iphone 11 pro camera won't focus

I'm on my second brand new Iphone 11 Pro and this one is having the same problem as the first. The camera won't focus. I can hear the lens' buzzing trying to focus and screen appears to shake.


I've got a Quadlock case on it and never dropped (either phone). The first issue happened within a week of getting the phone and Apple replaced immediately. Two weeks later and my new phone is doing the same thing!!


Forced reset, latest IOS, etc. done. The problem occurs on all camera apps (Halide, Camera+, Facebook, Instagram, etc...).


Help!


Mike

iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 13

Posted on Oct 18, 2019 7:17 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 1, 2020 1:25 PM

Thanks for getting in touch, we're sorry to hear about the damage to your phone.


Whilst damage to smartphones from mounting them on motorbikes is not a common problem we have had a small number of customers report the issue which we are taking very seriously. As the number of affected customers is very small (less than 1% of our motorcycle mount users) and not all bikes cause damage we are doing everything we can to collect as much data as possible to help to identify the root cause.


Here’s some more detailed information from our engineering team: 

___________________________________________________


The damage seems to be isolated to the camera image stabilisation mechanism of the phone and appears to be caused by the high level of vibration experienced on some motorbikes. Certain combinations of phone and motorbike seem more susceptible than others but we are still gathering information and do not have a complete picture at this time.


While this issue is not unique to Quad Lock (as we have seen reports of the same problem on other brands of phone mounts), we understand the frustration it is causing our customers and have allocated every resource we have to help understand the issue and develop a solution to the problem. The good news is that the design we are working on will be compatible with all existing Quad Lock motorbike mounts so once it’s available it will bolt on to your existing mount.


We hope to have a product available for testing mid 2020 so if you would like to be involved with the testing phase please let us know and we will add you to the list. 


What can be done to speed up development? If you can share information regarding your setup it will help us diagnose the problem in-depth and speed up development. If you can provide the following information that would be greatly appreciated:


  • Original order number
  • Model and year of your motorcycle
  • The type of riding you mainly do (eg: off-road/commuting/touring)
  • KM's you've travelled since installing your mount
  • Average distance each ride
  • Model of phone
  • Photo of your mount installed on your bike.

___________________________________________________


So what now? If your phone is still under warranty the manufacturer may be able to repair the camera module under warranty. If you do get the camera repaired, we do not recommend mounting the phone on your motorbike (with any brand of mount) to prevent the damage recurring. 


Unfortunately we can't offer any suggestions other than to wait for our dampening solution at this time. We understand that's not acceptable for everyone so if you feel that the product does not meet your needs you can return the product for a refund. 


Again we are sorry for the inconvenience. If you could help by sending through the requested info above that would be great. 


If you are interested in assist with testing the vibration dampening solution when it’s available please signup to this list.


Kind Regards,

67 replies

Feb 11, 2020 3:54 AM in response to Mike20082

Same here. IPhone 11 Pro with Quad lock on a motorbike. Camera vibrates continuously when trying to focus on 1x and 2x mode. First repair they replaced the camera unit. Happened again. Second repair they replaced with a new iphone. Happened again. Third repair they hard reset and told me it could be a software issue. It’s happening again. No issue previously With iPhone X. Thinking of accepting to not use the camera in exchange for using the phone for GPS on my bike. Which makes it an expensive trade-off.

Mar 21, 2020 3:05 AM in response to Mike20082

Same here. I didn't know that it was from the vibration. I got it one day I didn't pay attention when it happened. But very soon after I bought this phone. I got it fixed with apple and they have replaced the camera unit. I do realise there's still some clicking sound when I open the camera app afterwards, but it's not constantly buzzing.


Then, after a 100mile ride on motorway on my 125, the camera stopped working properly.

Feb 12, 2020 7:55 AM in response to murphy4910

Wow that’s interesting - so the camera or image stabilisation is vibrating even without mounting it on your bike? Not sure what to do about it then, maybe just get them to replace the phone, but after a while the warranty will expire and they will probably refuse to replace. Just can’t figure out what the problem is. Last time I hard reset the phone and for a while the camera was OK (for a couple of hours). Then the vibrating started again...

Dec 28, 2019 12:07 PM in response to Mike20082

Same issue here, but when the tiniest amount of water was added to the mix. I’m on my second phone with issues and was told by the Apple salesperson “this is supposed to be the best iPhone yet when it comes to dealing with vibration and water resistance”. My X never had this issue either. Now I have to go get my phone repaired, I guess. Not fun having to sign back into dozens of accounts and confirm the phone is mine if I have to replace it again.

Jan 8, 2020 5:53 AM in response to Mike20082

I just picked my phone up the other day to replace my bricked 7. I noticed the first few photos were blurry, thinking it was motion. I was too busy to follow up, wish I had. I’m on vacation now for 3 weeks and attempted to photograph something and it is not focusing. Frustrating. I assume it was bad right out of the box. I don’t ride or do anything that would affect it.

Jan 16, 2020 1:00 AM in response to Michael_A82

Oh. Lol.


yep I provided heaps of feedback to them. Bike type, kms travelled, by aid types etc.


I contacted them a few days ago and they said:


Hi Mike,


Thanks for your message.


Our team are currently working on a resolution to dampen the vibrations, we hope to have this released as soon as possible. We really appreciate the information we've received as this has helped our team to design this accordingly.



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iphone 11 pro camera won't focus

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