What to do if your Galaxy Note10 camera is not working | troubleshooting all sorts of camera problems

One of the common problems in any phone is regarding camera function. This troubleshooting article will address your Galaxy Note10 camera issue, if it’s not working. Follow our solutions below on what to do.

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What to do if your Galaxy Note10 camera is not working | troubleshooting all sorts of camera problems

If your Galaxy Note10 camera is not working, there are a number of factors that you must check. Follow our suggestions below on what to do.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #1: Check for errors

If the camera app is not working on your Galaxy Note10 by crashing randomly or all the time, there must be an error code or message that shows as well. Be sure to take note of the error and see if you can find a solution online. This can work if there’s a unique code that may suggest a unique bug within the system. For generic errors like “camera has stopped” or “unfortunately, camera has stopped,” you may be able to fix them by continuing with the suggestions below.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #2: Troubleshoot camera app

If there’s no camera app error at all, or if online solutions won’t work, then dealing with the camera app directly should be done. There are three things that you must do: 

  • Reboot app
  • Clear app cache 
  • Reset app

Reboot app. Restarting the camera app should be the first thing to do. If the bug is minor, refreshing the camera may help. You have two easy ways to restart an app.

Method 1: Close an app using Recent Apps key

  1. On your screen, tap the Recent Apps soft key (the one with three vertical lines on the left of the Home button).
  2. Once the Recent Apps screen is shown, swipe left or right to look for the app. It should be here if you managed to run it previously.
  3. Then, swipe up on the app to close it. This should force close it. If it’s not there, simply tap the Close All app to also restart all apps.

Method 2: Close an app using App Info menu

Another way to force close an app is by going within the app’s settings itself. It’s a longer way compared to the first method above but it’s equally effective. You want to use this method if you plan on doing other troubleshooting for the said app like clearing its cache or data. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap the More settings icon (three-dot icon, upper right).
  4. Tap Show system apps.
  5. Find and tap the app.
  6. Tap Force Stop.

Clear app cache. Some app problems are caused by app cache. To ensure that camera app cache is fresh, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Cache button.
  10. Check for the problem.

Reset camera app. Should nothing change after wiping the camera app cache, a good follow up step is resetting the app to its defaults. Learn how to do it below.

  1. Go to the Home screen.
  2. Tap Apps icon.
  3. Open Settings app.
  4. Tap Apps.
  5. If you’re looking for a system or default app, tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  6. Select Show system apps.
  7. Find and tap the appropriate app.
  8. Tap Storage.
  9. Tap Clear Data button.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #3: Restart device

Some bugs may develop if a system is left running for a long time. This is the main reason why it’s highly suggested to regularly restart your device. If you haven’t rebooted your phone for some time now, be sure to do so at this time.

There are three ways to restart your Galaxy Note10+. Let’s see each of them below.

Method 1: Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Method 2: Another way to restart the device is by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Bixby/Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

Method 3: If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
  2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
  3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more. 

The second restart procedure tries to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

Rebooting your device regularly at least once every week can be beneficial. If you tend to forget things, we suggest that you configure your phone to reboot on its own. You can schedule it to do this task by doing these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Device Care.
  3. Tap the 3-dot at the top.
  4. Select Auto restart.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #4: Reset app preferences

Some apps like the default camera app may not work properly if there’s a missing or disabled system app. To ensure that all default apps are enabled, follow these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Apps.
  3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
  4. Select Reset app preferences.
  5. Restart your device and check for the problem.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #5: Check for bad system cache

Android uses a system cache, which is stored in the cache partition, to load apps quickly. Sometimes, this cache gets corrupted during and after an update, or for some other reasons. While this may sound harmless, a corrupted cache can eventually cause performance issues as well as a bunch of other minor annoyances. To ensure that your phone’s system cache is fresh, you can wipe the cache partition. This will force the phone to delete the current cache and replace it with a new one over time.

To wipe the cache partition on your Galaxy Note10:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. 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).
  4. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  5. Press Power button to select.
  6. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
  7. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #6: Observe on Safe Mode

If your Galaxy Note10 camera is not working coincidentally after installing a new app, you may have a bad third party app issue at hand. To check if that’s the case, you can restart the phone to safe mode. Safe Mode suspends all the apps you downloaded that did not come with the operating system. So, if the camera app works fine on safe mode only, that’s a clear indicator of a bad app trouble. To restart to safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off window appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears then release.
  3. To confirm, tap Safe mode.
  4. The process may take up to 30 seconds to complete.
  5. Upon reboot, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the home screen.
  6. Check for the problem.

Don’t forget: safe mode blocks third party apps but it won’t tell you which of them is the real cause. If you think that there’s a rogue third party app in the system, you must identify it. Here’s what you need to do exactly:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your Galaxy Note10 is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #7: Keep software and apps updated

Keeping Android Operating System and apps updated can help in this case. Some bugs are only fixable by changing some codes either in the software or apps. For this reason, make sure that you install any available updates for both Android and apps at this point. 

To update your apps  just open the Play Store app and install the update from there. If there’s no update for the app, then there must be other factors that you want to check. Try to narrow them down by continuing below.

In some rare cases, outdated Android OS may cause some apps to stop working properly. Make sure that Android is up-to-date by installing any available system update. By default, your Note10+ should notify you of any system update automatically. However, you can also check for system updates manually by going under Settings > Software update. If you don’t have this option, that means that your device may be running a carrier-branded software.

Also, second hand or pre-owned carrier-branded phones may no longer receive updates if they’re used in another network. For example, if you bought an unlocked Verizon Galaxy Note10+ and use it in a T-Mobile network, the device will no longer get system update notifications. 

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #8: Factory reset

Wiping the device is one of the effective ways to fix whatever software issues in an Android device. If your Galaxy Note10 camera is still not working, make sure to factory reset your phone. This will return the software to defaults and delete all third party apps. If the problem is fixed after that, there may be a third party app issue or with the software.

To see if factory reset is effective, follow the steps below. 

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10+ via Settings Menu

This is the easiest way to wipe your Galaxy Note10+. all you have to do is to go under Settings menu and follow the steps below. We recommend this method if you have no trouble going under Settings.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Note10+ using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby / Power key.
  5. When the green Android logo displays, release both keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. When you see this, release the buttons.
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm the action to clear your phone data.

Galaxy Note10 camera not working fix #9: Try another app

In the rare case wherein the issue is not fixed, you can try to see if the issue hardware related by installing a new camera app. Some social media apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram, and so already have built in camera apps. Try to see if you can use the camera function using any of them. If the camera is still not working, you can bet that there’s a deeper issue as of this moment. For that, you want to visit your local Samsung store or Service Center for help.

 


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