Camera on IPhone 12 Pro Max not focusing

I have found that using the wide-angle lens solve his problem as it is a smaller Aperture it focuses close and then of course you have to use the zoom it’s a workaround and I too am very disappointed because I do use mine a lot for close-up but that seems to be the only way around it I don’t necessarily agree with Apple as to the reason as I am a photographer and I have plenty of lenses that have faster lenses that have no issue focusing close it’s a design flaw not sure if it can be addressed in software but it could’ve been in the mechanics of the device

They told me that too. COMPLETE DOWNGRADE. This is exactly why I returned my 12 pro Max the next day. My iPhone 11 Pro max has never felt better. I felt disabled without that close focus function on the 12 pro max. If Apple is smart they will try to find a work around for this.

This is so trash. How does Apple think it's okay to release an inferior phone like this? I'm more mind blown that regular people who are buying this phone aren't saying anything. Are you guys seriously on the Apple band wagon that much, where you can't say something when they do wrong. My XR focused ten times better and took better phones. I'm already past the return period and I am now stuck with this phone. I use macro shots for work and I am beyond mad.

I just spoke with "apple care" and he said he has the same phone does the same thing and that the camera is working how it should be. What???? I thought this was their top of the line latest and greatest smh if I could return I would my 8 plus focused without a problem, sad thing is I can no longer return it. Very disappointed in this phone but apple gives not one you know what about it.

Absolutely unbelievable from a company like Apple to overlook this issue with a flagship “pro camera” phone. I’m so glad I returned mine. I will not be getting the 12 pro max until they confirm and fix this issue.

This not my iPhone 12 pro max camera problem. It cannot focus on text, QR code etc no matter how I adjust the distance. So this is not related to the minimum focus distance. The ultra wide and telephoto camera does not have this problem.

I found a work-around in the short term. It's not perfect. Recommend forcing it to use the telephoto lens and back up a little bit. Funny enough, it does a better job than the primary lens at close-in objects. I use it when I'm trying to scan small QR codes and such. Unfortunately if you're looking for a quality shot, you probably won't get it that way.

Looking forward to a software update!

I spoke with Apple today about this. They told me it isn’t a software issue and it’s a limitation of the new camera sensor.

Basically the camera can’t take clear pictures close up you need to use the zoom. I said that’s ridiculous and they basically said if you aren’t happy with the product you can return it for a refund.

It seems like Apple doesn’t care about the customer anymore. The person I spoke to argued with me and said this is what engineering said. So looks like it’s a hardware thing. There will probably be a class action about this if enough people get together.

it seems to me like it’s poor design on the part of the camera area and Apple just don’t want to admit it so they are putting the blame back on the users. It doesn’t even scan QR code’s or Barcodes.

for a $2000+ price tag you would expect the camera to be better than the previous generation iPhone but in this case a $20 android phone can take better close up pics.

There’s really a very simple fix just go to the .9 setting on your phone for zoom and it will use the white angle lens at virtually the same temperature as the 11 and will do close-up pictures and focus with no issue and then of course you can zoom in on it you’ll find no loss as the .9 setting is virtually identical to the aperture of the 11 pro max lens

TRY It

while I agree Apple should be able to fix this in software I do understand the issue of focal length and because they didn’t go with a Perscopic lens configuration it is a limitation of the focal length of the lens again easily fixed by simply using a .9 setting

masterlu:

Then return it. It is a hardware issue. If you read the whole discussion here, several people have stated (including me) that they’ve been in touch with Apple support and got official word from Apple that it’s a characteristic of the larger lens.

Apple will never make an official statement on this since they don’t see it as an issue 🤷‍♂️ It’s a larger lens, simple as that. A larger lens acts like this.

Hello GoranKlint,

So you got from Apple that is not a bug but a kind of limitation of the new larger lens. But I saw on other topics that this issue is also present on iPhone 12 Pro and new larger lens concerns only 12 Pro Max no ?

I don't understand why both 12 Pro are impacted...also iPhone 12 (not Pro) seems not including in this issue. Thinkink that could be a Lidar issue ?

I have the iPhone 11 Pro Max I just bought two months ago and unfortunately we are having this issue as well. The autofocus only works when you tap on it and if your trying to get close like let’s say a picture of your finger up close, the camera doesn’t want to focus even when you tap to autofocus. Apparently this is an issue after the updates? Idk... but I paid almost $2,000 for this phone so I would like to know what the heck can be done we shouldn’t have this problem with a phone over one thousand dollars. 🙄🤷🏼‍♀️

I have this same problem on my new iPhone 12 Pro Max and that is focus is horrible when close to anything I am trying to take a picture of. My old iPhone 8 Plus was better at taking closer up pictures. Talking about 8-20” length here

Really disappointing... I came back to apple for the first time in years from Android because of the promise of the fantastic camera on the 12 Pro Max. Sadly it's been a real disappointment.

My mother's iPhone 11 Pro max takes significantly better, more focused and detailed photos...

HARDWARE ISSUE NOT SOFTWARE THERE WILL BE NO FIX.

Hi guys I see a lot of people here hoping for a software fix. I’ve spoken with engineers at Apple they have advised me that it’s a limitation of the camera system due to the larger lens. There will be no fix for this. No software update will fix it. Apple have said if you aren’t happy with the camera you can return your iPhone for a refund.