iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Blurry and Out of Focus

I’ve had lots of trouble with blurry and out of focus photos on my iPhone 15 pro. I’ve been to the Apple Store for a diagnostics test, I’ve spoken multiple times with Apple customer services. But finally they have helped sort out this image problem, and I’m so relieved!

I was guided through the ‘reset phone’ setting, and it did the trick. My photos don’t now have the interference noise around the edges, even in low light. I also took a photo of my eye and I could see lots of detail, unlike before.

if anyone is unsure how to reset, I would suggest being guided by customer services. After reset, I had to reconnect to my wi-fi , using my password.

Anyway, I hope this info helps the community, as I have been as frustrated as many of you.

I'm having the image quality issues. I initially thought I was imagining the poor image quality but have since compared the images with my 14 Plus and my daughters 13 Pro. The 14 and 13 both appear to have slightly sharper images whereas the 15 Pro Max image quality looks grainy and generally poor. Do we think this is a hardware or software issue as this is one of the only threads I'm able to find mentioning image quality, the reviews appear to rate the camera?

The thing is that on the 14/15 due to the larger sensor and the wide open apperture, the depth of field is insanely short means that if you want sharp eyes in portraits, the AF needs to work extremely fast and accurate, so much more precisely than on previous iPhones with smaller sensors.

For the user it is impossible to tap exactly on the eyes of the object, thats why the AF uses the yellow border around faces so that the user can see, that the iPhone recognized the object properly. Unfortunately this mechanism in many cases isn´t fast/accurate enough to get the eyes of the object (most important part of a portrait) 100% sharp because +/- 2cm movement of the person/object to the front or the back decide if the eyes are 100% or just 80% sharp and that´s why the perfect point and shoot experience with the 12MP iPhone generations is completely gone when it comes to portraits.

In other scenarios (Landscapes, Buildings) the 14/15 shoot perfect pictures.

Same here, I recently traded in my iphone 11 to the 15 and im extremely disappointed to say that my 11 took WAY better quality pictures. I was very excited for the good camera quality but I was let down. My pictures come out very dark and grainy what is going on apple pls fix this.

After getting my camera lenses changed by Apple I went to a museum with a friend who has the iPhone SE. we took the same photo with each camera. Hers was better quality and better focused all around. Seriously this is crazy.

I’m getting a replacement phone but don’t hold high expectations. I will never buy another iPhone again until it’s out at least 3 months and possibly never again.

Those wanting a fix, I encourage you to call Apple support and make your voice heard. Apparently this forum serves just for all of us to complain and sympathize with each other, but not to get the problem fixed. For the fix, you have to contact Apple support.

My 12 Pro Max was taking way better photos and I sure wish I could go back now. I found out that my photos are horrible because it switches automatically to Ultra Wide Lenses for no reason indoors. Here’s are some pictures and a video showing the behaviour:

https://youtube.com/shorts/bPXwrOKpWU8?si=ZP_MCXoAJXjEL8EM

Same as above. Would never have traded my previous phone for this. The pics are grainy & hyper brightened, the battery is draining fast as well as the phone is heating up. Going into to Apple on Monday, and yet getting another one will likely be just as bad.

I’m having this issue as well. Searching high and low for help online but your post is the only one I’ve stumbled that describes exactly what I’m experiencing. The screen itself does an auto adjust in real time as I move the phone physically closer to the subject and I feel this auto adjust may be contributing to the grainy photos. I have the iPhone 15 and just did the software update (17.0.3) which I would hope fix the problem but alas it did not. My next step was going to take it to the Genius Bar, not sure if this is software or hardware issues. :( photo attached of how bad the grain is).

I’m having the same issue! I thought with upgrading my 13 Pro to the 15 Pro Max I would get a better camera…. But nope 😩📸

I use the 15PM to shoot documents and it’s awful. It’s like a pincushion distortion that is most noticeable on the left hand side of the image. Everything thru the middle is super sharp but there’s a very annoying blur affecting all the text on the left to far left of the image. It’s very annoying. I upgraded from an 11 which never had this problem. I’m gonna try and get it replaced; fortunately, Australia has strong consumer protection laws in relation to faulty goods.

I just came from the XR (which, btw, I despised more than any other phone I’ve ever owned!) and with the exception of night lighting, even the XR had better photos compared to the 15. Everything I take with the 15 just looks harsh…myself 😲, my puppy, nature. Filters and settings don’t even help. I’m really disappointed because I held off for two miserable “XR” months for the 15 to come out.

Yes, I contacted Apple support and reported this problem and they said the diagnostics look fine and told me they can connect with a Senior Advisor but I didn’t follow up. I also left a feedback on the Apple website in the Camera section. I think more the feedbacks received on their official website, the better chances it would get fixed. Here is the link -

Feedback - Camera - Apple

Just adding my +1. I am not a pro but I’m a very enthusiastic camera phone photographer and uses my 13 Pro a huge amount for amazing photos. People that still have a 13 are taking photos (of my newborn - one reason for “upgrading” my phone) that make mine look terrible and I’ve just spent £1000 on a 15 pro. Really frustrating and considering returning it and downgrading.

Do not upgrade if you are in a similar category to me is my advice!

Go to the photo in photos, tap the "i"nformation icon and post the information here.

That photo looks like it was taken in low light, which will result in additional grain and noise even with $7000 professional camera/lens combos.

The exposure information would be most helpful.

That's because there is nothing systemically wrong here for Apple to fix.

If you feel your device is behaving improperly, make an appointment to have it examined:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

or contact Apple Support directly:

Contact - Official Apple Support

If you feel images are too heavily processed, try shooting in ProRAW or use a third party program like Adobe Lightroom or Halide to shoot in true RAW mode.

• Take Apple ProRAW photos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support
• About Apple ProRAW - Apple Support

If you would like Apple to provide controls to turn down the amount of processing they do, tell them here:

Feedback - Camera - Apple

Remember all cameras do their best in strong light and never use digital zoom unless you are completely aware of its limitations.

For best results, look at your photo in Photos and tap the "i"nformation button and make sure it is being taken with the lens you prefer and at a resolution of 12 MP or higher.

If you're trying to take photos of something close with the 1x lens, you need to be a minimum of 200mm (about 8") away from the object due to the larger imaging sensor used in the 14 Pro/Pro Max and 15 Pro/Pro Max; if you're closer you need to use macro mode:

Take macro photos and videos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support