Level 1

19 points

What causes Black Boxes in iPhone 16 Pro Photos?

My iphone 16 pro with OS 18.0.1 is 1 week old and today when i was taking photos there were a few photos that came out with random black strips/boxes instead of having 100% photo (think: my face is covered with a black box but everything else is fine).

connection not an issue - checked
OS is the latest
icloud photo showing the same thing
when sent to other iphone device also showing the same thing

is this a hardware issue?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on Oct 14, 2024 7:50 AM

Top-ranking reply

Marc Cannava

Level 1

43 points

Posted on Oct 30, 2024 2:34 PM

It's not a hardware issue as far as I can tell, I'm having the exact same issue with my new iPhone 16 Pro Max and iOS 18. I'm updating to 18.1 now to see if this is addressed.

The reason I don't think it's hardware is that if you go into the photo editor, edit the photo either on the desktop or on the phone, and change the key photo from the default one to any of the others, you'll see the original picture again. Sometimes some of the other key photos are also filled with black boxes but you can usually find one or several that don't. This makes me think that the picture is getting captured, but is being corrupted somehow during the storage/processing/upload process.

Anyway, it's not just you. And, it's really annoying.

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33 replies

Papo0se

Level 1

8 points

Dec 26, 2024 2:49 AM in response to julianna7536

Hi Julianna, thank you for the update and info this is really helpful as I thought of going to Apple as well and that saves me for making a trip. I really hope they do something about this! I’m going on holiday soon and I love taking photos and this is just making me anxious that this will keep happening again. Did it ever happen when you take live photos instead? TIA

ahw676

Level 1

14 points

Jan 6, 2025 4:57 PM in response to Matti Haveri

Mine are on the image when I view it on my phone and it persists after I’ve transferred the photo to my laptop. The one thing I can’t answer is whether it’s visible immediately after I take the photo. I’ve never thought to check. Fortunately so far mine have only affected food photos.

hiabex

Level 1

8 points

Jan 19, 2025 2:03 AM in response to Edgesquare

I have the same issue. I have a regular iPhone 16. It's very annoying, even if I export the image into an external photo editor, the box seems to be part of the photo, so there's no way to get rid of it.

jcpouf

Level 1

48 points

Jan 23, 2025 5:22 PM in response to Edgesquare

Having same problem. iPhone 16pro not Live Photos. Completely black photo, then I try it edit and I see 1/2 the photo, then I go to drop and it’s a mosaic. Phone 1 week old. This is rediculous. I upgraded phone for the camera. And did a closeup and it was completely a mess. Modern art, weird shapes, completely out of focus, nonsense.

Tomarina

Level 1

10 points

Feb 2, 2025 12:17 AM in response to Marc Cannava

Nope, didn’t work for me. I can replace it with a highly compressed non-HDR photo from the Live ‘movie’, but as soon as I try to revert to the original photo, the black frame returns. If I try to edit the photo, I can see that there’s content behind the black square. Please fix this, Apple!

ShellH22

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2025 11:50 AM in response to Edgesquare

I have the same issue too. 😕

iPhone 16 ProMax,

iOS: 18.3.1,

Not Live Photo.

The photo originally came out completely black. I tried adjusting it by playing with the edit function, and some parts of the image were restored, but there are still two black squares remaining.

Oct 27, 2024 8:22 PM in response to Edgesquare

yeah… I’m having the same issue too. This photo I took in a parking lot, I have this black box on a vehicle that was there. I can’t seem to find a solution for this.

II.

Level 1

18 points

Dec 1, 2024 10:45 PM in response to Edgesquare

Has anyone fixed it? Have same problem.

Dec 2, 2024 5:13 AM in response to II.

nah, I don’t think so

Papo0se

Level 1

8 points

Dec 24, 2024 7:20 PM in response to julianna7536

Hi, I have the same problem as well. Did you manage to fix them photos or did it stop doing on the new iPhone that they have given you? TIA for your response.

ahw676

Level 1

14 points

Dec 31, 2024 5:01 PM in response to oddoccurance

I have the same problem and my photos are never on Live. I haven't found a way to remove the box as some others have.

ahw676

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2025 10:16 AM in response to Marc Cannava

Is that something you can do when you shoot with Live?

ahw676

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2025 12:23 PM in response to Marc Cannava

Sorry, accidental repost.

ahw676

Level 1

14 points

Apr 7, 2025 2:28 PM in response to julianna7536

My problem with the black boxes seemed to disappear for a few months and now they are suddenly back. :(. I gather no one has found a real solution?

May 5, 2025 6:30 AM in response to Fred_Gunn

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What causes Black Boxes in iPhone 16 Pro Photos?