Fixing The Note 4 Camera Photos Missing & Other Related Issues

One of the most compelling reasons to own a smartphone is its ability to instantly share photos. Just snap a photo of any subject and if the phone is connected to the Internet the photo can instantly be shared using any social networking app. Most photography enthusiasts who carry around their expensive DSLRs even rely on their smartphone when they want to take quick photos. The #Samsung Galaxy #Note4 is one such phone that allows anyone to take great photos and at the same time share those photos instantly.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Sometimes though, issues do occur when using the phone camera. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Note 4 camera photos missing issue. This is characterized by photos in the phone not displaying properly or missing from its storage.

If you own a Samsung Galaxy Note 4  or any other Android device for that matter then feel free to contact us using this form. We will be more than happy to assist you with any concern that you may have with your device. This is a free service we are offering with no strings attached. We however ask that when you do contact us try to be as detailed as possible so that an accurate assessment can be made and the correct solution can be given.  

If you would like to browse the previous parts in this series then check out this link.  

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Note 4 Photos From Gallery Missing

Problem: Hi. Im writing to you because i need help with the pictures in my gallery.. i’ve saved tons and tons of pics of my newborn daughter she’s now three and i have a couple hundred pics of her that are so very precious to me i can’t lose them! So anyway i noticed like a week ago that a big chunk of the pictures in my gallery are not there.. they show up like the space is being occupied but its black and looks like something you get when the picture doesn’t load. I click on them and still can’t see them.. i haven’t tried uploading to laptop to see if i can still see them.. but i’d like to know what causes this.. also i don’t have an sd card. It’s all on my phone. Thanks in advance!!

Solution: When your camera photos are black or can’t be accessed from your phone the most common cause of this is data corruption. You should however check if this is the case by first trying to wipe the cache partition of your phone. This deletes only the cached data of your device which is corrupt can sometimes cause this type of problem.

If after wiping the cache partition you still can’t view your photos then try connecting your phone using a USB cord to a computer running on Kies. Using Kies try to browse your phone photos. If you can view your photos without any problem then make a backup copy immediately.

If however you can’t view your photos then they are most likely corrupt already. You can try using some of the data recovery apps or software to recover the photos. Make sure to verify the app or software that you will be using to recover the photos to make sure that they indeed work. You can do this by reading the reviews left by other people when they used the app or software.

Note 4 Photos Appear Black With Exclamation Mark

Problem: Hi, I recently bought Note 4 ( SM-N910F ) and I’ve noticed that I have a problem in my gallery, when I open the camera to take pictures and save them in my SD Card 32 Gb, I go to the gallery and I tap to see the pictures, I see a black screen with and exclamation mark ! and when I shoot a video and try to open it, I find “Sorry, this video cannot be played” I changed the storage to device, the images appear normal, but when I changed the same images to the SD Card I couldn’t see them! I don’t know what’s wrong with it, please can you help?

Solution: In this case it is very likely that you have a faulty microSD card. I suggest replacing this card immediately as you will keep on losing data stored in this card.

As a precautionary measure you should also wipe the cache partition of your phone to eliminate the possibility of some form of corrupt data causing this problem.

S4 Camera Failed Error

Problem: “Camera Failed”. I have tried to clear the cache etc per the instructions on your site.  I turn the phone off and then back on and it might work once and back to Camera Failed.  Would love to get this resolved.  Thanks!

Solution: If clearing the cache and data of the camera app fails to resolve the problem then you should proceed with wiping the cache partition of your phone.

To check if the camera app itself has an issue try using a third party camera app. If you don’t experience any problems using the third party camera app then access the Application Manager and look for the stock camera app. Click on uninstall updates. This allows you to check if a recent update to the camera app is causing the problem.

Try using the stock camera app again and see if the problem remains.

There are also cases wherein a third party app may be causing conflicts with the stock camera app which in turn causes the camera failed error. To check if this is the case you should start your phone in Safe Mode. Use your camera in this mode. If the error doesn’t occur then it may be caused by a third party app. Find out what app this is and uninstall it.

If the above troubleshooting steps fail then I suggest you backup your phone data and do a factory reset.

Note 4 Dust In Rear Camera Photos Using Stock Camera App

Problem: I see dust like stuff in my back camera when trying to take image through default camera….even after taking a picture….that dust still appears in the image….dont know actually its dust or not… But that does not appear in third party apps…..so what is the reason that the black mark only appear in built in camera and not appearing in third party apps… Can u please suggest me ways to clear this annoying problem?

Solution: The first thing you should do in this case is to check the rear camera lens for any signs of dust. If you spot any then clean the lens using a microfiber cloth or a lens cleaning paper which you can buy at any camera specialty store. Make sure to only use the two recommended products above so as to avoid scratching the camera lens.

Once you have made sure that the lens is clean proceed with troubleshooting the phone. Since you mentioned that the issue disappears when you use a third party camera app then the problem may be with the stock camera app.

You should clear the cache and data of the stock camera app from the Application Manager. This clears out the cached data stored by the app itself which may be causing this problem.

If the issue persists then proceed with wiping the cache partition of your phone.

Finally, if all else fails I recommend that you backup your phone data then do a factory reset.

Note 4 Blurry Photos

Problem: There are many times when I open the camera to take a picture and the screen will just constantly shake. I have tried to press on the screen to use the focus but when it takes a picture the photo is blurry. It’s like the stabilization just will not work.  I have tried to search online how to fix but I have not found anything useful.  Please help me if you can.

Solution: The first thing that you should do is to make sure that the camera lens is clear of any dust or oily substance. This may interfere with the focusing feature of your phone since it may focus on the dirt/ oily substance as well as the subject that you are shooting. If necessary you should clean the lens using a microfiber cloth or a lens cleaning paper.

Sometimes the protective plastic film covering the camera lens  hasn’t been removed yet. Make sure that you have removed this from your phone.

To verify if this is an app related issue try downloading a third party camera app and use it. If you don’t experience any issue with the third party app then the problem may be with the stock camera app.

You should then clear the cache and data of the stock messaging app and if possible uninstall its updates. If the problem persists then try to disable the picture stabilization feature from the camera settings.

As a last resort you should backup your phone data then do a factory reset.

Note 4 Makes Noise When Zooming

Problem: hi,  pls my note 4 when i open the camera focus make a noise like zeeeen zeeeen i try all the solutions like format wipe cache data update … still the problem persist i think its a hardware thanks for help best regards

Solution: The buzzing sound you hear could be the optical image stabilization working. Does the sound affect the quality of the photos? If it doesn’t then you can just ignore it. However, if the sound is loud enough that can be heard from a few meters away then this may already be a hardware related problem. I suggest you bring your phone to an authorized service center and have it checked.

Feel free to send us your questions, suggestions and problems you’ve encountered while using your Android phone. We support every Android device that is available in the market today. And don’t worry, we won’t charge you a single penny for your questions. Contact us using this form. We read every message we receive can’t guarantee a quick response. If we were able to help you, please help us spread the word by sharing our posts with your friends.

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4 thoughts on “Fixing The Note 4 Camera Photos Missing & Other Related Issues”

  1. Hey, I have a problem with my new xiaomi note 4, when I picture a photo it immediately displays on the small window below. And when I tap it instead of showing it on the screen it opens a photo from the gallery (always the same one).

  2. Hi , I just now found that I have 100s of photo wich I am unable to open it. It is in gallery. I have note 4. I see some photo are appering and most of them are like shade. Those shade once pressed opens download option. When I am downloading, it show processing but nothing happens. Those photos are vital. Please help.

  3. I have a Galaxy note 4 and cannot receive a picture when someone sends it to me. I get an error message that the download failed. Can I fix this in the settings? please help, thanks

  4. I have the note 5 and I had hundreds of pics taken in my “camera ” gallery file and today all of them disappeared and only like 10 are left !! Where the heck did they go ?? How so I get them back?

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