Develop Bugs

[Q] Samsung S3 Camera Fail

I tried searching the forum, all i found were people telling each other to take out the battery or send it back to samsung...
if you find a link that covers my problem, i humbly apologize please direct me to the thread.
okay:
i bought an s3 off kijiji (craigslist equiv) the camera does not work.
I click the camera app, app loads, picture is black, then a dialog box saying camera has failed pops up, app crashes. Repeat.
So I bought a new rear camera, i put it in and guess what! same problem.
I tried every software thing i could think of (post and pre new camera). I tried different roms, CM/PA/STOCK Mod, no luck.
I tried going into the firmware service menu with a touchwiz rom and making the two firmware numbers match as in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2006128
I tried going into app settings stopping the camera app and clearing the cache.
Now i am out of ideas and i seek better men/women to help me.
I have a new camera, i just bought, and the old camera.
oh before i forget: I saw the old camera work only once since i bought it, it loaded up randomly and was all glitchy green lines running down the picture. It loaded up with the front facing camera part which to me worked fine, then when i went to rear camera it did the glitchy ****.
sorry if my post is hard to read, im tired, and frustrated with this thing.
the phone is sitting here all dissassembled waiting for the next step.
are there any diagnostic tools i can dl that checks the motherboard and each camera (front, and back) individually?

nothing huh?

eliltelink said:
nothing huh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like hardware failure to me man,. sorry to say it. Have you used odin to bring you back to full stock? did the device come rooted?

There are 2 tests you could do (though they're probably the same). This requires you to be on a stock ROM.
From the dialler, enter:
*#0*# General Test Mode
*#7353# Quick Test Menu
Then, the choices are obvious.

Look at the board closely. Examine the traces on the board coming from the camera connections and where the camera connectors plug into the board for any signs of a white powdery substance. Dendrites will form on circuit boards and short out the associated electronics. If you don't have a warranty, it would be worth it to get some high grade isopropal alcohol and give the board a good rinse. You may even scrub the affected area with a good clean tooth brush and then flush it again. Let it dry thoroughly and then reassembly it. It would help to get some of that canned air and blow it off as well. I've had that work more than once on delicate electronics that have gone south.

Danvdh said:
Sounds like hardware failure to me man,. sorry to say it. Have you used odin to bring you back to full stock? did the device come rooted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
using odin to bring back to full stock is the only thing ive yet to try.
When i got the phone it wasn't rooted.
I guess the last thing i will do is try the new camera with ODIN stock.
i really doubt it would make a difference.

beaverslayer said:
Look at the board closely. Examine the traces on the board coming from the camera connections and where the camera connectors plug into the board for any signs of a white powdery substance. Dendrites will form on circuit boards and short out the associated electronics. If you don't have a warranty, it would be worth it to get some high grade isopropal alcohol and give the board a good rinse. You may even scrub the affected area with a good clean tooth brush and then flush it again. Let it dry thoroughly and then reassembly it. It would help to get some of that canned air and blow it off as well. I've had that work more than once on delicate electronics that have gone south.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is the first thing i did actually. i was afraid it may of been water damage. the phone is taken apart infront of me right now. I dont see any sign of white spots. it looks clean as a whistle.
I really dont understand why its still failing even with a new camera.
DO any of you know weather If only the front camera fails will the entire camera app fail?
Also the front camera and the proximity sensor are tied together as one unit. and the proximity sensor works fine.
also ive mentioned that ive seen the camera work once. so ....I just dont know...

It's either a hardware problem (other than the camera itself), or it's a software problem. I would revert to stock & run one of the hardware tests I mentioned previously. That should rule in or out a software cause.

Update:
I used :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2363882&highlight=unroot
to unroot and go full stock...
still nothing.
i did those tests from *#7353# Quick Test Menu
it fails on both rear and front camera..And the REAR camera is the new one?!?!?! wtf.
does anyone know if one camera does not work they both dont? (since i replaced my rear camera, it may of been the front camera this whole time that didnt work.) i wish i was rich so i can buy another phone to test my hardware with.
do you think its a mainboard problem? - i guess thats all that is left.....

eliltelink said:
Update:
I used :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2363882&highlight=unroot
to unroot and go full stock...
still nothing.
i did those tests from *#7353# Quick Test Menu
it fails on both rear and front camera..And the REAR camera is the new one?!?!?! wtf.
does anyone know if one camera does not work they both dont? (since i replaced my rear camera, it may of been the front camera this whole time that didnt work.) i wish i was rich so i can buy another phone to test my hardware with.
do you think its a mainboard problem? - i guess thats all that is left.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I experienced the same problem last few days. It started the next day I rooted the phone. I tried all the ways I found on the net, none worked for me. I even formatted the internal drive. Problem was still there.
Then I flashed Task650's AOKP rom and surprisingly the camera started to work. So I guess it maybe as stated in the forum, the driver, for some reason, was not in the correct folder. I guess flash any 4.2.2 rom will fix the problem. I am now running on liquid rom. Hope this can be a little help?

ive been on 4.2.2 PA

horizonstar said:
I experienced the same problem last few days. It started the next day I rooted the phone. I tried all the ways I found on the net, none worked for me. I even formatted the internal drive. Problem was still there.
Then I flashed Task650's AOKP rom and surprisingly the camera started to work. So I guess it maybe as stated in the forum, the driver, for some reason, was not in the correct folder. I guess flash any 4.2.2 rom will fix the problem. I am now running on liquid rom. Hope this can be a little help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
out of pure desperation i tried this method.
and it did not work same old message
either
gallery has failed
failed to open camera
worth mentioning:
when i am in stock rom, there is a feature that detects your eyes to make sure the screen should stay on. It works. It says it uses front camera to achive this functionality but...alas my camera does not work.
What can i do to help you help me.
im totally at a loss for words i dunno what to do

I was experiencing the problem last week on Stock Rogers ROM 4.1.1.
I tried restarting, battery pulls, formatting and taking apart the phone to disconnect/reconnect the camera.
Nothing worked and I was convinced it was a hardware problem.
As a last resort I flashed the stock Rogers 4.1.2 update and the camera started working again.
I flashed back to 4.1.1 and the camera stopped. Not sure what was causing the problem though.

If your on the new 4.1.2 bootloaders and running 4.1.1 the rear cam won't work, flash the old lk3 bootloaders.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

eliltelink said:
I tried searching the forum, all i found were people telling each other to take out the battery or send it back to samsung...
if you find a link that covers my problem, i humbly apologize please direct me to the thread.
okay:
i bought an s3 off kijiji (craigslist equiv) the camera does not work.
I click the camera app, app loads, picture is black, then a dialog box saying camera has failed pops up, app crashes. Repeat.
So I bought a new rear camera, i put it in and guess what! same problem.
I tried every software thing i could think of (post and pre new camera). I tried different roms, CM/PA/STOCK Mod, no luck.
I tried going into the firmware service menu with a touchwiz rom and making the two firmware numbers match as in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2006128
I tried going into app settings stopping the camera app and clearing the cache.
Now i am out of ideas and i seek better men/women to help me.
I have a new camera, i just bought, and the old camera.
oh before i forget: I saw the old camera work only once since i bought it, it loaded up randomly and was all glitchy green lines running down the picture. It loaded up with the front facing camera part which to me worked fine, then when i went to rear camera it did the glitchy ****.
sorry if my post is hard to read, im tired, and frustrated with this thing.
the phone is sitting here all dissassembled waiting for the next step.
are there any diagnostic tools i can dl that checks the motherboard and each camera (front, and back) individually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fixed it on my SGH-T999L with Jedi Invasion 5 by flashing this kernel http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1756776
Use the Touchwiz JELLYBEAN 4.1.2 VERSION :good:

rekamyenom said:
I fixed it on my SGH-T999L with Jedi Invasion 5 by flashing this kernel http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1756776
Use the Touchwiz JELLYBEAN 4.1.2 VERSION :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link above is broken....!
Researching same problem... May be due to moisture in my case.

sentry07 said:
Link above is broken....!
Researching same problem... May be due to moisture in may case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank for the heads up! :good:

It looks like a software problem
I had the same problem.
Rear and front Camera gave SOMETIMES "Camera Faild" error.
It looks like a software problem which uses the camera or the flash.
Many users saying that the problem is resolved after signin out from Skype.
For me the case was the Flashligt software. You can try to find out which software can be the cause.
I hope this is the problem and you all will find out the software which causes the error.

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please delete my answer
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No solution Camera failed Samsung s3
I still have a problem with my Samsung i535 s3 camera failed .
I've tried all the options of the application manager app stop clear cache , install 2nd app app to run CAMERA and nothing. I even replaced the physical camera from another vorking S3 i747 and again nothing , reset wipe cache system start from scratch and still no go.Changed proximity sensor still no go, another SS3 Basically had to swap parts and test it to no good
Don ` t have a micro sd card , and I spent 3 days at various forums to find out how to fix the problem .
S3 is not under warranty and service shop could not help me. I deleted all the apps that use the camera as Skype and flashlight and again nothing , Camera failed .
Otherwise my S3 i535 runs on stock rom not rooted and hasn ` t been updated stilruns on 4.1.2 didn ` t go for 4.3 update . Everjthing else Works fine ekcept camera.Somebod

Back camera can't get in focus.

I bought my phone 3 weeks ago and all was fine until yesterday.
suddenly my back camera can't focus at items that are far then 5 cm.
I tried to install other camera app but it didn't work.
I tried to restore the camera to default and it didn't help.
front camera works well.
anyone can help?

Might be general problem?
I can only tell that focus of the back camera seems to be very sensitive towards fingerprints and dirt on the lens as well as low brightness. Couldn't get a single good shot in the evening. But if you have focus problems with a cleaned lens on objects in direct sunlight it's obviously a different problem.

Autofocus problem
I ve the same problem on my p8000. Autofocus on back camera doesn't work. I ve installed also Camera fv-5 app and it said me that autofocus doesn't work... Could be that same FOTA update has genereted the problem?
I think it's difficult it is an hardware problem...

I have the same problem. I tried multiple different Roms and Kernels and still the autofocus is not working. Also the headphone jack just stopped working.
I am starting to hate that peace of crap. And elephones service = Zero.
Its a good concept by the way to build high tech phones with hardware that breaks after some weeks and software that only works partially so that you have to flash a rom to get nearly everything working but you loose your warranty doing that.. I will never buy a "cheap" china phone again.

same problem with my p8000 version B, when i using banking deposit check, can't auto focus. hope someone can fix it

I am too facing the same problem. However, I tried Blueflame's CM and it was working well. So I guess there is something wrong with the binaries. It would be great if someone could prepare a flashable zip for fixing it.

mdvirgo92 said:
I am too facing the same problem. However, I tried Blueflame's CM and it was working well. So I guess there is something wrong with the binaries. It would be great if someone could prepare a flashable zip for fixing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cm still no work, you can look like auto focus, but not very helping , when you using banking apps deposit check, will have auto focus problem

have the same problem after it fall off the ground. seems like a hardware failure
really like the phone but cant use the cam anymore. **** happens

Camera not working!!!

I have started with the stock ROM, and used cm13, and even updated to the newest fully stock ROM 3.2.4 and to no avail.
The camera app either force closes or nothing shows up on screen. Every once in awhile the front camera will work, but I'll click the icon to switch to the rear camera and no effect, it just stays on fron t camera.
I've tried many third-party apps, I've tried cm camera fix, everything I can think. Clearing data and coach for the app the whole shabang.
Now I'm ordering a brand new camera module and I will see what happens. But any help and any information will be much appreciated thanks

Was it working when you bought it...what did you do to it before it broke?

it definitely seems like a hardware issue, had it been a software issue a custom rom or 3rd party camera might have resolved it and since you have tried many roms and reverted back to stock too so it doesnt look like a software issue.

GeneralDisaray2 said:
Was it working when you bought it...what did you do to it before it broke?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny you should ask, because I honestly don't know when it actually started but I do remember wiping userdata so I could unencrypt my phone and thereafter was when I noticed it no longer worked. Don't know if those 2 things correlate because I flashed back to stock (which is encrypted) and still no luck

Did you solve the camera problem ???

Camera not working

Hello,
so for the past few weeks my camera hasn't been working and I finally decided to ask you guys for help.
It all started when I wanted to try RR but it kept asking for 21C modem so I quickly downloaded one and flashed it. So I checked what I needed and restored Fulmics from the nandroid backup I made, but the camera app stared to just crash and since then I pretty much don't have camera.
What I've tried till now:
Restoring to stock
Flashing Fulmics again
Replacing the camera

Still can't resolve this issue...

By restoring to stock, do you mean flashing a TOT or KDZ file?
If you have done that and still not working you have something broken in your hardware.
Is the front camera working?
I guess you have already tried a different camera app.
Brgds
Sent from my phone

ypsmav said:
By restoring to stock, do you mean flashing a TOT or KDZ file?
If you have done that and still not working you have something broken in your hardware.
Is the front camera working?
I guess you have already tried a different camera app.
Brgds
Sent from my phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply. I used the kdz file. The front camera is working. The thing is that yesterday the camera worked for a few minutes just fine. It's strange.

Fr33aKk said:
Sorry for the late reply. I used the kdz file. The front camera is working. The thing is that yesterday the camera worked for a few minutes just fine. It's strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm... sounds strange... maybe your camera is partly broken, did you drop your phone or something before this problem? If so, the camera could have a bad connection to the motherboard or is about to die.

Saratoga79 said:
Ummm... sounds strange... maybe your camera is partly broken, did you drop your phone or something before this problem? If so, the camera could have a bad connection to the motherboard or is about to die.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right? I've never dropped it. I replaced the camera so I wonder if it can somehow be a software problem...

Just wanted to bump this as I STILL have this problem...

Same issue here, was running fulmics for several months with no issue, then suddenly and out of nowhere my camera app started to fail. At first the front camera looked stretched and weird and some app buttons dissapeared such as flash, but I could still choose front or rear camera and both worked fine. Then it got worse and the button to switch cameras dissapeared completely. I tried re flashing fulmics, tried xenon rom, tried back to stock... nothing so far. I tried booting in safe mode and the camera app gives me the option to choose rear camera but when I press it the app crashes.
I hope someone can find a fix for this!

nemor44 said:
Same issue here, was running fulmics for several months with no issue, then suddenly and out of nowhere my camera app started to fail. At first the front camera looked stretched and weird and some app buttons dissapeared such as flash, but I could still choose front or rear camera and both worked fine. Then it got worse and the button to switch cameras dissapeared completely. I tried re flashing fulmics, tried xenon rom, tried back to stock... nothing so far. I tried booting in safe mode and the camera app gives me the option to choose rear camera but when I press it the app crashes.
I hope someone can find a fix for this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No software update inbetween? Sounds like a hardware issue, try cleaning your connections and reattaching the Camera tightly.
The camera module is extremely close to the problematic overheating chip in the G3, so it's not impossible something got messed up.

I have Exactly the same problem.. Pleaaase someone give us a solution.. Fulmics ruined our phones

I have that same problem. Resolved?
There were fulmics rum. I decided to replace it with RR rom. The rear camera did not work, the flash did not work.
I installed a different kernel but it was not resolved.
Help plsss

Camera Issue

Had to do a Zoom meeting and figured I would just use my tablet but found that neither camera was working. I rebooted, cleared cache, then finally did a factory reset to no avail.
The stock camera app doesn't give me anything on either camera.
I tried installing a 3rd party camera app and found that the front facing camera works, but I can't get the rear camera to do anything- it just stays black. Also, if I start with the front facing camera that is working, when I switch it to the rear camera, the app hangs with what was showing on the front facing camera.
Is there a chance that this is a software problem? Has anybody else had any issues like this? It is totally up to date, stock software. No root, no drops, cracks, nothing. Tablet could sell as brand new so I don't think it could be an issue from any sort of bending or impact.
Any help would be appreciated. I have searched all the normal forums and sites for camera issues but have found nothing. I also created a case with Samsung last week with absolutely no response.

Strange! Since you have never modified your device, first thing that comes to mind would be to clear data of camera app but since u already did a factory reset, try flashing stock firmware again. Could very well be a hardware problem, had a similar problem with my iphone. Take it to the samsung service centre if flashing doesn't work. Btw, has your camera worked well in the past? Gcb

mayank_nigam said:
Strange! Since you have never modified your device, first thing that comes to mind would be to clear data of camera app but since u already did a factory reset, try flashing stock firmware again. Could very well be a hardware problem, had a similar problem with my iphone. Take it to the samsung service centre if flashing doesn't work. Btw, has your camera worked well in the past? Gcb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Yes, the camera worked perfectly fine before, just hardly ever used it.