock Kernel. Currently running Dandroid 4.7 but this problem has appeared on un-bastardized TW as well as AOKP.
UPDATE: I now also get the Camera failed error instead of Cannot Connect to Camera
Now even if I uninstall Play Services updates my camera won't come back online. It's dead forever

Have you tried clearing data and cache for camera, followed by a reboot?
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

I'm in the same boat as you. I originally had the problem using Hyperdrive and a phone without a camera is close to useless so I tried task650's rom again due to having such good experiences in the past with it. My camera worked for a day and I wasn't paying close enough attention to my phone to be able to make an accurate prediction as to why it stopped. I'm considering throwing my hands up in the air and blaming AT&T in hopes of getting a new phone because I've gone stock and back multiple times with the same problem. I can only speculate what the problem is though..would a logcat be beneficial in any way to help narrow this down?
Side note leading up to camera problems: For a while my phone's accelerometer was severely bugged and forced my screen into landscape. Even root apps claiming to force screen orientation modes failed to fix this problem. After this I went bone stock and then used Hyperdrive for a month. 3 weeks in and my camera started acting up; I couldn't take a normal picture, every one was corrupted and had colorful bars blocking over 50% of the image. This problem was fixed by taking about 4 very different pictures in terms of brightness and colors. Later though both the stock camera that comes with Hyperdrive and the AOSP camera would crash whenever I tried using my front facing camera. This eventually led me to where I am currently using task650's rom with no functioning camera. Please help D:
I'll help in every way possible to fix this problem.
---------- Post added at 01:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:42 PM ----------
Febby said:
Have you tried clearing data and cache for camera, followed by a reboot?
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Fixed my problem. My god thank you I feel like a complete noob.

Pok3rr said:
Fixed my problem. My god thank you I feel like a complete noob.
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Click to collapse
Did it really fix it? I'm glad! I only threw that tip out there since I use an s4 and the same fixed my camera issue when using tasks ROM.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

Febby said:
Have you tried clearing data and cache for camera, followed by a reboot?
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I tried this, doesn't help

Boxy52 said:
I tried this, doesn't help
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Click to collapse
Perhaps your camera hardware is faulty. I'm not really sure what in Google play services would make your camera not work.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

Febby said:
Did it really fix it? I'm glad! I only threw that tip out there since I use an s4 and the same fixed my camera issue when using tasks ROM.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
It did not fix it permanently. I was going to edit my post but I'm a new user still and got distracted during the 5 min post limit. Switching to the front facing camera makes the problem come back. Tonight I'll be going bone stock and if the problem persists would that be proof of hardware failure?

Pok3rr said:
It did not fix it permanently. I was going to edit my post but I'm a new user still and got distracted during the 5 min post limit. Switching to the front facing camera makes the problem come back. Tonight I'll be going bone stock and if the problem persists would that be proof of hardware failure?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't assume its a hardware ASAP but it could be a bug caused by Google. Try going to stock by Odin to see if issue still occurs.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

try booting into recovery and clear cache and dalvik cache

yapoyo said:
try booting into recovery and clear cache and dalvik cache
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tried this multiple times, but thank you! Anyway I sent it back to Samsung to get everything dealt with. I thought might as well report all the other things wrong with it (over heating, slow charging, and now the camera). They said up to 21 days, and gave me the ****tiest Blackberry I have ever seen as a loaner phone. I hate Canadian cell phone carriers. I remember back in the states they'd replace it on the spot under manufacturer's warranty. Seriously **** Fido.
Anyway I'm done ranting and that was off topic so I guess I'll report back here when my phone is back and we'll see if it was hardware or not. Thanks everyone!

Okay after going back to stock my rear camera worked upon opening the application, but when I switched to the front facing camera I got the "can't connect to camera" error and the app force closed. And once you switch between either the rear or front camera, the selected one will become your default...regardless if I clear data/cache for the gallery application and reboot (this worked the first time I switched to the front camera though but not anymore). So now I have no functioning camera and I'm one month out of the 1 year Samsung warranty so I'm pretty frustrated with my situation because I take pictures daily with my phone. Tomorrow I will take the phone to a highly rated cell phone repair shop in my area since I found OEM parts on ebay including a front facing camera and I'm confident they'll be able to replace it.

Pok3rr said:
Okay after going back to stock my rear camera worked upon opening the application, but when I switched to the front facing camera I got the "can't connect to camera" error and the app force closed. And once you switch between either the rear or front camera, the selected one will become your default...regardless if I clear data/cache for the gallery application and reboot (this worked the first time I switched to the front camera though but not anymore). So now I have no functioning camera and I'm one month out of the 1 year Samsung warranty so I'm pretty frustrated with my situation because I take pictures daily with my phone. Tomorrow I will take the phone to a highly rated cell phone repair shop in my area since I found OEM parts on ebay including a front facing camera and I'm confident they'll be able to replace it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't pay for them to replace the front facing camera for you. You can it yourself. Its an easy fix.. Just have the screw driver and patience to follow a YouTube video on opening the S3. I assure you that once you see how to do it (simple unplug from motherboard) you'll thank me for saving you repair and labor fees.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Febby said:
Don't pay for them to replace the front facing camera for you. You can it yourself. Its an easy fix.. Just have the screw driver and patience to follow a YouTube video on opening the S3. I assure you that once you see how to do it (simple unplug from motherboard) you'll thank me for saving you repair and labor fees.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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Thank you for giving me confidence to do this myself. Im pretty comfortable opening up phones to work on them, I just haven't had a reason to open my S3. All front camera replacements I found after five minutes of googling are for the i9300, will the same camera work for the AT&T model?

Pok3rr said:
Thank you for giving me confidence to do this myself. Im pretty comfortable opening up phones to work on them, I just haven't had a reason to open my S3. All front camera replacements I found after five minutes of googling are for the i9300, will the same camera work for the AT&T model?
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Click to collapse
I found you two front facing cameras for the att galaxy s3. Price is really affording (below $10 total). The i9300 ones work too from what I read but I'd stick to i747 ones if I was you.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=130981815547
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=330895586030
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

Okay so three weeks later I got my S3 back from service. They replaced the camera assembly, and the camera was working for the first day. Now its giving me the same error saying cannot connect to camera/camera failed regardless of whether its the front or rear camera or what app I'm using. I'm really fed up with this, anyone have any other ideas? I havent touched the stock rom since they gave it back to me so I have no idea.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

Hey guys. I know this is an old thread, but I'm just posting since my problem is now resolved and if in the future anyone else has this problem they can learn from mine.
So the service center for Samsung here in Montreal is absolute crap, and it took them three tries, over three months, to fix my phone. The final repair code given was 072 and the keyword was Solder (Ressouder in French) which I'm guessing means they had to re-solder the connection to the camera back to the motherboard. Seems to be working fine now.