How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 with camera that doesn’t focus, Camera app crashing, other issues [Troubleshooting Guide]

  • Read and understand more about an issue with the #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) that involves its camera that won’t focus on a subject. Also learn to #troubleshoot your phone to attempt to fix the problem.
  • Understand why error message like “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” pops up when you least expect it and when you badly need to use the camera app. Also learn to troubleshoot your phone to get rid of it and fix the problem.
  • Cameras fail sometimes and the last section of this post tackles such problem, so read on to understand the problem for you to be able to formulate a solution.

Galaxy S7 Camera issues

One of the selling points of the Samsung Galaxy S7 (Samsung’s 2016 flagship phone) is its camera. Owners expect a lot from it that is why it’s very disappointing if it won’t function the way it’s designed to work. For instance, within a second, the camera should be able to focus on the subject. If it failed to do that, the user would surely be worried thinking the phone might be damaged or something. And yes, we’ve already received a lot of complaints from our readers about camera-related issues with the Galaxy S7’s camera.

Below are some of the problems you might encounter if you own the Galaxy S7. Go through each one of them to understand why they occur and learn how to troubleshoot the device when they do. It’s imperative you know how to perform the most basic of troubleshooting procedures because not every problem is complicated. There are issues that can easily be fixed by doing basic troubleshooting methods.

For those who have other issues, make sure you drop by our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed a lot of issues with this phone since we started supporting it earlier last year. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems and all you gotta do is find them. Feel free to use our solutions and suggested troubleshooting methods. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, then drop us a message through our Android issues questionnaire.

Galaxy S7 camera doesn’t focus the way it should

Question: Front camera does not focus correctly. Seems to be a common internet search. I have turned off the beautify settings, loaded camera in safe mode, updated to the latest software etc. But the front camera keeps focusing on the background. Some have suggested downloading a different camera software, but for an app like Snapchat, the picture is still not able to focus on me. I have played with the camera settings and also physically changed the distance in the camera, me and the background, but does not focus. Many thanks. — Eleanor Gregson

Solution: Hello, Eleanor! When Samsung Galaxy S7  was released a few years back, a lot of users experienced related issues just like what you have now. Although, we don’t have a clue what makes the camera to function abnormally, the first thing that you should do is to figure it out if it is a hardware or software-related issue. So, to rule-out the issue, you can follow the procedures below.

Step 1: Clear cache and data of the Camera app

In some instances, there are temporary files that are corrupted or damage especially during software update or caused by a third-party app. These are the cache and data of an app and to fix it is to clear them manually. Here are the steps how:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap on Settings.
  3. Touch Applications and then Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and touch Camera.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

If the issue still remained after clearing the cache and data, proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Boot your phone on Safe mode

In order to determine if the issue caused by a third-party app, we recommend running your device in Safe mode. This is a diagnostic procedure that disabled temporarily all third-party apps installed on the device and run only the pre-installed apps. If your device boot up smoothly without a problem while in this mode, then it is caused by a third-party apps. Follow the steps below on how to boot in Safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
  4. You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

After performing the procedure and the issue remained, try to check if the protective film is still present outside the camera lens because sometimes it will affect the camera and it won’t perform an autofocus function that makes the pictures blurry.

However, after removing the protective film and there’s no progress, then, you can perform the last software troubleshooting by resetting the phone to its factory default. But before doing so backup those important files stored on your phone.

  1. Backup your data.
  2. Remove your Google account.
  3. Disengage screen lock.
  4. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  5. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  6. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  7. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  8. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  9. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  10. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  11. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  12. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If all recommended troubleshooting steps did not fix the issue, then bring it to the nearest Samsung service center to let the professionals resolve the issue.

Galaxy S7 is showing up “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error message

Problem: Hi guys. I am hoping that you can help me fix the problem with my phone. I have the new Galaxy S7 which I bought in September. Since day one, it didn’t fail me as it worked without any issues. Recently, however, I am getting an error message every single time I use the camera. The error message is “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped.” Regardless whether I tap OK or REPORT, the camera will close and won’t allow me to snap pictures. I am not a tech person so this problem sounds like Greek to me. Can you help me get rid of this error or fix this problem? Thanks a lot!

Troubleshooting: For you to be able to understand clearly why this problem happens, let me give you an overview how the camera works in layman’s terms.

In your Galaxy S7, there are services and processes used by the Camera app. They are the ones responsible in making sure the hardware, the firmware and the app all works in-sync. What it means is that when you open the Camera app, all core services and processes necessary to run the hardware (i.e. the camera sensor) will run. All of these happen in a matter of seconds but if one of them failed to initialize or load, errors may pop up like this one. In this case, however, it’s the Camera app itself that has issues. With all that being said, here’s what you should do to troubleshoot your phone:

Step 1: Try booting your Galaxy S7 in Safe Mode and open the Camera app

The purpose of this step is to know if the error message has something to do with your third-party apps. When the phone is in safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled leaving pre-installed ones running. Meaning, the firmware will be able to load all necessary services without intervention from downloaded apps. So, while the device is in this state, try to open the camera app to see if it still crashed and if it did, the problem might be with the app itself. Here’s how you start your phone in safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
  4. You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Step 2: Reset the Camera app by clearing its cache and data

Before going any further, it’s imperative that you reset the camera app to rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by just corrupt app caches. To reset means to bring the app back to its default settings or original configuration and here’s how you do it:

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap on Settings.
  3. Touch Applications and then Application manager.
  4. Swipe to ALL tab.
  5. Find and touch Camera.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.

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

If some of the system caches get corrupted, there might be some hardware components or apps that may fail. The thing about system caches is that they’re expendables, which means that you can just delete them and the system will create new ones to replace them. None of your files or data will be lost if you did this, so it’s safe and very effective provided that the problem is really caused by corrupt caches. To rule out this possibility, follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Step 4: Factory Reset your Galaxy S7 to finally rule out the possibility of a firmware issue

You need to backup everything that is saved in your phone’s internal storage as they will be deleted when you reset the device. It is necessary that you reset your phone at this point to rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by a firmware issue. It is necessary before you can send the phone for checkup and/or repair.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.
  3. Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.
  4. If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.
  5. Touch Continue.
  6. Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

If all of these steps failed, then send the phone for repair.

Galaxy S7 camera keeps failing

Question: I just got my Galaxy S7 1 week ago. The next day, I noticed the camera app “failed.” I spent an hour on the phone with Samsung. No luck. I transferred everything to my old phone and did a factory reinstall. No luck. I tried all of your steps. No luck. I now have to drive 90 minutes to get to the nearest store to try to resolve this issue. Needless to say, I am extremely irritated. I was unable to take photos for Christmas or New Year’s. – Drwhistle

Solution: I know how frustrating you are paying a bunch of money from your pocket to acquire this high-end device and after a few days, the problem occurs without apparent reason. As you mentioned that you already performed the troubleshooting procedures but still no avail, then, most likely it is a hardware issue. In this case, you can contact again Samsung or go to a store where you purchased the device and if possible ask for a replacement unit.

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