iPhone 3Gs camera not working, screen frozen gray, photos blank, any ideas?

Go get a new phone, that worked for me. Apple replaced it under warranty and I've had on problem since.

Yeah, I was going to say, why don't you all have your phone replaced by Apple? It's certainly something that's covered, and much less of a hassle than constant frustration at a stuck shutter. That's what I'll be doing if the problem comes back on my iphone.

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Yep, same problem here as well--shutter stuck closed. I will be visiting my apple store tomorrow. Glad to know I'm not the only one

This solution worked for me.

Deleting all photos from the camera and the just a simple reboot of the iPhone.

Worked like a charm.

Ofc. I have made a backup of my photo's. And synced the phone prior to the actions described above.

(iPhone G3 3.0)

I have an iPhone in russia, and after i downloaded 3.0 the camera is frozen on the shutters screen and it wont open. Is there anything Apple has released to help with this situation. Clearly the Apple stores in Russia know as much as my grandmother. No help there.

Same exact problem. iphone 3gs, black, 16GB, occasionally freezes upon entering the Camera with the shutter closed. Need to reset to escape. When I go back into the camera the next time, the bottom left small picture image is all gray. Very frustrating.

I recently had all of these problems you all are talking about. I went to the store and the guy told me to back everything up first- at least my pictures and contacts so here's what i did.
For your contacts-
Download the free app called "ez2mo" and set up an account online
Log in, and 'post contacts'
For your pictures-
Connect your phone and iPhoto should come up. Just add those pictures and you can sync them back onto your phone later.
Next, go to your iTunes and completely restore your phone. I didn't back my phone up on iTunes so I lost some minor things. Once you've restored it, everything should work properly and you can then sync everything back on to your phone. I hope this helps!

I'm having the same problem with my 3GS. I did a restore, a restore as new iphone and deleted all of the photos off the phone. Nothing has worked.

I just want to add to this thread since it's been inactive for a couple of weeks.

I am still having the same problems with my camera (iPhone 3GS 32GB) in that it freezes on the closed shutter and only a reboot will fix it - temporarily.

I've tried restoring my iPhone and setting it up as a new phone - no difference. I've deleted ALL the photos from my camera - no difference.

The store where I bought my phone will not replace it but wants to send it to a repair place where it will be for 4-6 weeks and I get no replacement phone in the mean time. So that's not going to work.

I can only hope that somebody comes up with a fix or that Apple fixes this in 3.1!

Almost the same problem here, the camera on my iPhone 3GS 32GB (OS 3.0.1) is practically useless for snapshots since it always just shows a black screen instead of the preview. When I take a picture, it actually takes one but it's totally blurry, it seems the camera itself only had the black screen in sight to focus on and not the real scenery either.
It doesn't matter if the camera is in picture or video mode and even using the app "Camera Zoom", the preview image was just black.
After a reset, it works for a short time.

I just got my iPhone replaced from Apple because the other one died after one month. I didn't have this issue with the previous one (OS 3.0), but with the new one I had it right from the start.. 😟

I really hope 3.1 fixes this major flaw.

I've got the same problem on my 3GS. First time was about 3 weeks ago, but it seemed to be temporary. Now, today it's doing the same thing again; launch the camera, shutter is stuck closed, and I also notice that the little slider in the bottom right to toggle between still and video is missing as well. Now it's gotten so bad that after I reset the phone and attempt to launch the camera, the whole phone is frozen-can't swipe between screens, won't change screens with the home button, can't put it to sleep-only a hard reset will unfreeze it. But as soon as I try to launch the camera again, the whole thing repeats itself. Finally just now did a restore from backup, and it seems to be working(for now). But it's obvious I'm not the only one with this problem. Anyone with a 3G have this problem, or is it just an inherent issue with the GS? Anyone solution? Will 3.1 fix this bug? Is Apple even aware of it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just an update; the camera is now totally bricked again. Now it's so bad that every time I try to launch the camera, and exit with the home button, the phone shuts itself down completely. My phone is NOT JB, I've restored from B/U, deleted all my photos and vids, and it still doesn't work. Getting tired of having to do a hard reboot every time. Should I just take it to an Apple store and have it exchanged? I don't want them to try and swap me for a refurb.

OK; so I finally resorted to a restore as a new phone, and the problem still persists. I tried every thing I could, restore from B/U, restore as new, even letting the battery run down completely. I tried it with no Apps, Data, Contacts- basically as it comes from the box, and still no luck. Made an Appt. at my local Apple Genius Bar for Tuesday. Will post again after I talk to them and hopefully be able to provide an answer not only to myself, but for everyone else out there that has this same(frustrating)issue. Aloha

See my post under 'Camera Shutter Will Not Open'. Turns out it's a hardware issue, and the phone was replaced with no problems. Mahalo's to The Apple Store and Genius Bar guys at the Kahala Mall store in Honolulu.

im having this issue as well. camera stuck at a closed aperture. my phone isnt under warrenty anymore and dont have any income, is there anything i can do?