How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” & “Warning: Camera failed” errors
- Understand what the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” means, why it occurs and how to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 if it started to show it up.
- Learn more about the “Warning: Camera failed” error that shows up randomly and know how to troubleshoot your device if it shows up.
One of the selling points of the Samsung Galaxy S7 is its camera, which is probably one of the best in the market today with its revolutionary features and technologies. In fact, there have been many S7 owners who said they bought the phone because of the camera. But what would you do if the camera stops working the moment you open it up?
In this post, I will tackle two of the most common camera-related issues with the Galaxy S7. The first is the error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” and the second is “Warning: Camera failed.”
Read on to learn more about these error messages, what do they mean, and how to fix them. I will guide you through in thoroughly troubleshooting your device in a bid to know what the real problem is and be able to formulate a solution.
If you have other concerns though, make sure you visit our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already answered hundreds of questions sent by our readers. Odds are we already provided a solution to your concern or there are already similar issues that we’ve addressed. Feel free to use the solutions we suggested if you can find some.
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Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error
This error is referring to the Camera app that stopped working; meaning, it crashed for some reason. There are several factors that may lead to this problem and that’s what we’re going to find out.
Possible causes
- It’s a minor Camera app glitch
- A third-party app crashed and affected the Camera app
- It’s a minor firmware issue that affected the app
- The hardware took so long to load so the app crashed
Based on these possibilities, we can carve out a troubleshooting procedure that may answer our questions and give us an insight what the problem really is. That said, here are the things you should do to try to troubleshoot this issue…
Step 1: Reboot your phone
Both the firmware and the hardware may glitch from time to time but when it comes to minor glitches, a reboot is often very effective in fixing them. So, this must be the first thing you should do if it’s the first time you’re seeing the “Camera has stopped”error.
Step 2: Boot your phone in safe mode
Third-party apps can cause pre-installed apps to crash and I’ve seen a lot of cases like this. That’s why when an app problem can’t be fixed by a simple reboot, it’s practical to look at other apps and there’s no better way to do that than to reboot your device in safe mode.
- Press and hold the Power key.
- As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
- Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
- You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Once the phone has booted up in this state, open the Camera to see if the error still pops up and if so, then it’s safe to assume that it’s a firmware update, otherwise, you should look for third-party apps that might be causing this problem. Begin with apps that use the camera or have access to it.
Step 3: Clear the cache and data of the Camera app
This will reset the Camera app to its factory default settings, which I think is necessary at this point that the reboot didn’t help and that the error still occurs in safe mode. Don’t worry though, this procedure won’t delete any of your pictures and videos.
- From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Find and tap on Settings.
- Touch Applications and then Application manager.
- Swipe to ALL tab.
- Find and touch Camera.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear cache and then Clear data, Delete.
It’s better if you do this while the phone is in safe mode, although you can always do this while in normal mode. If the problem still happens after this, then the problem could be a serious firmware issue. The next step may be able to help you.
Step 4: Perform the master reset
The master reset won’t just reset the app but the entire phone deleting everything that’s saved in the internal storage, this includes files, pictures, apps, settings, etc. so make sure you back them up before following the steps below.
This steps is necessary because you’ve already done the basic troubleshooting to no avail. It is therefore safe to assume that it’s really a firmware issue that can only be fixed by a reset, which reformats both the cache and data partitions.
- Backup your data.
- Remove your Google account.
- Disengage screen lock.
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
- 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.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- 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.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
- The phone will now reboot longer than usual.
Reset always takes care of app crashes like this one. I hope this helps.
Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 “Warning: Camera failed” error
The camera has one of the most complicated processes in your phone. Here’s how it works:
When you open the Camera app, the sensor also initializes and getting ready for use. Once the user points the camera to a subject, the sensor will focus on it.
Now, here’s what’s amazing about it: once the owner taps the button to take a shot, the sensor reacts almost immediately, takes a still shot, call upon the Gallery app to manage the photo, gets ready for another shot. All these takes place in less than a second.
What happens if one of those components fails? The result is this error message: “Warning: Camera failed!”
Based on cases I’ve looked into, this error often occurs due to a hardware issue, i.e. the sensor failed to initialize, but the firmware can also cause this problem and based on this, here’s what you need to do:
Step 1: Reboot your device
If this is the first time you’re seeing the error message, reboot your phone immediately as it might be just a minor hardware or firmware issue. There are times when the sensor cannot initialize but it doesn’t mean it’s damaged.
Step 2: Boot the device in safe mode and take pictures
Test the camera in safe mode. This isn’t a solution but it will give us an insight whether there are third-party apps that contribute to the occurrence of the problem.
If the error still shows up in safe mode, then we can say that it might be an issue with the app itself, with the sensor, or a firmware problem. Otherwise, there are apps that cause it and you need to find and uninstall them.
Step 3: Delete the system cache through the recovery mode
Assuming that the error still shows up in safe mode, it’s time to immediately go after the system cache especially if the problem started after an update. There are times when the caches get corrupted and when those corrupt caches are used by the new system, conflicts occur and this case is just one of those problems. So, here’s what you need to do:
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
- Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
- The phone will now reboot longer than usual.
Step 4: Reset your phone by booting it in recovery mode
If the wiping of the cache partition didn’t help, then it’s time to reset your phone and I suggest you do this by booting it in recovery mode as it’s more effective than the usual factory reset that just deletes your data, apps, etc.
The reset may not be able to fix the issue especially if it’s a hardware problem but it will help you determine whether the phone needs to be checked by a technician or not. If the reset cannot fix the problem, then you really have to let a technician check it for you. If it’s within the grace period, you should negotiate a replacement.
I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you. Reach out to us if you need more assistance.
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