How to fix your Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) that shows “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

The error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” could be one of the common errors you may encounter every now and then. Depending on the current state of your phone, the error might be a sign of a minor app or firmware issue or it could be a symptom of a defective hardware component specifically the camera sensor. We have some readers who own the Samsung Galaxy A5 who are complaining about this error and that’s the reason why we have to address it.

So, in this post, we will tackle the error message that basically tells you the camera in your phone has crashed or stopped working for some reason. We’ll have to look into the problem a little deeper to know what the real issue is. That way, we can try to formulate a solution that might get rid of the error and fix the problem for good. If you’re one of the owners of this device and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading this article as it may help you.

But before we go to our proper troubleshooting, if you happen to find this page because you were looking for solutions to a different problem, then I suggest you visit our Galaxy A5 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed the most commonly reported issues with this phone and you may find what you’re looking for in there. Feel free to use the solutions and workarounds we provided. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and then hit submit and we’ll do our best to help you.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A5 with “Camera has stopped” error

Problem: I don’t know if the problem with my phone is serious or not but every time I open the camera, the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” shows up and when I tap on OK, the app closes and I can’t take pictures since the same thing happens when I open it again. Not sure when it started or what caused it but I just noticed it yesterday when I tried to open the camera. My phone is a galaxy A5 and it doesn’t have any water or physical damage on it. Can you please help me with this. Thank you.

Troubleshooting: The Camera app is directly connected to the sensor and when it fails to initialize, you may either get the “Camera has stopped” error or “Camera failed.” The former is more inclined to show if the problem leans more on the app and firmware issues while the latter often pops up when there’s a hardware problem. Try to follow the steps below to fix the problem:

Step 1: Reboot your A5 in Safe mode

We will first try to rule out the possibility that a third-party app is causing the problem by booting your phone up in Safe mode. Doing this will temporarily disable all third-party apps so if one of them is causing the issue, the error shouldn’t show up in this environment.

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
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.

Assuming the error doesn’t show up in safe mode, it’s clear that there’s a third-party app that’s causing the problem. Find that app and uninstall it and since we’re dealing with a problem with the camera, try to find apps that uses the camera.

From the Home screen, tap the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
Tap the desired application.
Tap Uninstall.
Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

However, if the error is still popping up while in safe mode, then we might be dealing with a firmware problem. Move on to the next step.

Step 2: Clear the cache and data of the Camera app

This will reset it and delete all its caches as well as files it created except for your pictures and videos. If this problem is just limited to the app itself, then clearing the cache and data may fix it…

From the Home screen, tap the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Apps.
Tap Camera.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear data and then tap Delete.
Tap Clear cache.

After this procedure, reboot your phone to refresh its memory and try to open the camera. If the error still shows up, then proceed to the next step.

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

There are times when system caches get corrupted and when it happens, performance-related issues may occur including app crashes. System caches can be deleted and replaced and it’s recommended you do it every now and then or every after you update the firmware. To do so, you just need to start your phone up in recovery mode and wipe the cache partition. Here’s the step-by-step guide…

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition”.
Press Power button 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, open the camera and if you’re still greeted by the same error, then you have no other choice but to bring the phone back to its factory settings.

Step 4: Factory reset your Galaxy A5

We will now try to rule out the possibility that this problem is just with the firmware or triggered by some corrupt files and we can do so by resetting the phone. Such error can be fixed by a reset but you will have to make sure you backup all your important files and data as they may be deleted during the process. After the backup, disable the Factory Reset Protection so you won’t be locked out of your device, then feel free to reset your device.

How to disable the Factory Reset Protection on your Galaxy A5

From the Home screen, tap the Apps tray.
Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
Tap Accounts.
Tap Google.
Tap on your Google ID email address if multiple accounts are setup. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
Tap 3 dot icon.
Tap Remove account.
Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

How to Factory Reset your Samsung Galaxy A5

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times 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.

If the problem still persists after the reset, then bring your phone back to the store and let the tech do some tests to determine if it’s really the sensor that has some issues.

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