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iPhone 4 virtual shutter will not open

So I've never had any issues with any of my previous iPhones, however 2 days into the iPhone 4 and the I realized the virtual camera shutter won't open. (anyone at Apple heard of UAT??)

I repeatedly press the little camera icon button and suddenly a dialog box pops up stating that "your location services must be turned on in order to take and tag photos of your surroundings" or something like that. So I turn the location services on, the camera flickers a bit then the shutter closes again.

Apple - FIX THIS PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY! It is utterly ridiculous that this is even happening. The virtual camera should NOT be dependent on the location services function - that should be optional. The camera should still work regardless if location services are turned on or off. I've tried it both ways and it still is malfunctioning. This may be my last iPhone.

iPhone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Jun 26, 2010 7:41 AM

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19 replies

Jul 3, 2010 7:24 PM in response to juanita3

1) Sync your iPhone to iTunes

2) List the files in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/[your phone name]/ (if you are on a Mac, not sure where that resides on a windoze box) for any .crash files, the name of the app that crashed and the date is in the filename

3) If you have any since you have had your iPhone 4 then look at about the first 10 or so lines of each to see if the crash reason is due to the same thing.

IMHO having a .crash file isn't the end of the world, just could have been a good ol' fashioned app crash, but in my case all most all of my .crash files were from MobileSlideShow... which opens when the camera opens.

The reason for almost all of my crashes was:

*Thermal Sensors: failed to load sensor values*

Anyway, my camera acted the same way after working for about the first two or so days it then refused to open or took a very long time to open. I also saw a few other issues like a non-responsive touch screen and some other quirky stuff.

Bottom line is I took it to the genius bar tonight and they replaced it with very little info other than the virtual shutter issue. I was armed with .crash files and they weren't interested in seeing them.

Not sure if I should read into the fact that they swapped it so quick or not..cough, cough, known issue?

Jul 13, 2010 1:27 PM in response to juanita3

I have the same issue. Called Apple and they gave me two options:

1. Send it in for repair and wait 7-14 days to get the.
2. For a $29 fee and a $600 hold on my credit card. I keep the phone they, they ship me a new phone overnight FedEx and I ship back the defective one with their shipping label.

I told them I did not want to pay the fee. They forwarded me to an advanced Apple specialist who apologized and waived the fee. Not too happy about the hold but I understand why they would want it.

Jul 13, 2010 8:59 PM in response to juanita3

I have the same problem. Whenever the shutter refuses to open.. All I do is press the home button and then the camera button again and it opens every time the second time around. Thought I would share this until they fix the issue. This has happened to me several times and pressing home camera a second time always has gotten camera to work.

Jul 16, 2010 7:51 AM in response to juanita3

I have this same problem even after updating to iOS 4.0.1

What I have found and i can duplicate the problem every time is that mine freezes up once I hit the icon to switch to the front facing camera. It will not work unless I reboot the phone after each time the shutter freezes up.

I am taking it to the Apple store today to get the phone swapped out.

Mar 19, 2011 3:24 PM in response to juanita3

This is the same problem I have but with my iPod touch 4th Gen... It connects to wifi for 3 seconds and then stops working. When I open the camera app, it immediately switches to video and the shutter won't open. I can't click anything except the square with the picture that was last taken/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png 😟 When i go on an app that requires the microphone it prompts me with a message saying "This device needs to be connected to a microphone" PLEASE HELP/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png User uploaded file

Message was edited by: leoncocopops

Jul 16, 2011 8:20 PM in response to juanita3

I have the iPhone 4, iOS version 4.3.3(8J2).


My camera shutter started failing recently, too. I had just installed Instagram and had been using it for photos, I suspect there is an instability, either in the iOS or one of my installed photo control programs (instagram, foursquare, facebook, etc. etc. etc.).


However, this issue did not present itself until I tried to use the front-facing camera. The reset techniques described above do temporarily resolve my issue, allowing me to take pictures with the back-side camera only. No possibility of using the front-side camera. Any recommendations short of taking it in to a "genius" bar?


Thank you,

Sep 23, 2011 11:51 AM in response to juanita3

Same problem here.


Switching to front-facing camera causes the virtual shutter to stay frozen in the closed position. Slider control for photo/video flashes fast for a while then stops. Can't switch back to rear camera. Can click the photo icon bottom-left.


Closing the app with the home button makes no difference. Force closing the app makes no difference. Now even when I reboot, the camera app just opens to the same inoperative state.


iPhone4 IOS 4.3.5 (8L1)

iPhone 4 virtual shutter will not open

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