How to fix your Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) that keeps showing “Camera failed” error [Troubleshooting Guide]

We have received complaints from our readers who own Samsung Galaxy A7 units that reportedly keep showing the error “Warning: Camera failed.” According to them, the error pops up whenever they open the camera, which may be a sign or either a firmware issue or a hardware problem.

There’s another variation to this error and it says “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped,” which actually is more of an app problem. The “Camera failed” error however, is more of a hardware-related issue although we’ve also encountered this error and was caused by a firmware issue. The thing is, we certainly don’t know what this problem is all about and it’s difficult to make conclusions. Therefore, we can formulate a solution that might fix it.

In this post, I will guide you in troubleshooting your Galaxy A7 that’s being haunted by this error. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently experiencing a similar problem, continue reading as this article may be able to help you.

But before we actually jump to our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your device, then try to visit our Galaxy A7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed the most commonly reported issues with this device. Try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions and workarounds we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need more help, then feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire. Just give us the information we need and we’ll help you solve your problem.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A7 that shows “Camera failed” error

The course of our troubleshooting will be to look into a possibility that this is an app-related problem. So, we will go after the app that’s being mentioned in the error message. Then we’ll try to look into a possibility that this might be just an issue caused by some third-party apps and we’ll be doing some procedures. Continue reading for the steps but before that, here’s one of the problems we received from our readers that best describes this issue…

Problem: Droid guy, I have you can help me fix the problem with my phone because whenever I open the camera, an error would show up saying “camera failed” and there’s only the OK button I can tap. When I open the camera again, the same thing happens and it goes into a cycle that never ends. By the way, my phone is a Galaxy A7 which I bought in June so it’s actually still pretty new and it’s already having some hiccups. Can you help me please. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: Again, the error we’re tackling here might be a sign of a serious hardware issue and as the owner, you should try to find out if you can fix it on your own by following our troubleshooting steps below…

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

It’s the app that’s mentioned in error so it must be the first one we have to reset. Don’t worry, none of your files, data, pictures and videos will be deleted. If this error is due to a minor app problem, then this procedure is the only thing you need to do to fix it and here’s how…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap Camera.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache.
  8. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

After clearing the cache and data of the camera and the error still shows up whenever you open it, then it’s time to look at the problem at a different angle.

Step 2: Reboot your phone in Safe mode and observe closely

The next thing we have to do now is to rule out the possibility that the error is triggered by one or some of the apps you downloaded and installed. Third-party apps can cause built-in apps to crash and it could be the case here. So, I suggest you run your Galaxy A7 in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. If it’s caused by one of those apps, then the error shouldn’t show up when in this mode. Follow these steps to run your device in safe mode…

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

While in this mode, observe your phone closely to see if the error still shows up and if it seems fixed, then it’s clear that one or some of those apps is causing the problem. If you do not have a hint which app is causing the problem, then try to update the apps that need to be updated…

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Or, if you already have some apps in mind, try to clear their caches and data or even uninstall them just to see if the problem gets fixed.

How to clear apps cache and data on your Galaxy A7

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

How to uninstall applications from your Galaxy A7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If the error still shows up in safe mode however, then you should go after the firmware this time.

Step 3: Run your phone in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

System caches are actually temporarily files but when they get corrupted, performance issues may occur including app crashes. So, after the first two steps and the problem still occurs, there’s a possibility that the cause of the problem are corrupt cache files.

The best remedy for this case is to delete them so that they will be replaced but since you cannot delete them one by one,  you have to delete all of them at once and you can only do so by running your phone in Recovery mode and wiping the cache partition. Here’s how you do it…

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

The first reboot after deleting the system caches will take a little longer than usual as the system will rebuild them. Once the phone becomes active, try to open the camera to see if the error still shows up and if it does, then the next step should be done.

Step 4: Backup your files and then reset your Galaxy A7

After doing all those steps and the error still shows up, the last thing you should do to finally rule out the possibility that this problem is caused by a firmware issue is to reset your phone. However, you will lose all your files and data so make sure to make a backup of your important files before doing the reset. You may also want to disable the Factory Reset Protection (FRP) so that you won’t  be locked out of your device after the reset.

How to disable Factory Reset Protection on you Galaxy A7

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

How to reset your Samsung Galaxy A7 to bring it back to default settings

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

You may also reset your phone from the Settings menu if you like…

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

I hope this helps because if not, then it’s issue with the camera sensor itself. Therefore,  you need to bring it to a shop and have a tech take a look at it.

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