When the camera on your Samsung Galaxy S9 crashes, you may experience seeing the error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” or having the camera that closes immediately after opening. There are times when you can still use it for a few minutes and take a few pictures before it closes. Whatever the symptoms you’re having, it’s a sign of an app issue, a firmware problem or even a serious concern on the hardware.
Being the owner, you must do something to try and fix the problem because more often than not, it’s just a minor issue and you may be able to fix it on your own without any help from a technician. There are a few things you need to do to determine what the problem is, why the camera is crashing and finally how to fix it. So, if you’re one of the owners of this phone who’s currently bugged by a similar issue, continue reading as this post may help you one way or another.
Before going further, if you found this post because you were trying to find a solution to your problem, then try to visit our Galaxy S9 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed most of the commonly reported issues with the phone. We’ve already provided solutions to some of the problems reported by our readers so try to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you and if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit.
How to fix the error “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” on your Galaxy S9
The camera has the most complicated processes in your phone. Imagine having the hardware to work perfectly in-sync with both the firmware and the app. One minor issue with any of them would surely lead to a problem to the camera and the most common sign is the error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped.” Below are things you can do about this problem…
First solution: Reboot your phone
If your device has been up for several days or weeks already and you’re starting to get this error, a reboot might just fix it. It’s a simple procedure but it will definitely make everything in your phone work perfectly again. So hit that power key and restart your phone. If the error still shows up after the reboot, try doing the forced restart procedure.
- Press and hold the volume down button and the power key simultaneously for 10 seconds or until the device restarts.
It’s a lot more effective than the normal reboot as it simulates battery disconnect which refreshes your phone’s memory, close all apps running in the background as well as reloads all core functions and services. If the problem continues after this, then it’s time to begin our proper troubleshooting.
Second solution: Find out if a third-party app is causing the problem
The camera is a common app or function so there are actually a lot of apps that use it especially social media app that allows you to take and share pictures. To know if those apps are actually the cause of the problem, you need to reboot your phone in safe mode, which temporarily disables all third-party apps.
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen appearing on the screen.
- When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the Power key.
- Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
- Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
- When Safe mode appears in the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.
While the phone is in this mode, open the camera to trigger the problem. If the error doesn’t show up and you can actually take pictures without having any problem, then it’s obvious that the issue is due to a third-party app. Find out which app it is and uninstall it:
- From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
- Tap Settings > Apps.
- Tap the desired application in the default list.
- To display preinstalled apps, tap Menu > Show system apps.
- Tap UNINSTALL > OK.
I know it’s easier said than done but try uninstalling apps that use the camera first then those that you installed by the time the error started showing up.
On the other hand, if the error is still showing up while in safe mode, then the problem could be with the app itself or the firmware. Try to do the next solution.
Third solution: Clear the cache and data of Camera
If the error message is triggered or caused by an issue with the app, then this is the solution that will fix it. What it does is actually reset the app back to its default settings. It will also delete the temporary files created by the system for the app to run smoothly as well as the data files that may contact the settings for your camera and other files it created.
- From a Home screen, touch and swipe up or down to display all apps.
- From a Home screen, navigate: Settings > Apps.
- Tap App Manager.
- Locate then tap Camera.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap CLEAR CACHE.
- Tap Cached data.
- Tap CLEAR.
- Reboot your phone to refresh its memory.
Once the device becomes active, try to trigger the error again and if it still shows up, then we have to go after the firmware because unlike third-party apps, you can’t just uninstall the camera app as it’s embedded in the firmware.
Fourth solution: Delete system caches
The firmware creates small temporary files to make apps and services run smoothly. However, these files can easily get corrupted and when it happens, performance issues like this may occur. Deleting the caches actually means to replace them with new ones as the system will create new files after those caches get deleted. Now, to delete all system caches at once, here’s what you need to do:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Android logo displays, release all three keys.
- An ‘Installing system update’ message will show for 30 – 60 seconds before the Android system recovery menu options appear.
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight wipe cache partition.
- Press Power key to select.
- Press the Volume down key to highlight yes, them and press the Power key to select.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
Your phone will take a little time booting up after the cache partition is wiped off of its contents as it will rebuild or recreate those caches. Don’t be alarmed if the phone gets stuck on the logo for a minute or two after this just don’t turn it off so that what were deleted will be replaced successfully. If the camera still crashes after this, then it’s time to reset the phone.
Fifth solution: Backup your files and reset your phone
At this point wherein you’ve already done the basic troubleshooting procedures and the problem still continues to bug you, then it’s time to do the reset. This will bring the phone back to its factory default settings and delete all your personal files and data that are saved in the phone’s internal storage. So, before the reset, make a backup of those files so that you won’t lose them. After which, disable the Factory Reset Protection by removing your google account from your phone. Now, follow these steps to reset your phone:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
If the problem persists after this, you should bring the phone back to the store as it’s a problem with the hardware. You better have it replaced.
I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you one way or another. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us any time or leave a comment below.
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