iPhone 4 Camera Issues

Short Version:

Some iPhone 4 users reporting camera issues.

Users are having more issues with the iPhone 4 than just yellow discoloration and signal instability. Now added to the list is a problem with the iPhone 4’s rear-facing camera.

Apple introduced the iPhone 4 at WWDC, with one of the highlighted features being the improved 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with HD 720P video capture. Reports are now coming in from multiple iPhone 4 users, on Apple’s Discussion Forum, that the rear-facing camera has completely ceased to function. When the camera app, or any other app that utilizes the rear-facing camera, is opened, the shutter graphic remains closed.

Early attempts to remedy the problem have failed. One iPhone 4 user on the Apple Discussion forum, who has experienced this issue, stated:

“Erased/Restored the phone. Didn’t fix it. I even restored it to blank, and didn’t use a backup. That didn’t work either.”

Calling Apple tech support doesn’t seem to help much either, as another user discovered:

“I just got off the phone with Apple… they have no idea what is up with it. I restored my phone without the back up and that did not do anything. They said that they were going to look into the problem and call me back tomorrow”

Apple is no stranger to hardware issues following a product release; case in point, the iMac 27-inch models. However, with the iPhone 4 has seen quite a few issues already. From trivial issues that will fix themselves, to signal issues based on how you hold the iPhone, it seems as though Apple should have taken the new iPhone to a few more pubs for testing before officially releasing it.

Had similar issues with your new iPhone 4’s camera? Post a response below, detailing the problem and a solution if you found one.

Via MobileCrunch

Tags: Apple Notebooks, camera, Camera issue, iPhone, iPhone 4

Comments

Mike

the new phone camera worked for about a week... then shutter stopped opening. tried everything i could online, nothing helped. unfortunately received phone one week before leaving on international trip... won't be home for another 4 weeks... not exactly convenient to return to store right now... this sucks.

Al

The problem I had with the camera is that when I would text or e-mail the pictures or videos to anyone that didn't have an i-phone or was running MAC instead of Windows, the pictures would be delivered sidways or upside down. They would be the same when I downloaded them to my hard drive. I spent three days on the phone with Apple tech support and they offered no fix to the problem and refused to replace the phone. I returned the phone and bought a Droid that works great.

Melony

I got my Iphone4 three days ago and my camera has not worked since I received it... Mine has similar issues, I hit the camera app and I can see where it is focusing on but then the Location box pops up and wants me to hit "ok" or "don't allow" and as soon as I choose one it shuts down and restarts the phone. I have now restored my phone twice and the issue remains.

Any other suggestions?
I guess I may have to take it to the store in the morning.... freaking sucks!

Alfonso Armenta

Brand new iPhone here in Ireland, camera not working at all, never did (some users reported it stopped working, it never did for me). Sent right back to Apple (no Genius bars here), hopefully I'll get it back early next week. I suspect I'll be getting a whole new phone.

mcdiver

First time iPhone user; I thought it was just me doing wrong, but I could get the front camera to work.

The best/only success I have had with the back camera is when it is plugged in and charging. Some of the situations I've hit:
- Picture mode: can take a single picture. Shutter then stays closed. Only exit is to hit the home (?) button on the bottom of the Iphone4. Picture is not stored.
- Picture mode: takes a very very dark picture. Only a few pixels where a glare or light is will show up. 99% of the time the shutter stays closed.
- Picture mode: camera is grayed out. Sometimes after ~2+ minutes, it activates and I can take a picture... sometimes. Often the shutter stays closed and the only escape is the "home key"
- Movie mode: red record dot is greyed out. When it finally activates after 2+ minutes, I can't really take a picture.
- If I want to move it into movie mode, I often have to wait 2+ minutes for the camera mode to become active (can't do anything while it is lost...)

This is a brand new phone. Only thing that I have activated on it is my company VPN and my email. No apps running. No music or anything loaded on it.

S/w version: 4.0.1
Serial Number: 81030JMNA4S

Tugyanalper

I got my phone yestreday (09/06/2010) and i have the same issue. Shutter doesn't open at all.

Lance

Facetime chat should fix it!

Jose Cuevas

Same problem here, shutter kept taking longer to open, now it just doesn't open. Notice that all of my programs that use the camera have the same problem. Try'd all the workarounds suggested online: removing/closing all background apps, restoring settings, shutdown & leaving the phone off for a couple of hours and finally restoring the entire phone.

Jung Jeayoon

im having the same issue..

hadi.m

Just bought mine last night. The camera freezes. The shutter won't open and when it does, you can't take a picture, cuz the freeze is back. Have made an appointment at the apple store. Believe it's a hardware problem and they should replace it with a new one. Frustrating.

Adamltheman25

i bought mine online and recieved it a week later really havent had any problems with it so i dont know and i dropped it as well

Brandon Martinez

I've tried many different methods found at various sites and put together a walkthrough to diagnose your problem. Sadly, for me it was a hardware problem (I had to get a new phone).

http://www.brandonmartinez.com/2010/07/16/iphone-4-camera-shutter-wont-open/

Wapreemix

My front view camera is very choppy. It's even worse at night.

Boris Bojić

I've got the problem, too - and I've managed to "fix" it by hitting the side of my iPhone 4 (more or less) hard against my finger (2-3 times). Voilà, camera works again.

I think it's an issue with the camera's connector.

guaje

my front camera works as long as i dont use the rear camera dont know why? if i use the rear camera it will freeze n restart the iphone this really sucks.

Bryan T

I'm in the process of restoring - my phone worked a couple times, but I had to reset it every time. Now, resetting both hard and soft only open the back camera; when i swtich to front, it freezes. It's also preventing me from using facetime correctly.

I love apple products, and am well aware of the issues that come with first adopters, but this is ridiculous. First apple says there is no reception issue, then they say that the signal was wrong the whole four years and they are going to recalibrate the signal strength to show it more accurate - I hate being a puppet on a string. Just fix the damn phone.

Tcams42

and now this morning it stopped working

Tcams42

just restored and it worked randomly

Tcams42

I have the same problem so I restored my iphone. It worked before I put my backup on but once it had my info nothing. Seems weird....gonna try and restore again

Nightmarelover12

Same problem with the camera. Shutter never opens.. What's worse is that I may not have a phone if there is not a replacement..so that sucks...FIX IT APPLE!! and appease the customers that have already gotten the phone and are malfunctioning!

ssa

Camera on Iphone 4 shutter stays closed. And when its open the camera freezes up and and seems to be really glitchy. I've had it split screen and freeze in video mode. Very frustrating.

Ben

I recieved my phone yesterday and it has not had a working camera since I pulled it out of the box. The fact that the crash happens after the camera attempts to focus seems to suggest a hardware issue. AT&T said they would replace my phone at the location of purchase this afternoon if they get a shipment.

Chai

My problem is similar. The shutter opens when using the rear camera. However, the exposure is extremely dark when compared to the camera located on the front.

Tskkid8

My iPhone 4 is having the same problem. Sometimes the camera does open, but it will immediately freeze and restart when it tries to focus on something. This just started happening tonight and I got my iPhone 4 the 24th.

kdizzle

camera issues also. going to get repaired tomorrow.

worriedman

My iPhone 4 camera is having this problem.... Googling brought me here.

Ediecrna

A friend of mind had his iPhone the day it was released and he had trouble with the volume. When making or receiving a call he could not hear the party on the other end.

WilliamHansen

Had my iPhone since the 24th and a few days ago the camera stopped opening immediately. I would see the shutter and it would sit for 30-45sec and then open up and work fine. At first I thought it was waiting to load my photo library but then finding this forum it seems to be a hardware issue. MY FIX - Once I finally got the camera to work and I always put it into front facing position before closing the camera down. For the last 2 days when I open the camera it takes about 2 sec to open up and works fine. Can someone else confirm that this works for them?