Back Camera Not Working On Android And IPhone? Try These 8 Fixes

Back Camera Not Working On Android And IPhone? Try These 8 Fixes

By Ramon Connor 2 years ago

If you are an influencer or social media fanatic, your day probably won’t pass without using the camera. However, sometimes it may disappoint you with frequent crashes or freezing.

Generally, you experience these problems due to software bugs. However, some hardware failures and defects in the camera component can also lead to this issue. If it’s a software issue, you can get rid of such issues by simply restarting or updating the device. Otherwise, hardware issues may require some special attention.

Why is My Back Camera Not Working?

There can be many causes behind your camera not working on your devices. A few most probable causes are mentioned below.

  • Software Bugs
  • Camera lenses are blocked
  • Hardware Damage
  • A problem within the camera app

How to Fix the Back Camera Not Working?

The first thing you need to do is inspect your Back Camera. If it has any sort of hardware issue, it can lead to issues with your camera. After ensuring that there is no hardware damage force close all the apps from the background and launch the camera app again. Moreover, you can also remove the phone case if it’s blocking the camera and see if it’s working again.

Restart Your Device

Your camera app might not work properly due to some bugs. However, by simply restarting the device, it can be solved. When you restart, all the currently running background data will be stopped, forcing the device to start fresh in the memory.

On Android

  1. Press the Power button for a few seconds, and you will see a Power Menu on the screen.
  2. Click on Restart.
    Click-on-Restart
  3. You are prompted to tap on Restart for confirmation.

On iOS

  1. Press the Volume Down and Side Button to open the Power Menu.
  2. Now, you need to slide to the right to turn off your device.
    move_slider_to_right_in_your_iPhone-1 
  3. To turn it off, Simply press the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

Allow the Camera Permission 

The camera won’t work unless you give the camera permission to run it. The camera app may open, but it will get stuck and ask you to grant permission. You can enable the permission by going to the device’s settings.

On Android

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps.
  3. Tap on Manage Apps.
  4. Look for the Camera app and Tap on it.
  5. Click on App Permissions.
    Click-on-App-Permissions
  6. Allow your Camera app to use the Camera, Microphone, Files, and Media.
    Allow-your-Camera-app-to-use-the-Camera,-Microphone,-Files,-and-Media

On iOS

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Scroll down and Tap on Privacy and Security.
    Tap-on-Privacy-and-Security
  3. Go to Camera.
    Go-to-Camera
  4. Now, Toggle on the apps to use the camera app.

Cool Down Your Device

The camera will forcibly stop working on its own or display a warning message if your device gets hot when you use the camera for a long time in a hot and humid place while recording at a high resolution like 4K.

The best option to resolve this would be to turn off your device, take off the case, and take it to a cool place like the AC Room or in front of the fan. Therefore, in that case, you have no other choice than to cool down your device before you can use the camera.

Check the Storage

Your device’s storage also plays an important role in camera functionality. If you run out of space, the camera can open but won’t be able to take a photo or video. Due to insufficient space, a basic app like a camera also frequently crashes or fails to load.

Therefore, you need at least a few GBs of free storage to handle and run the tasks of your device. You can delete or uninstall the data/files to make a new space.

On Android

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap on About Phone.
  3. Go to Storage.
  4. Now, Select the files which include (Apps and data, Images, Videos, etc.) that you want to remove.
    elect the files which include (Apps and data, Images, Videos, etc.) that you want to remove
  5. Tap on such files to delete or uninstall.

On iOS

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Click on General.
  3. Go to iPhone Storage.
    Go-to-iPhone-Storage
  4. Wait for a moment to let your iPhone calculate the storage.
  5. Once it is finished, you will find all your apps.
    you-will-find-all-your-apps
  6. Click on the apps you want to remove. Then, tap on the Delete App to remove it from your device. Or you can also remove the unwanted Photos or Videos file from the photos app to make space.

Clear the Data 

This is another way to resolve the camera not working if it’s related to software-related issues. When you clear the data, it will reset the camera, which can also fix the issues. Therefore, test it on your device and see if this method might work for you. However, if you are an iPhone user, you can’t clear the data on it.

On Android

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps.
  3. Click on Manage Apps.
  4. Look for the Camera app and tap on it.
  5. Click on Clear Data.
    Click-on-Clear-Data
  6. Hit Clear All Data.
    Hit-Clear-All-Data
  7. Click OK.

Install Alternative Camera Apps

Have you tried opening the camera from the third-party apps? If not, you should try it because it can give you an idea of whether it’s the fault of the default camera or the physical camera itself is malfunctioning. You can try the camera apps like Google Camera, VSCO, Open Camera, etc.

However, you should not totally rely on third-party apps. When downloading such camera apps, only install which you have tested or have proven safety records because some of the apps can contain viruses, which can steal your personal information.

Update the Device

As mentioned earlier, your camera may not work due to software bugs. However, if the issue is minor, it could be fixed with a simple reboot or clearing the data, but if it didn’t get fixed with it, you should update your device.

Thus, if the new update is available for your device, you should install it and see if the camera issues are fixed.

On Android

  1. Launch Settings.
  2. Click on About Phone.
  3. Press on System Update.
  4. Then, Tap Download Update.
    Tap-Download-Update
  5. The new software update will begin installing. Make sure you are connected to the internet.

On iOS

  1. Launch Settings.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Hit Software Update.
  4. Click on Download and Install.
    Click-on-Download-and-Install
  5. You may be required to enter your device’s passcode.
  6. Once you enter it, a new support update will install on your iPhone.

Reset the Device 

This may be the last option you can do on your own to fix the camera issues. When you reset, it will wipe out all of the data. Therefore, you should first make a backup of your important files and then only reset them. There’s a possibility that it could work for you unless your camera has physical issues.

On Android

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to About Phone.
  3. Scroll down and Tap on Factory Reset.
  4. Hit Erase All Data.
    Hit-Erase-All-Data
  5. Your phone will ask you to enter the Password or draw the pattern.
  6. Once you pass that stage, you need to click on Factory Reset for confirmation.

On iOS

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to General.
  3. Press on Transfer or Reset iPhone.
  4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.erase-all-contents-and-settings
  5. Click on Continue.
  6. You may need to enter the Apple ID Password.
  7. Once you enter, click on Turn Off.
    click-on-Turn-Off
  8. Tap Erase iPhone.

Visit Tech Support 

Visit Tech Support 

If none of the above methods work, your camera might have hardware damage. For that, you need to visit your official manufacturing repair center. If you are under warranty and the problem didn’t arise from your side, they may exchange or repair it for free, depending on the conditions.

If the warranty is expired, they may take charge based on a problem. Visiting the repair center will also be a good choice because they will inspect your device from hardware and software to troubleshoot the issues.

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