UNFORTUNATELY, CAMERA HAS STOPPED” ERROR ON GALAXY NOTE 7

UNFORTUNATELY, CAMERA HAS STOPPED” ERROR ON GALAXY NOTE 7

Apart from reports that the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may explode or catch fire during or after charging, some owners also reported to have encounter errors like “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” and “Warning: Camera failed” the moment they open the camera app to take some pictures.

In this post, I will tackle these two error messages and provide some troubleshooting procedures you may use to fix them. The first error can be just a minor app issue while the second one can be a problem with the hardware. We won’t know for sure what the problem with your phone is if we won’t try to troubleshoot it.

As I said earlier, this error message can be just a problem with the app itself. Obviously, it speaks of the Camera app that crashed or stopped working for some reason. The rule of thumb is when an error messages speaks of a specific app, troubleshoot the app itself and that’s what we’re going to do here so try to follow the steps below:

Step 1: Reboot your phone

Don’t just jump into more complicated troubleshooting procedures, instead, try the simpler ones first especially if it’s the first time this error pops up.

A reboot might be able to fix this issue because if it occurred without apparent reason, it might be just a glitch in the system or app.

Step 2: Boot your phone in safe mode

This is to isolate the problem; you would know if one of the third-party apps is causing the problem or if it’s a problem with the Camera app itself. It is imperative you determine if it’s a problem with the pre-installed app or not so that you will know what to do next. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

1. Turn your Galaxy Note 7 off.
2. Press the Power key and hold it past the screen that shows the model name of the device.
3. When Samsung logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume down button.
4. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device successfully booted up.
5. Once you see “Safe mode” on the bottom left corner of the display, release the Volume Down button.

If the error still pops up in safe mode, it means that the problem is probably with the app or the firmware, otherwise, you need to find the third-party app that’s causing the problem and either disable or uninstall it.

Step 3: Clear cache and data of the Camera app

Do this if the problem still occurs in safe mode. This will delete all caches of the app as well as reset it to its default settings. More often than not, this procedure can fix minor app problems like this one (if it is indeed a minor app problem).

1. From the Home screen, tap Apps icon.
2. Find and tap Settings, then touch Applications.
3. Find and touch Camera.
4. Touch Storage.
5. Tap Clear cache.
6. Tap Clear data, then OK.

Step 4: Backup your files and data and reset your phone

If deleting the cache and data didn’t fix the problem, then the one sure fire way to fix it is by doing a reset. I am sure factory reset will fix the issue so that should be the next thing you need to do but make sure you backup all your data and files as they’ll all be deleted:

1. Backup your data and files saved in the phone’s internal storage.
2. Remove your Google account to deactivate the anti-theft function of the phone.
3. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
4. Find and touch Settings.
5. Go to Cloud and accounts.
6. Touch Backup and reset.
7. Tap Factory data reset, then Reset device.
8. If you have turned on the screen lock, enter your PIN or password.
9. Touch Continue.
10. Touch Delete All.

If by any chance the factory reset failed, then do the master reset:

1. Backup your data and files saved in the phone’s internal storage.
2. Remove your Google account to deactivate the anti-theft function of the phone.
3. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
4. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
5. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
6. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
7. Using the Volume Down button, highlight the option ‘wipe data / factory reset’’ and press the Power key to select it.
8. Press the Volume Down button a few times to highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
9. It may take a few seconds to complete the reset so just wait.
10. Once completed, the option ‘Reboot system now’ must be highlighted, so press the Power button to restart your phone.
11. The Note 7 will then boot up normally.