“Camera failed” error keeps showing up on Samsung Galaxy A3 [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error “Camera failed” often occurs the moment the user opens the Camera and many of our readers who own the Samsung Galaxy A3 have been complaining about this problem. Here’s the thing, if the problem is widespread then it could be an issue with the firmware or a manufacturing problem that only Samsung can do something about. However, if it may seem isolated, then there’s always a possibility that it occurs to only a few users.

In this case though, it seems that many of our readers are complaining about the same problem that’s why we have to look into this matter. This is for the benefit of our readers who reached out to us asking for help. If you’re one of the owners who have this kind of problem, continue reading as this post may help you.

For those who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our A3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this phone. Browse through the page to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, contact us anytime through our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy A3 with “Camera failed” error

The purpose of this troubleshooting is for us to determine what the problem with your phone is and why the error keeps popping up. That way we can try to formulate a solution that may get rid of the error and prevent it from happening again in the future. Here’s what I suggest you do about this…

Clear cache and data of Camera

This is to reset the camera app as it’s possible the problem is just due to a some corrupt caches and files. By doing this, you’re also bringing the camera back to its default settings and this might fix the problem for you.

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Find and tap Camera.
Tap Clear cache to delete all of app’s caches.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK to delete files created by the app.

After this, open the camera to know if the error still shows up and if so, then move on to the next step.

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Open Camera in safe mode

Run your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps and then once you’ve successfully started your phone into that environment, open the Camera to know if the error still shows up. Here’s how to boot A3 in safe mode:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Uninstall third-party apps that you suspect

Assuming the error doesn’t show up when in safe mode, the next thing you have to do is find the app that’s causing the problem. Begin your search from the most recent installation or take into consideration apps that use the camera or the gallery. If you already have a suspect or two, uninstall it…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Run phone in recovery mode and wipe cache partition

Should the error still occur in Safe mode or if the camera continues to crash even after uninstalling some of the apps you suspect, then the next thing you need to do is delete all the system caches as some of them may have already been corrupted and thus causing this problem.

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

After this and the problem continues, you have no other choice but to reset your phone.

Backup your files and data and reset your phone

After wiping the cache partition and the problem still persists, then you have no other choice but to reset your phone. That is if you can’t live with an error like this. If you’re hesitant to do this, try using third-party gallery apps to view your pictures. However, if you want to do with this, then make sure you make a backup of your important files and data so that they won’t deleted during the reset process.

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you. If you have further concerns, feel free to contact us.

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