Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Camera will not save pictures to phone after snapping photo

It looks like my camera is taking a picture... but then when you go the camera roll it's empty.

I had cleared a previous camera roll of a bout 125 pictures... then the problem started.

However, I reset the phone, have done two restores, checked for some funky sync configuration. Turned on sync, tried it, then vice versa. It will upload from my computer via sync... it's only saving pictures that the camera takes immediately.

I've taken roughly over 2,000 photos with this phone already.

IPhone, iPod 2G, iPod 3G, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Oct 17, 2007 10:57 PM

Reply
117 replies

Oct 21, 2007 8:13 PM in response to Kevin Barron

I think I have the same problem. I just came back from a Chicago Fire/LA Galaxy game with David Beckham and imported all my photos in to iPhoto 8. Now, when I go to take a photo, the camera functions as normal but the Roll only shows a white thumbnail with a grey keyline (i.e. no photo taken) I can snap the shutter 10 times and see ten white boxes with keylines but there is nothing to import and the images won't save?

Is this the same problem you're having?

I've been noticing a lot of problems since I upgraded the firmware on this camera to 1.1.1. I'm not running a hacked phone in any way, shape or form, but the upgrade tanked my phone for no reason and failed. I had to do a 30 minute restore to get my phone back. Now, Safari quits a lot when I'm playing music, forcing the iPod to quit as well, the entire phone has froze 3 times and now this camera screw up. What's up here?

Nov 3, 2007 11:35 AM in response to Kevin Barron

Friends,

I've found a solution to the problem. This might actually be a solution to hundreds of problems with the iPhone. Apparently there are "system" files that get backed up to the computer -- including SMS discussion history, notes, wireless network history, and other information. When the iPhone is restored from one of these backups, it is possible to have corrupted system files restored along with the problems they create.

METHOD #1 -- LEAST DESTRUCTIVE
1. Synchronize iPhone. This also creates a backup of the notes and other items that don't get synchronized anywhere else.
2. Go to Settings, General, Erase All Content and Settings
3. Once complete, connect the phone and synchronize with iTunes
4. Choose to restore from the recent backup to recover your notes, SMS history, and iPhone settings as well as data that is normally synchronized. Your problems may be gone.

METHOD #2 -- YOU WILL LOSE NOTES, SMS HISTORY, AND OTHER SETTINGS
If the first method didn't work, try this procedure.
1. Synchronize iPhone. This also creates a backup of the notes and other items that don't get synchronized anywhere else.
2. Go to Settings, General, Erase All Content and Settings
3. Once complete, connect the phone and synchronize with iTunes
4. Choose NOT to restore from the recent backup. As you continue, you will lose notes, SMS history, and iPhone settings as well as data that is normally synchronized. However, corrupted system files (such as the internal camera roll files) will be replaced with fresh non-corrupted versions and everything should work.

Method #2 above worked for me. I needed to re-assign personalized ring tones, enter Wireless network passwords again, setup my wallpaper, and do a few other things, but at least the iPhone camera was working again!

It seems that Method #2 (phone reset and loose all settings) is the best way to resolve issues with corrupted system files.

Nov 10, 2007 8:33 AM in response to resourcesforlife.com

THANK YOU!!!
I just tried method #2 and it worked great... except for the data loss but I was prepared for that 🙂

One other thing I did after the data wipe was a manual upgrade to version 1.1.2
So far, I'd say I'm quite happy with the upgrade. iPhoto now pops right up whenever I plug in the iPhone and I have pictures in the camera roll 😀

Thanks again!

Nov 11, 2007 8:26 PM in response to resourcesforlife.com

Method No. 2 worked for me as well. What a relief! Thanks so much.

I'd gone as far as Method No. 1 on my own; nothing worked. The extra step of not restoring from backup had suggested itself to me as well. But I was afraid to try it due to the lack of information Apple provides about the option. (Would the decision not to restore from backup cause me to lose my phone number, for instance? As a user, I had no way of knowing.)

Your post told me what I needed to know, and restored my camera's functionality.

It's my experience that photos are the weak spot in the iPhone's fledling OS. The more photos you shoot in a day, the likelier you are to encounter sync or other problems requiring a restart, a reset, or a restore. (I have never needed to restart, reset, or restore, except after taking lots of photos.) And firmware update 1.1.1 seems to have increased the system's fragility where the camera is concerned.

Dec 3, 2007 7:28 PM in response to Kevin Barron

My partner's iPhone is having the same issue -- take a picture and only a outlined box appears in the camera roll, no photo. The phone has been taken to the Genius Bar twice, replaced once, and restored countless times! Annoying.... the problem keeps occurring! Is there any permanent fix? Is Apple working on a fix for this glitch?

Dec 4, 2007 12:30 AM in response to resourcesforlife.com

I have a third option..

I saw this message, and cringed at option #2.. I didn't want to lose contact photos, calendar events, sms messages, notes, safari bookmarks, etc, etc.

So, I went in and found (on my windows laptop) where iTunes was storing the backup files:
C:\Documents and Settings\jkeegan\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

That dir had two directories beneath it, with long hash filenames..
One seemed to be for an earlier version of the software, and the other for the latter. I synced my iPhone with iTunes, and saw the newer of those two directories get updated slightly, so it seems they're storing one backup per version.

I copied the directory (maintaining file permissions and dates etc) into another directory off t the side, to use as a backup if I had to.

Then I went into that newer backup dir and just started looking through these files for anything that looked like it had to do with photos..

One file, which for me was named f1b43d3b3ecf259a3626c13a8b0cebd8ba513117.mdbackup, seemed to talk about image numbers for photos.. The broken version of this file looked roughly like:

============
bplist00<D4>^A^B^C^D^E^F^TPathWVersionTDataXGreylist_^PESCMedia/DCIM/.MISC/Info. plistS1.0O^Q^A><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>LastFileGroupNumber-100</key>
<integer>1024</integer>
<key>LastFileGroupNumber-101</key>
<integer>170</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
^^@^Q^@^V^@^^^@#^@,^@J^@N^A<90>^@^@^@^@^@^@^B^A^@^@^@^@^@^@^@ ^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^A<91>
============

So, I disconnected my iPhone from the dock, and then tried deleting that file from the actual Backup directory that iTunes looks at.. I reset the iPhone according to option #2 (Settings->General->Reset->Erase All Content and Settings).

When I connected it to the dock, it asked which backup I wanted to use, and I said the most recent. It updated everything, and now the camera works (I had no photos on the phone - the initial problem coincided with me deleting all photos on the iPhone after extracting them). I didn't lose any contact photo images, sms messages, etc - nothing.

To find that file for you, you can try doing a "grep Info.plist *" in the backup directory with the most recent modification time after doing a sync to back up. (I'd make a backup of the entire Backup directory before trying what I did).

I hope Apple fixes this, along with the other documented camera problems.. but at least here's a workaround that doesn't result in you losing everything.

Camera will not save pictures to phone after snapping photo

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.