How to fix Google Pixel 3 XL “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error

Are you experiencing the dreaded “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error everytime you open the camera app on your Google Pixel 3 XL? This troubleshooting guide should help you with that.

How to fix Google Pixel 3 XL “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error

Fixing “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error takes patience and effort as there’s no direct way to know what is causing it. In this guide, we’ll show you the logical steps that you can try to isolate the reason for the problem.

Restart the device

A simple restart is sometimes enough to fix temporary app or Android bugs. Many Android devices including the Google Pixel lines benefit greatly when they are regularly restarted. Like a regular computer, your device may slow down or encounter problems when left running for a long time. You should restart it once every few days. This is easy to do and won’t take even a minute of your time. Just press and hold the Power button for about 10 to 20 seconds. Once the phone restarts, use the phone as normal and check for the problem.

Clear camera app cache

“Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error may sometimes occur if the app’s cache is corrupted. Like any other app, the camera also keeps a set of temporary files and folders called cache in order to load up and perform tasks quickly. Sometimes though, this cache may get corrupted so it’s good if you can regularly delete it. Doing so will force the app to build a new cache, which is an effective way to get rid of outdated information.

1. From a Home screen, touch and swipe up to display all apps.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap Apps & notifications.
4. Tap See all ‘xx’ apps.
5. Tap the appropriate app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear cache.
8. Restart your Pixel 3 XL.
9. Check how camera app works.

Revert camera app to defaults

Sometimes, it takes more than clearing of an app cache to resolve issues. If “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error returns after wiping the camera app’s cache, the next good thing to do is to revert the app itself to its defaults. Here’s how it’s done:

1. From a Home screen, touch and swipe up to display all apps.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap Apps & notifications.
4. Tap See all ‘xx’ apps.
5. Tap the appropriate app.
6. Tap Storage.
7. Tap Clear data.
8. Restart your Pixel 3 XL.
9. Check how camera app works.

Install app and Android updates

When dealing with any Android issue, one of the basic things to do is to ensure that you install updates for apps and the operating system. Install system updates

Some bugs are caused by poor coding. One of the perks of using a Google Pixel device is the fact that you can be one of the first to experience the newest features Android has to offer. However, that can also be the reason why your device may be a source of frustration. There’s no perfect Operating System so first versions are usually buggy. If your Pixel 3 XL started to restart on its own after an update, it may be due to an inefficient code. As Google irons out bugs, updates are released to implement them. Be sure that you install the latest available system updates as they come along.

By default, Pixel 3 devices are set to automatically install system updates. However, you can also manually check it yourself to see if there’s a more recent Android version for your device at this time. Here’s how:

1. Connect your Pixel 3 XL to wifi.
2. Open Settings app.
3. Near the bottom, tap System.
4. Tap Advanced.
5. Tap System update. If you don’t see ‘Advanced’, tap About phone.
6. You’ll see your update status. Follow any steps on the screen.

Check for bad third party app

If the “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error started after you installed an app, try deleting that app to see if it’s the real cause. Otherwise, you can restart your Pixel 3 XL to Safe Mode and observe it. On this mode, all downloaded apps will be suspended, only allowing pre-installed apps to work. Here’s how:

1. Press and hold the Power button.
2. On your screen, touch and hold Power off.
3. Tap OK.
4. After you see “Safe mode” at the bottom of your screen, wait to see if the problem goes away.

“Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error won’t show up when using the camera, there must be a bad downloaded app causing the problem. To identify it, you must delete apps one by one. This is how you do it:

1. Exit safe mode by restarting your device.
2. Check for the problem.
3. If the problem returns, boot to safe mode again.
4. Uninstall an app. Start with the most recently downloaded one.
5. After each removal, restart your device and see whether removing it solved the problem.
6. Repeat steps 1-4 until you’ve identified the culprit.

After you remove the app that’s causing the problem, you can reinstall the other apps that you removed.

Factory reset

If all the troubleshooting steps above won’t fix the issue, the final software troubleshooting step that you can do is to wipe it. This way, you can return all software settings back to their defaults in one stroke. If the reason for the problem is software related, factory reset will most likely help.

To factory reset your Pixel 3:

1. Create a backup of your personal data.
2. Make sure to know the username and password for Google account in the phone.
3. Open Settings app.
4. Tap System.
5. Tap Advanced.
6. Tap Reset options.
7. Tap Erase all data (factory reset) and then Reset phone. If needed, enter your PIN, pattern, or password.
8. To erase all data from your phone’s internal storage, tap Erase everything.
9. When your phone has finished erasing, pick the option to restart.
10. Set up your phone and restore your backed-up data.

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