iPhone 12 Pro camera not focusing properly

I feel your frustration and in my case, I returned the 12 Pro Max due to this reason.

One correction to your understanding: This change only pertains to the larger Pro Max and NOT iPhone 12 Pro, which functions as expected (from first hand testing). It has nothing to do with Lidar, but rather is a physical limitation of the new larger sensor wide camera module in the Max. It can not be addressed in software (other than by implementing faux digital zoom which will make the image seem bigger but the pixels resolution is the same, and you still won’t be able to get closer than about 5 inches). The the lens is physically incapable of doing what you are accustomed to. So please do not hold out any hope if this is important to you; return the phones and buy any other iPhone 12 if you wish.

I have an iPhone 12 pro and I have the same exact problem so how are you saying it’s not affecting the 12 pros when several of us here complaining have the 12 pro (not max)? If you look through the thread you will see that it also affects the 12 pro. Yours might be unaffected, but ours is.

That’s what I’ve noticed as well. In this thread (and many more like it inside and outside of Apple’s forums) is that it’s unique to both pro models, but not the normal 12/mini. I would just like Apple to acknowledge it and own it, as it’s hard to stomach having spent $2600 on two phones, primarily for the camera, when it’s incapable of doing what a phone 4 years ago (or even the 11 pro max last year) could do. My mom uses the phone to photograph ebay items, and up close photos are now a pain. It’s either the magnifier or the 2x lens from further away, which doesn’t always come out the way you’d like. I’m guessing it’ll be a suck-it-up and wait until next year response, although I had planned on keeping the phone for a while.

Just to keep the facts clear, NOT unique to both pro models. There was a totally separate software issue relating to focus, which was fixed in ios 14.2

The iPhone 12 , 12 mini, and 12 Pro can all take macro photos at the usual ~3 inch range. If you buy any of those models and you are on 14.2 or higher, you have no issue and should stop reading this thread!

The Pro Max and ONLY the Pro Max has a hardware limitation that increases min focus distance to around 5”, thus it is very significantly less capable at macro photography. this is a design compromise Apple made when introducing the larger sensor, and sensorshift stabilization, found in the pro max.

While many of us feel that Apple made a huge mistake here, it is a design choice they made and so from their perspective, there is nothing to fix. so there will be no update/fix!! if you can’t live with it ,return it. A lot of people are doing so, myself included.

This topic orig started with a focus / software issue in ios 14.1 causing macro problems on iPhone 12 pro. I don’t think Max was even released at the time. It was largely addressed in 14.2.

The best thread on these two issues is a combined thread over at MacRumors.

I suppose it’s possible there are different camera suppliers on the iPhone 12 Pro and some cannot focus from 3 inches. It seems unlikely, and nobody outside of this thread is claiming this. Are you saying that your iphone 12 pro cannot focus on a subject 3 inches away, ever? Are you on 14.2 / 14.2.1? If so then you should exchange your phone because everyone who has tested the focal lengths reported similar numbers. My own tests were 2 ⅞” min focal distance for iPhone 12 Pro, and 4 5/8” for the Max.

If there are issues for non-Max, they are different than the Max “issue” which is specific to its unique lens. There is a Swedish wristwatch guy on youtube who made a video about this - he got official info from Apple. Suggest watching that if you still don’t accept all of this.

I should also add, I’m def not looking to tell anyone that they don’t have an issue with their phone. There’s already way too many amateur “expert” power trippers trawling these forums, often telling people their problems aren’t real. Apple support forum seems uniquely bizarre in that way.

With that being said, when I see a conclusion here that I know is inaccurate and is of a nature whereby it is likely affecting purchasing decisions of either those posting or other folks who later read these posts, then I feel a responsibility to speak up. The 12 Pro Max has a specific limitation which significantly and detrimentally impacts its macro photo capabilities. This is a physical and deliberate design attribute within the lens design. This particular limitation simply does not apply to any other iPhone model.

I understand your explanation. However my old iPhone 8 and Samsung galaxy s10 both can get closer than 3 inches, why the change on iPhone 12 pro? I photograph jewelry and other items and I need to get close. The 2x lens looks too zoomed. I guess I’ll use my 3 year old galaxy for that.

I can back you up. I have a 12 Pro, not Max, and this problem persists for me. If there is a background at a different focus distance than the subject, macro focus lock is impossible. An example - focusing on my hand with the floor or wall behind. Focus will flick between my hand and the background, then rest on the background. Anywhere under 12” this will occur, with either the normal or macro lens. 14.2.1 made no difference for me.

Hi there!!!

sad sad sad.... bought my 12 pm 4 days ago. Found this problem with focus, googled and now im here. Id be happy to return it, but i cant. Dealer in my country says ( following EU customer statement), that i can return only unused phone within 14 days. If sim is activated, phone is activated, screen stickers are off , so they state its been used. But its only 4 days past!

i dont want it :((((( what can i do?! What would you do?

I don’t want mine either and it’s too late for me too 😩. At least I still have my Samsung phone but who wants to pay a monthly bill for a phone that they dislike for 2 years! Among the camera, I’m experiencing several other issues. They have the audacity to charge this much for this beta phone and didn’t even include a wall plug or earphones.

If you focus on an item on a table, i.e. without a distant background, then you should be able to focus at 3”.

The issue you describe is a focus methodology issue. But it can be worked around by using a third party camera app to manually set the camera focus., or by avoiding the distant background scenario you describe. Previous iphones behave the same way in my experience, with the phone getting confused with what it should be focusing on.

The pro max issue on the other hand is a physical limitation - the workarounds have no effect and it will never achieve focus at shorter than about 4 ⅝” unfortunately..

There is always a distant background for me and the focus bounces around and never settle on the object in the forefront. I don’t remember it being like this on my iPhone 8. I’m not good with manual focus so I just use my Galaxy.

I have the exact same issue, and I’ve been using the iPhone cameras for many many years. Please stop saying it is operator error and fix the problem. It’s very annoying.

One of the things you guys touted about this new phone was the excellent auto focusing features.

It’s definitely not user error, it’s a new way for the iPhone 12 to macro focus. There are 2 ways to prove this. First is easiest. Put your finger over the lidar sensor and then try to macro focus with the x2 lens (I can get as close as 4” doing this).

Or, when you’re having trouble with the phone hunting for focus with the x2, place your subject on a background at the same focal distance, and you should be able to focus.

Both methods are indicative of the iPhone 12 pro using lidar to assist macro focus, and the lidar seems to have a minimum focal distance.

Thanks - makes sense.

Keep in mind that despite tapping the “2X” lens button, you are not in fact using the 2X physical lens at that short a distance, as it can not focus closer than about 8” and 11” for the pro and proMax respective.

Instead, you are experiencing typical Apple camera software shenanigans, whereby it is still using the normal 1X lens and cropping (aka digital zoom-ing) the frame to *simulate* the 2x lens, without actually using the 2x lens (because it can’t from 4”). You can verify this by covering the 2x lens with your finger tip (i believe it’s the top lens). This behavior is not new; it has worked this way since iPhone 7+ introduced the two camera system with secondary zoom lens module.