What to do if the camera on your Samsung Galaxy S9 starts to keep failing?

Aside from the error message “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” there’s another one that many of our readers encountered. The warning says “Camera failed” and it shows up every time the camera is opened but instead of the usual interface you see when you take pictures or record videos, what you can see on the screen is the error. In other words, you won’t be able to use the camera of your phone because of this error and this has been happening to some Samsung Galaxy S9 units.

The “Camera has stopped” error is more of an app-related issue but the other one more often points to a hardware problem and that’s what we need to find out in this post. We simply have to do some troubleshooting procedures and rule out every possibility. If at the end of this guide the problem isn’t fixed, then you should just bring the device to an authorized service center or back to the store so that a technician can perform further tests to determine if the sensor needs to be replaced or not.

But before anything else, if you have another issue with your phone, drop by our troubleshooting page as we have already addressed hundreds of issues reported by the owners. Odds are that there are already existing solutions on our website or at least, there are similar problems we already fixed. So, try to find ones that are similar or related to your problem. If you need further assistance, however, feel free to contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

How to fix the “Camera failed” error on Galaxy S9?

Based on experience, this problem could be a very minor issue with the camera or a very complicated one. The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is to know if you can fix it on your own or you need a technician to do it. We will try to exhaust all possible solution but if at the end the problem continues, then seek assistance from a technician who can check the phone physically. Now, here’s what you need to do about this…

Reboot your Galaxy S9

If it’s the first time you encounter this problem, you should try rebooting your phone first as this could be a result of a minor glitch. After the reboot, open the camera to know if the problem is still happening and if it still does, try doing the Forced Reboot: press and hold the volume down and the power keys at the same time for 10 seconds or more. This will restart the phone like the normal process but its memory will be refreshed and all apps and services reloaded. Should the camera continue to fail after this, then try the next procedure.

Find out if it’s caused by a third-party

Since the camera app is used by other apps, it’s possible that a third-party application is causing the problem. With that, you have to reboot your phone in safe mode to temporarily disable all third parties in your device and use the camera. If the problem is seems fixed while in this mode, then it confirms our suspicion. The next thing you need to do is find out which of your apps is causing the issue and uninstall it.

Here’s how to reboot your Galaxy S9 in Safe mode:

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.

If the camera still fails while in safe mode, however, then try the next procedure.

Try deleting the system cache

It’s important that you try doing this procedure as we’ve already fixed similar issues in the past by simply deleting the system cache. It consists of hundreds of small files that the system uses to make your device run smoothly. The thing about it is that you’re not actually just deleting the cache but also replacing it with a new one that’s it’s very effective. Here’s how you do it:

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.

If for some reason the problem continues after this, then try the next procedure.

Backup your files and reset your phone

This is your last resort. If the camera still keeps on failing after this, then it’s probably a hardware problem and you may need to get your device checked by a technician. A reset would also be a preparation since all your personal files and information will be deleted so you don’t have to worry about privacy once the phone reaches the hands of the tech. However, make sure to make a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted during the process. After the backup, follow these steps to reset your Galaxy S9:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Samsung account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Samsung credentials to finish the master reset.
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.

I hope that we’ve been able to help you one way or another. If you have other concerns you want to share with us, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.

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