Gibox

Q: iPhone 5 rear camera is not working

My iPhone 5 rear camera is not working at all. It happened out of the blue and all the sudden I just see a blurried image that gets stuck. Can anyone help me, please?

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.3

Posted on Nov 5, 2013 2:48 AM

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Q: iPhone 5 rear camera is not working

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  • by tut tut baldy nut,Helpful

    tut tut baldy nut tut tut baldy nut Apr 12, 2014 11:45 AM in response to Gibox
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 12, 2014 11:45 AM in response to Gibox

    After my back camera  and flashlight on my iphone 5 stopped working a couple of months ago, tried all of the hard reset etc etc.. at the time suddenly it has started to work again and been ok for the last week

  • by rcweich,

    rcweich rcweich Apr 19, 2014 6:33 PM in response to Gibox
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 19, 2014 6:33 PM in response to Gibox

    I tried all of these ideas. None of them work. Still black screen. Cleaned off my camera that is protected by a top of the line OtterBox (like another user said). It's been over a year and I will not pay for a replacement. I sure hope the Apple store fixes this when I visit tomorrow.

  • by Barry Shell,

    Barry Shell Barry Shell Apr 19, 2014 7:04 PM in response to rcweich
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 19, 2014 7:04 PM in response to rcweich

    I also tried most things on my iPhone 5 which is about 18 months old. At first the  Accessibility setting trick worked. But now it does not work any more. I have also had the crash where for no reason the phone freezes, the screen shows stripes and then it goes black. When you plug it into the Mac, iTunes says, "phone in recovery mode" and that I must restore it. I have not restored it. Because I want to stay at iOS 7.0.6, NOT because my phone is jailbroken, but at least I still have the option. I won't upgrade the OS until a jailbreak is available for that version. I have managed to get the phone out of recovery mode using instructions given on YouTube in various places. The phone works fine but not the camera.

     

    Oddly, one day the camera started working again. But after working for a while it went back to being black and non-functional.

     

    On the suggestion of an Apple store genius, I've submitted a claim to my credit card's insurance company to see if the phone will be covered under the card's extended warranty insurance, which doubles the manufacturer's warranty. If I get a new iPhone out of this, that would solve things, though one wonders how long the camera will last in the new one? If anyone has any more tricks on how to fix this, please post.

  • by abuzarghaffari,

    abuzarghaffari abuzarghaffari Apr 20, 2014 7:23 AM in response to VLaZzz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 20, 2014 7:23 AM in response to VLaZzz

    Hello Bro,

     

    I Got the same problem, kindly let me how did you fix this Problem?

    reply me as soon as possible, i will be thankfull.

    my email abuzarghaffari786@ gmail . com

    Regards,

  • by tinmae,

    tinmae tinmae Apr 25, 2014 9:12 PM in response to Chris Von Buchi E
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 25, 2014 9:12 PM in response to Chris Von Buchi E

    i have same problem with you.. i already reset my iphone but not yet restore..   i wish they can fix our problems...i love apple but they never care about our problems....

  • by MichaelTorfs,

    MichaelTorfs MichaelTorfs Apr 28, 2014 6:42 AM in response to Gibox
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2014 6:42 AM in response to Gibox

    I have the same problem.. Looks like the camera app crashes. Black screen on the rear camera, sometimes the front cam works. Sometimes the screen freezes when I zwitch cams, then it shows a fuzzy image (crash while showing transition animation).

    At one time the screen was black, but I was able to take pictures. The pictures on the camera roll were good! Really strange.

     

    Did a restore, did not help. Reinstalled IOS 7.1.1 without restroing a backup. Problem remained.

     

    Yesterday after I already resotred my backup, I did a 'reset all setting' that I read in this thread. This actually solved to problem. Both cams working again.

     

    Today unfortunatly, it stopped working again. This really seems like a software problem.

     

    Went to the store, iPohne is 18 moths old. Refused, no warranty anymore. Even then, I don' think it's a hardware fault.

     

    Hope Apple will look at this. Phone without cam is unusable.

  • by Safritgk,

    Safritgk Safritgk May 3, 2014 9:50 PM in response to VLaZzz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2014 9:50 PM in response to VLaZzz

    This is my problem as well. The camera shows a black screen. Front camera works but when you switch to back camera it shows a blurry picture. I recently added the most recent update(April 2014). This is a huge issue. Help! I've tried all the fixes on this post......turn off, reset, restore. Nothing.

  • by Barry Shell,

    Barry Shell Barry Shell May 3, 2014 10:07 PM in response to Safritgk
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 3, 2014 10:07 PM in response to Safritgk

    I finally went to the Apple Store, paid the $300 (including tax) "repair" charge and got a new iPhone 5--just 19 months after purchasing my iPhone 5 for $900 (tax included). Wow! The only solace I have is that it's hopeful that the Platinum Plus Mastercard that was used to purchase the phone has extended warranty insurance built in, and I'm hopeful that the insurance company will come through with $300 to cover the cost of the "repair". I've jumped through all their hoops and am awaiting a decision. Note: Apple doesn't actually repair the phone. They give you a "new" one. So as well as having a phone with a camera and flashlight that works, I also have a fresh new battery. Another benefit is that the newer iPhone 5 model works on a couple more radio frequencies which means that (in Canada at least) I now have the option of switching to Wind Mobile, which is far cheaper than other Canadian providers. Also the phone will work in more countries if I travel.

  • by rcweich,

    rcweich rcweich May 3, 2014 10:40 PM in response to Barry Shell
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2014 10:40 PM in response to Barry Shell

    After escalating my issue up a few times, I finally got them to agree to replace my phone without charging the $289. It was a free replacement, but it wasn't easy.

     

    I lost thousands of pictures. That stinks!

     

    I hope the new iPhone 6 comes out ASAP and there aren't issues with it.

  • by martiefromca,

    martiefromca martiefromca May 7, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Gibox
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Notebooks
    May 7, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Gibox

    My 18 month iPhone 5's rear camera abruptly stopped working the other day- shows only a black screen! I took it to Apple and they erased and reset it the software which didn't work at all! They claim it's a hardware issue of which they are aware of (especially judging by all of these forums)! They graciously offered me a replacement for $269!!! Which btw is MORE then the promotional price I paid through AT&T for this LEMON! I'm a long time Apple customer but this is the WORST customer service I have ever experienced! I'm going to start looking at Android!

  • by Gospelle,

    Gospelle Gospelle May 8, 2014 11:52 AM in response to Mayham006
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 8, 2014 11:52 AM in response to Mayham006

    Confirmed fix. Thanks Mayham006!

     

    Pressing and holding top power button and front home button at same time (like taking a screenshot) and holding both until it powered off fixed this issue.

     

    Gotta love the Internet!

  • by terrills,

    terrills terrills May 14, 2014 7:21 AM in response to rcweich
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 14, 2014 7:21 AM in response to rcweich

    Hi RCWEICH,

     

    Can I ask you how you went about escalating? I woudl really appreciate any specific tips you have on how to escalate and get the service that we all deserve when we have a faulty, very expensive piece of Apple hardware.

     

    My camera/video also does not work. I could not believe that 3 weeks after my 1 year warranty ran out (it actually broke 1 week after warranty but I spent time researching and trying home fixes) that Apple would not replace my faulty phone. There was no sympathy, no flexibility, nothing, only the fact that I "just have faulty hardware" on the camera. The technician offered "well the front camera still works" (not true, only about 15% of the time) and that *his* phone that he got on the day they were launched works just fine.

     

     

    I did ask to talk to to a manager who explained that only apple care customers get the extended warranty. Well, I was not offered that option, because 1 month after purchasing my original phone, it broke and they gave me a replacement, and at that point you cannot even get applecare. He calmed me downa dn I left, considering my options of paying $300, or trading it in for a $270 credit towards a new phone (where I"d pay $540) or using my plan upgrade to pay only $50. Problem is, we don't want to use upgrade and sign another 2 years with phone company.

     

    Anyway, this poor customer service was unexpected and so surprising that so many devices are not functioning so soon after the warranty expires. Thanks for any tips you have!

  • by Psyc,

    Psyc Psyc May 23, 2014 12:14 AM in response to Gibox
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2014 12:14 AM in response to Gibox

    Folks I too started to experience the same problem earlier this week, where the rear camera on my iphone 5 suddenly stopped working. I tried all the following steps as suggested by others who've posted their remedies but to no avail.

     

    After trying all suggested options (see below suggested listings), I managed to swipe to Video mode and hit record and it suddenly started focussing and the rear camera started working!

     

    Suggested Steps as posted by others:

     

    1. Clean the camera lens with soft-cloth
    2. Back up all data (i.e. on icloud or through iTunes).
    3. Switch Off/On.
    4. Soft-Reset (Hold Home + On/Off button) till Apple Logo appears.
    5. Whilst the Camera App is active, gentle tap your phone (with rear camera facing down) on your palm several times.
    6. Press down hard with your thumbs on rear camera for 5-10 seconds.
    7. Swipe up the quick-menu bar and see whether you can activate the flash light.
    8. Start Camera App and try any or all of the following:
      • Scrolling through the options (i.e. Pano / Square / Photo / Video);
      • Enable/disable Flash (on upper left of the screen);
      • Enable/disable HDR;
      • Click on bottom left icon which takes you to Camera Roll;
      • Click on the option to use the front-facing camera;
      • Scroll to select Video mode and hit record. You should see it start recording and the screen start to focus. The camera will then start! - This feature worked and resolved the problem.

     

    I believe that the issue is a software related (unless you have dropped your iphone hard that the lens is kaput!) most likely due to the recent software update patch released by Apple.


    Hopefully they are looking into this and will release a patch to prevent this issue from becoming apandemic!

     

    Good Luck!

  • by MichaelTorfs,

    MichaelTorfs MichaelTorfs May 23, 2014 1:11 AM in response to Psyc
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 23, 2014 1:11 AM in response to Psyc

    For sure it is indeed a software issue.

     

    I had the samen problem, it came by surprise, it went away by surprise.

     

    I cannot explain why it went away... It just did.

     

    Restoring a backup and even restoring factory settings did not solve the problem when it occured. After 2 weeks of trying evenrything I gave up. Warranty was refused, I was starting to look around what to buy instead. Dissapointed in Apple. A week after all my efforts, while normally using, I tried just out of curiousity if I could take a picture. Ans yes, to my surprise it worked again. I did not use the camera for some time, since I thought it was broken. It almost seems as the camera overheated and needed a week without use to cool down. Off course it has nothing to do with heat, it's just figure of speaking.

     

    Now more the a week further, camera keeps on working fine.

  • by renl317,

    renl317 renl317 May 25, 2014 8:34 AM in response to WtHongkong
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 25, 2014 8:34 AM in response to WtHongkong

    Thank you for this! I did what everyone else was saying; restore, reset, etc. but didn't work. I was ready to give up and bring it in for repair...but I then tried what you suggested - turned on my voice control, then turned it off and it worked! It was like the app for the camera was stuck and it needed something to wake it up.

     

    So yes, anyone who hasn't tried this workaround, try it out. It might just work.

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