How to fix your Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) with error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” with your Samsung Galaxy A3 is basically notifying you about the built-in camera app that stopped working or crashed for some reason. This problem happens when there’s an issue with the app itself or if something’s not right with the sensor. We really can’t be certain about why the error occurs just by reading the error message. Needless to say, we have to do something to determine the cause of this problem and in knowing that, we may have a shot at fixing this issue without any help from a technician.

So, in this post, I will walk you through in troubleshooting your phone that’s plagued by this problem. We will try to rule out every possibility until we can easily determine what causes or triggers it so that we can try to find a solution that may not only fix it but also prevent it from happening again in the future. However, in the event that this error is due to a hardware problem, then you have to let a technician take care of it. What we need to do now is rule out all other possibilities. So, continue reading if you own a phone like this as this post maybe able to help you.

Now, before we jump to our troubleshooting guide, if even you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to different issue, then I suggest you visit our Galaxy A3 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this device. Try to find a problem that’s similar with yours and use the solutions or workarounds we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and we will include your concern in our next posts.

How to troubleshoot the “Camera has stopped” error on Galaxy A3

The course of our troubleshooting would be to look into the possibility that this is just a problem with the camera app, then we’ll also have to consider that maybe there are third-party apps that trigger this error and finally, we will look into the possibility that it’s a problem with the firmware. If we’ve ruled all these possibilities out and the problem still occurs, then it might be a problem with the hardware. But before we actually jump to our troubleshooting steps, here’s one of the problems we received from our readers that best explains this issue…

Problem: Hello droid guy. I have a problem with my phone which is a Galaxy A3. I got this in February brand new so it’s a bit disappointing that I’m experiencing some issues with it. The problem is that every time I try to take a picture, the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” shows up and when I hit OK or REPORT, the error closes only to show up again when the camera is used. I don’t know what to do about this. Can you help?

Troubleshooting: Now that you know how this problem occurs, here’s what I suggest you do about it…

Step 1: Clear the cache and data of the Camera app

The first thing we have to do here is to rule out the possibility that this problem is purely an issue with the camera app itself. So, it’s the first app we need to reset considering the fact that it’s the one being mentioned in the error. Follow these steps to clear its cache and data…

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap Camera.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

If the error still shows up after this procedure, then move on to the next step as third-party apps may have something to do with it.

Step 2: Run your phone in safe mode to know if the error still shows up

There are times when third-party apps cause built-in apps to crash that’s why we need to try to isolate the problem by running your phone in safe mode. In so doing, you are actually temporarily disabling all downloaded apps so if one or some of them has something to do with this error, then the error shouldn’t show up while in this mode and here’s how you do it:

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’.

While in this mode, try to open the camera to know if the error still shows up and if the problem seems fixed, then one or some of the apps you installed must be causing the problem. If you don’t have a clue as to which app is causing it, then try updating apps that need to be updated by following these steps:

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Play Store.
Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
Choose one of the following options:
- Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
- Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

If, however, you already have an app or two that you suspect are causing this issue, then try resetting them first and if the error still shows up, try to uninstall them.

How to reset apps on your Galaxy A3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear cache.
Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

How to uninstall applications from your Galaxy A3

From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Applications.
Tap Application manager.
Tap the desired application
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

However, if the error still shows up even in safe mode, then you have to do the proceeding steps.

Step 3: Delete all system caches so they’ll be replaced

If the error still shows up in safe mode, then it’s very much possible the problem is with the firmware. More often than not, errors like this are minor issues and they can easily be fixed with a reset but for the sake of your files and data, try to wipe the cache partition first as it’s also possible that the error is triggered by some corrupt system caches. You just have to delete all of them so that the system will create new ones that are compatible with it. However, you don’t have access to individual caches that’s why you need to delete all of them at once and here’s how you do it:

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.

It will take the phone a little longer to successfully boot up but wait for it to become active and try to open the camera. If the error still pops up after this, then you have no other choice but to do the next step.

Step 4: Backup your important files and data and then reset your phone

After wiping the cache partition and the error still pops up, you have no other option but to reset your phone. However, you will lose all your files and data during the process so make sure be make a backup of files you don’t want to lose. After which, disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked out of your device and then reset your Galaxy A3.

How to disable Galaxy S3 Factory Reset Protection

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap More.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to do the Master Reset on your Galaxy A3

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.

Alternatively, you can also reset your phone from the Settings menu…

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
Tap Settings.
Tap Backup and reset.
If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
Tap Factory data reset.
Tap Reset device.
If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
Tap Continue.
Tap Delete all.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you.

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