How to fix your Google Pixel that’s showing “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error message [Troubleshooting Guide]

In #Android, apps crash all the time, there’s no exception. So, if you own a #Google #Pixel phone, you can expect that one day one or some of your apps will start crashing especially after using the phone for months. There are, however, apps that are prone to crashing and one of them is the Camera and let me explain why.

Google Pixel Camera has stopped

A lot of things are happening in your phone when you open the camera app. The sensor will initialize together with other services, getting ready to be called upon or used by the camera itself. All of them must be synced in order for the phone to take photos. Imagine this…

When you open the camera app, the sensor initializes, then the services are getting ready. When you hit that capture button, the app executes the command, calls upon the sensor to snap pictures depending on your preferences, the camera then calls upon the Gallery app to manage captured pictures, then the sensor and all the services will be ready again to capture new photos. What’s more amazing is that all those things and everything that I haven’t mentioned happens in a blink of an eye.

If one of the process get interrupted or if one of the services cannot initialize properly, errors may occur and the Camera app itself may crash and the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” may show up. So, with all that being said, if this problem happens to you, read on to understand more about the problem and to learn how to get rid of the error message and continue using your phone without any issues.

But before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this device. Odds are that we may have already answered your questions or solved your problems so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need more help, then feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error on Google Pixel

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is to walk you through in determining what the problem with your phone is all about and what the cause is because once you know those things, it would be easier to fix it. While we suggest safe ways to troubleshoot your device, there are times when things happen unexpectedly and a lot of things get messed up even more. So please, proceed at your own risk and with all that being said, here’s what you need to do to troubleshoot your device:

Step 1: Reboot your Pixel phone

Everything has its first time so if the error message popped for the first time, don’t do anything just yet, instead reboot your phone because there’s always a possibility that the cause of the problem is just a simple system glitch and things like these often get fixed by reboots.

After the reboot, try to open the camera again and see if the error still shows up and if so, reboot the phone one more time and if the problem remains, then it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 2: Try booting your Google Pixel in Safe Mode

When the phone enters the Safe mode, all third-party apps get disabled temporarily until you boot the device back in normal mode. This is a necessary step because we need to rule out the possibility that the cause of the problem is a third-party app. Here’s how you boot your Google Pixel in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Google logo appears on screen then release. Allow several seconds for the logo to appear.
  2. With Google logo still on screen, press and hold the Volume down button.
  3. Continue to hold the Volume down button until “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the unlock screen then release. This may take up to 30 seconds.

Once the phone is in this state, try opening the camera to see if the error still pops up and if so, then we might be looking at a possible pre-installed app or firmware issue.

Step 3: Clear the cache and data of the Camera app

It is obviously an app-related error message and it concerns the pre-installed camera app. At this point in time, it’s most logical to go after the app you’re having issues with. If it was a third-party apps that crashed, then we can simply uninstall and reinstall it but but in this case it’s a pre-installed app that can’t be removed from your phone. Therefore, all you can do is clear its cache and data and hope the problem disappears.

  1. Open your device’s Settings app Settings.
  2. Tap Apps or Application manager.
  3. On the list, tap Camera.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.

After clearing the cache, try to open the camera app and if the error still occurs, reboot your phone and try again. This time if the error still occurs then reset the app by clearing its data.

  1. Open your device’s Settings app Settings.
  2. Tap Apps or Application manager.
  3. On the list, tap Camera.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear data.

After doing the steps above and the issue still persists, then you have no other option but to do the next step.

Step 4: Backup data and files and reset your Pixel phone

If the problem can’t be fixed by any of the steps above, then this is your last resort. Just make sure you backup your data and files as they will all be deleted once you’re finished doing the reset. Here’s how you reset your phone:

  1. If your device is on, turn it off.
  2. Press and hold the Volume down button. While holding Volume down, press and hold the
  3. Power button until the phone turns on. You’ll see the word “Start” with an arrow around it.
  4. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Recovery mode.”
  5. Press the Power button to start recovery mode. You’ll see an image of an Android robot with an exclamation mark (you may also see “No command”).
  6. Press and hold the Power button. While holding Power, press the Volume up button once. Then release the Power button.
  7. If “Wipe data/factory reset” isn’t highlighted, press the Volume down button until it is. Then press the Power button to select it.
  8. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Yes” (or “Yes – delete all user data”). Then press the Power button to select it.
  9. After the reset is complete, press the Power button to select “Reboot system now.”
  10. When you’re done, restore your data.

After this and the camera still crashes, then it might be a more serious firmware issue that needs the firmware to be reinstalled or it could also be a hardware problem that needs to be checked by a technician.

Other Related Issues / Questions

We tackled the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” above but in this section, we’ll be dealing with related issues reported by our readers.

Question 1: Hi I have a Google Pixel phone and everytime I open the camera, an error shows up. It says “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped.” Can you tell me why this is happening and what do I need to do to get rid of it? Thanks.

Answer: It means that the gallery app crashes when you open the camera. You might ask why another app crashes instead of the one you opened. Well, Camera and Gallery work side by side; when you open the camera, the gallery also gets ready for use as it will be the one to manage pictures and videos taken by the camera. It might just be a problem with the Gallery app and not of the camera. Therefore, try clearing the cache and data of the gallery app:

  1. Open your device’s Settings app Settings.
  2. Tap Apps or Application manager.
  3. On the list, tap Gallery.
  4. Tap Storage.
  5. Tap Clear cache.
  6. Tap Clear data.

If the problem persists after that, then reset your phone. Follow the steps provided above.

Question 2: I need your help guys. My Pixel phone’s camera is lagging more often and there are times when an error would pop up saying the camera stopped. Can this be fixed? What should I do?

Answer: I suggest you boot your phone in safe mode first and then try taking pictures while it’s in that state. If the camera is still lags and crashes, then try clearing its cache and data. If the problem remains, then a reset is required to fix this problem.

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