Unfortunately, the camera stopped working error is an important part of Android phones. We love to capture all the beautiful moments, we enjoy taking selfies, and of course, sometimes we are faced with unpleasant situations like the camera error of our phones. What to do when our phone’s camera stops working?” We look for the fastest way to solve the problem so we can get back to discovering our inner photographer. If you are looking for solutions to fix “Unfortunately the camera has stopped working”, you can eliminate the problem by following the steps below.
How to fix unfortunately camera stopped error on Android?
Solution 1: Restart the Camera
Your Android device may show this error when the camera has not been used for a long period of time. Simply exiting the camera, waiting 30 seconds and then restarting the app by tapping the app icon is all it takes to resolve such an issue. When you encounter the error “Unfortunately the camera has stopped working”, this is the best way to resolve this issue quickly. However, the solution may be temporary and if the issue recurs too often, you should try the other solutions listed here.
Solution 2: Restart your device if you are getting Camera Stopped Error
Restarting the phone can fix simple app bugs that can cause problems in the app. Often, when a problem is fixed by restarting, it is difficult to find the real cause of the problem. If the camera has stopped working for no reason, a restart is a quick and easy fix. However, if your Android device keeps showing the same error, the problem could be more than a glitch, it could be a corrupt file or an update that could be causing it.
Solution 3: Clear Camera Cache Files
Your camera’s cache stores files that help the camera app run faster. The cache files are created for ease of use and better user experience. However, sometimes these cache files can get corrupted and start bringing up errors that won’t let you use the camera. We can clear the cache files to fix the problem. You won’t lose any important data while doing so. The only thing you may notice is that the next time you open your camera app, it will take some time to load.
- Go to your device’s Settings menu.
- Go to the Apps sections and tap App manager.
- Under the “All” tab, swipe to the left of your screen.
- Now search for the camera and tap on
- Tap Force Stop to end the app
- Then tap Clear Cache.
You will see that the cache files will be deleted instantly and the space taken by the cache files will return to 0. Now turn on the camera once more and check if the problem is fixed.
Solution 4: Clean Camera Data Files
While cache files are relatively harmless and deleting them will not affect anything on your device, data files contain your personal settings for the app. This means that if you delete the data files you will lose your personal preferences. If you have set some preferences in the camera, you may need to make a note of them before deleting the data files. Then you can go back and set them once more.
- Go to the device’s Settings menu and navigate to Application Manager.
- Swipe to go to “All Tab” and then tap Camera.
- Tap Clear Data to delete all data files linked to the Camera app.
The data files will not delete your photos, so you won’t have to worry. After the data files have been deleted, tap on the camera and check if it works as expected. If the error still appears, move on to the next solution.
Solution 5: Update Your Software to Avoid Unfortunately Camera Stopped Error
Some camera issues may occur due to a bug in the software that causes the camera not to work properly. If you have delayed software updates on your device for a long time, you may have missed necessary updates that can help your device’s apps work properly. An update will help you fix known issues in the software. Follow these steps to check if there are pending updates:
- Go to the device’s Settings menu
- Tap About Device
- Tap the first option, which should say Software update or System update.
Your device will automatically start checking for updates and you will get a message saying that the latest updates are already installed on the device, or it will say that an update is available and you can update the device. If an update is available, install the update and when your device restarts, check if the camera works.
Solution 6: Delete Cache and Data Files for Gallery App
Gallery is very closely linked to the camera. If there are no issues with the gallery app, it can often get into the camera and result in an error message. Deleting the cache and data files of the gallery app can help in finding out if the gallery app is the culprit.
- Go to Application Manager from the Settings menu.
- Swipe between tabs to go to the “All” tabs
- Look in the Gallery and tap .
- Tap Force Stop
- Tap Clear Cache to clear the cache now
- Then tap Clear Data to delete the data files for Gallery.
- Confirm by tapping OK
Now restart your device and check if the camera works as expected.
Solution 7: Use a Third Party Camera App
If you are comfortable abandoning the stock camera app, open the Play Store and search for a third-party camera app. There are several of them available, and some of them may offer more than the current stock camera app you are using. This is an alternative that does not solve the problem but helps you continue to use your device bug-free. The use of a third-party app is solely at your discretion.
Solution 8: Use Safe Mode
If you like the camera app and prefer to fix it instead of using a third-party app, we need to get into some complex troubleshooting. We need to find out if the problem is caused by the apps you recently installed. Some flashlight apps are known to cause problems for the camera app. You need to restart your device in Safe Mode to check if a third-party app is causing the problem. In safe mode, all of the third-party apps are disabled, so we can narrow down whether the problem lies in the third-party app or in the phone’s software.
- Press and hold the power key
- This will bring up the Power options for your device
- Now press and hold Power Off from the menu on your screen.
- Keep pressing until you get a pop-up box
- You will be asked if you want to restart the device in Safe Mode.
- Tap OK
When the device reboots in Safe Mode, check if it boots up with any errors. If yes, move on to the next solution. On the other hand, if the camera works without errors, a third-party app might be causing the camera’s app with the problem. Delete recently installed apps or go for a factory data reset.
Solution 9: Reset your device to Factory Settings
Factory reset will restore your device to its initial state. This means that the device will go back to factory settings. You will lose all data and all third-party apps installed on your device. Backup will help you recover all your important data and not lose any of it. Make sure to create a backup for all data by moving to another storage device for all important files and backing up your account to Google. Then proceed with the reset.
- Go to your device’s Settings menu
- Tap Backup and Reset
- To back up your data in your Google account, check the box next to backup.
- Tap Factory Settings to reset the device to factory settings.
- Tap Reset phone.
When the device restarts, check if the camera is working. If yes, restore all your files and data and enjoy using your device as usual.
These solutions are applicable for Motorola, Samsung (Samsung S4, Samsung S5, Samsung S6, Samsung S6, Samsung S6 Edge, Samsung S7, Samsung S7 Edge, etc.), LG (LG G3, LG G4, etc.), HTC and all other Android devices.
