Anyone have a permanent fix for defective camera? Blurry camera issue - Verizon Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey people! Long time reader here, first time posting
I have had every model of Samsung since the S3, big fan of the note series. I currently have a note 4 and love it.
I also have a couple of note 4's with defective cameras. They're brand new, never activated because it was discovered on day 1 that they have defective cameras. I bought them third party so I don't think I can warranty exchange them with the carrier or Samsung without proof of original purchase.
Has anyone found a permanent fix for the camera issue that causes it to be blurry at all times unless you shake the phone?
I'm going to take them apart and try swapping out the camera from a working note 4nto see if that makes a difference. Any other ideas or suggestions?
I don't want to use a third party camera app and I don't want to shake the phone every time I open the camera.
Thanks!

Never had that issue, but I think its a safe bet that if a 3rd party camera app works then the camera hardware itself isn't defective. That would be all software, so swapping the camera would be pointless. I could be wrong.

Related

[Q] Camera issue, white line just appeared on screen and photos.

I just went to take a picture and noticed this white line across the screen. It appears on the screen and in the photo. It appears in portrait and landscape, camera or camcorder. It only appears when using rear camera, front is fine. I tried changing the camera settings, rebooting, all the basic stuff I could think of. I tried using a camera app from the market and ended up with the same result. I am rooted, but still stock. I did update to MA7 using something I found here at XDA, but I don't recall what it was. The camera was fine after I did it, I did it around a month or so ago.
Has anyone else encountered this issue or know of a fix?
I also would like some advice on what I should do regarding Sprint if I can't fix it. I've had Sprint for 10 years and never took a phone to be repaired or replaced in that time. I was wondering if it would be okay to take the phone to a Sprint store to have it looked at while it is still rooted? If taking it in rooted isn't a good idea, would this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086769 be a viable option to unroot it to take it in? Lastly, rooted or not, any clue to how much it would cost? I don't have the TEP stuff.
Just found out it is still under warranty with Samsung, so I guess the same questions regarding Sprint I would like to find out about Samsung.

[Q] nedd advice from the WARRANTY PROS!!!

Hey everyone first post so plz be gentle lol but i bought my AT&T note 4 out right and didnt realize until after the 15 warranty from walmart went out that my camera was messed up and my phone is really slow sluggish and just not performing like i hoped it would . So i was wondering is there any Warranty loop holes or do the Pros no what i can do about getting my camera fixed? Is there a Samsung warranty or something?
What is the camera doing that makes you think it's messed up? What android version are you running?
We need more answers before we can tell you what to do.
jimjam14 said:
Hey everyone first post so plz be gentle lol but i bought my AT&T note 4 out right and didnt realize until after the 15 warranty from walmart went out that my camera was messed up and my phone is really slow sluggish and just not performing like i hoped it would . So i was wondering is there any Warranty loop holes or do the Pros no what i can do about getting my camera fixed? Is there a Samsung warranty or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One year manufactures warranty....Call samsung
camera doesn't focus instantly
​i read that the phone is the first to have moving parts and it should fous as soon as it opens but mine doesnt. I have to bump the side and my phon3 lags quite a bit when switching between apps
Where did you read that about the camera? (link please) I have never seen such a statement, in fact just the opposite nothing innovative except perhaps the "selfie" feature. (good camera, good stabilization)
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-note-4-1263301/review/6
If it is lagging I would have thought you would see that before 15 days return? Perhaps it isn't lagging and is working as it is designed?
Best bet is what already has been posted, go through Samsung.
I have the same problem with my camera trying to focus. Takes up to a minute sometimes. I've read in forums to have samsung replace it. I'm gonna try to go to att first and see what they say. It is a known issue.

Camera Focus Problems with Note 4

This has been an issue since nearly day one. Out of the box; it took extraordinary photos with no problem. I previously had Cinema FV-5 on my Note 3 and it worked flawlessly. I installed it on my AT&T Note 4 and it worked flawlessly - for about a month. Sometimes; I could use the stock camera app and it took decent pictures. Then, both apps act as though there's no such thing as auto-focus. Sometimes; no focus at all. Eventually, after switching between apps, rebooting, or call my voodoo priestess, it will work fine. Sometimes yes; sometimes, no. Ditto issue with the AT&T Code scanner.
Anyone had similar issues? Advice? It's still under warranty, but I hate to have to do a rebuild if there's a quick fix.
Thanks!
I had a similar problem a while back. Mine would auto-focus fine but in the pictures I took, the edges of the pictures would be blurry. There have been known hardware issues with the camera in this phone. I would warranty swap it. But the first thing they will make you try is a factory reset to see if it fixes the problem. I swapped mine less than two weeks after bought it and have had zero issues on the new one. Hope you get it worked out.
I had the same issue. Had to call Samsung service center. They replaced the camera in my phone.
Sorry for the late response and "Thanks". For some reason, I couldn't log on from home this weekend.
I read a few more cases via Google, and one suggested the phone case. So; I took it out Saturday morning, but it made no difference. I went ahead and backed everything up and went through the arduous process of a factory restore. Snake eyes. Guess I'll have to swap it out when I get home. That just sucks.
I'm sure AT&T will try to "upgrade" me to the Note 5, which I don't want. They tried their hardest to get me to do that when I ordered the Note 4. I don't want a phone that I have no SD card to back up to. What they REALLY want is for you to back up to their cloud; which I can't do for security reasons. If the phone were to go tango-uniform; I'd be screwed. What is it that they; et, al. don't get? Not fond of the locked in battery designs, either.
Thanks for your inputs. Gave it a try. Just sucks.
Bad cameras modules were fairly common in earlier stock of this phone. I didn't realize it was still a problem. The Galaxy s7 WILL have sdcard support via the sim tray. So, like any business, I guess they do listen: but only to the bottom line.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

Autofocus Issue

Anyone having issues with their autofocus? Mine seems completely busted - not sure if it is just a hardware defect or something that has popped up through repeated flashing. Camera was great out of the box, but over the past month, I've had several issues with AF getting a clear lock on something and recently regardless of being on stock OOS (3.1.2, 3.2.4, 3.5.2, etc.) or one of the many roms hosted here my screen jumps back and forth, zooms in and out and fails to get a proper lock. Frustrating as can be - debating switching away from OP3 given the camera has become useless - any recommendations or anyone sharing this issue?
I haven't experienced any focus issues yet, but if the problem is identical regardless of the software driving it, I'd say there is something hardware-related at fault. Are you only using stock camera apps, or have you tried 3rd party camera apps and get the same thing?
Henaway said:
I haven't experienced any focus issues yet, but if the problem is identical regardless of the software driving it, I'd say there is something hardware-related at fault. Are you only using stock camera apps, or have you tried 3rd party camera apps and get the same thing?
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Click to collapse
Same across the board. Tried going back to 3.1.x versions, up to 3.5.2 CB, over to the CM and AOSP-roms in the hopes something would stick but it's terrible all around. Went as far as doing complete wipe and factory reset to potentially clear out any profiles stored on internal memory but still having issues. Took me 4 minutes today to take picture of grocery list for my wife - would not focus on text regardless of how close/far I moved the paper. Have session with 'remote tech support' for OP3 on Wednesday as if that's going to do anything...
Henaway said:
I haven't experienced any focus issues yet, but if the problem is identical regardless of the software driving it, I'd say there is something hardware-related at fault. Are you only using stock camera apps, or have you tried 3rd party camera apps and get the same thing?
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Click to collapse
This pretty much sums it up right here - video not made by me, but after checking company forums and doing quick search for oneplus 3 camera focus this popped up - https://vimeo.com/182588240 - exact problem I'm having.
Hardware Issue...Got my camera replaced from the service centre.I am from India..Had to keep the phone in the service centre for 1 week.
dheerajshetty said:
Hardware Issue...Got my camera replaced from the service centre.I am from India..Had to keep the phone in the service centre for 1 week.
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Click to collapse
Once they identified it as autofocus they didn't try to say it was software, they replaced no problem?
He told that in the beginning.I told him I wiped dalvik cache and stuff.He didn't believe it was a hardware issue,He then formatted the phone....The result was same! He ordered the camera on Thursday...I got the phone on next Saturday The camera has to come all the way from China!
Actually many people are facing this issue..
So.... just go the OS 4.5 and autofocus issue still not fixed..... How come they don't even answer when the issue is reported by so many people...
It occurred suddenly from one day to the next...
I had same issue. Auto focus progressively got worse. Issue was camera OIS.
Replaced the camera myself and back to normal. Cost about £15 for camera and tools and takes about 30 minutes to replace.
i'm not happy with my device anymore thanks to this issue, oneplus don't want to respond because they know that this is a hardware bug, i am not going to buy any other chinese trash in my life again, i miss my iphone ....
Hi, Had the same issue got the camera module replaced from SC. working fine since then.
nishidr14 said:
Hi, Had the same issue got the camera module replaced from SC. working fine since then.
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Click to collapse
how much time did they take to replace the camera module
tdssmarty16 said:
how much time did they take to replace the camera module
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Click to collapse
Hi,
Waited an hour for them to touch my phone and 45 mins to get it replaced and boom good to go
nishidr14 said:
Hi,
Waited an hour for them to touch my phone and 45 mins to get it replaced and boom good to go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
got mine replaced too today
too a maximum of 1 hour
oneplus service is great
tdssmarty16 said:
got mine replaced too today
too a maximum of 1 hour
oneplus service is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great enjoy
So...
After trying many things (3rd part apps, hoped for a fix with 4.5.0 or 4.5.1 OS updates but nothing, a hard reset, then a factory reset) I hoped that OP Service center would repair the phone that became unusable due to blurriness.... It was sent to Arvato service team in Czech Republic (I am in Sweden).
And then after a few days I learned about this "no partial repair" policy... They will fix the autofocus (no problem, under warranty) without saying what the issue is because.... my OP3 has a small crack on a corner of the screen and it enough for the Arvato service team to say that the screen needs to be replaced (not under warranty) because they don't do partial repair...
Even if the crack has nothing to do with the issue and repairing the screen is totally irrelevant in the matter, I am forced to pay these 110 EUR to get my phone back with a functional autofocus... (Option 2 is to pay 50 EUR to get it back not repaired and Option 3: Scrap the phone for free :cyclops: )
After doing some quick search I found out that this way of doing is common in the branch.... If they all do it, I guess it's not illegal.... quite unbelievable how the customers are handled... You learn everyday, isn't it?

One Plus 3 Rear camera wont focus!

The rear camera on my one plus 3 sudedenly stopped focussing
It worked great but about a week back, it suddenly went bad. I've tried using manual focus but that doesn't work either.
It only works at times when I vigously shake it and then it goes bad again
Has anyone encountered this issue? Any fixes?
There are no proper service centres where I live.
Darkweb_182 said:
The rear camera on my one plus 3 sudedenly stopped focussing
It worked great but about a week back, it suddenly went bad. I've tried using manual focus but that doesn't work either.
It only works at times when I vigously shake it and then it goes bad again
Has anyone encountered this issue? Any fixes?
There are no proper service centres where I live.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably a result of the camera module becoming loose due to a fall (not necessarily recent). Search on XDA for this issue. I remember reading about atleast a couple of threads/posts about having solved this issue. You will have to open the back of the phone, locate the camera module and fix it. Or order a new module and replace the old one. Costwise it is not too high.
Replace your camera - this is ONLY permanent fix.
I done it on my OP3T and it works again.
Had exactly the same issue (resolved temporarily after vigorous shaking - it's a known issue and quite common) last year with my OnePlus 3. TL;DR: Definitely contact OnePlus and they'll replace the camera module for free assuming no other physical or water damage. I have in the past had mediocre experiences with OnePlus support, so was frankly astonished at the way and speed in which they handled this. Should have a year or two of life left in the phone now and certainly a new sense of brand loyalty for future purchases.
As for my experience:
- Problems started in around February.
- Finally contacted OnePlus support via official chat in late November, was asked to factory reset to see if that helped. Didn't help.
- (25/11) They fast tracked my RMA request, even though out of warranty.
- (27/11) Phone sent by courier from UK to Poland for repair (as with you, no service centres here)
- (28/11) Device repaired
- (29/11) Phone sent back to me
- (02/12) Phone received a week after being sent and camera working perfectly. Total cost to me £0.
Side note: Definitely get a Google Camera mod once your phone is fixed if you don't already have one. Breathes a new lease of life into the camera with some software smarts. I use this one: https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog849/ as recommended by the XDA Google Camera Port Hub.
Replaced for free
Darkweb_182 said:
The rear camera on my one plus 3 sudedenly stopped focussing
It worked great but about a week back, it suddenly went bad. I've tried using manual focus but that doesn't work either.
It only works at times when I vigously shake it and then it goes bad again
Has anyone encountered this issue? Any fixes?
There are no proper service centres where I live.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They replaced it for free as it was a manufacturing defect even though warranty was over.
One year ago my oneplus 3 experienced a hard time when rear camera focusing. I was in china, so I called oneplus support and the guy one the phone told me that i can mail my phone to the services center in beijing and then they replace a new rear camera for free(even though the warranty are expired).
Replace the rear camera may be the only fix. Perhaps you can call the services number on oneplus website and ask for help

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