The camera is one of the most used applications on a smartphone. It is therefore, essential that it works perfectly without any hiccups while out to capture those precious moments. Lately, many Galaxy S20 owners reported about the camera not working and they are not sure why?
In this article, we’ll discuss some effective solutions you can try to fix camera not working issues on the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.
How to Fix Camera Not Working Issues on Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra
1. Close and Restart the camera app again
Most often simply closing and restarting the camera app can fix the problem. The camera app may have freezed due to some software glitch and restarting it will refresh its functions back to normal.
To close the camera app, follow the steps below:
- Touch and hold the Recent apps key on the bottom left corner.
- Find the camera app in the recent applications and tap the X icon on the top right corner.
Now, open the camera app again from the Home screen and see if the error has cleared.
2. Reboot your phone
If the above solution does not work, try rebooting the phone. By force rebooting, you are clearing the phone’s internal memory and also reloading all services and apps. This can fix the problem if the camera was working fine prior to the issue.
To reboot the phone, follow the steps below:
- Press and hold the side button and volume down key together until the Power Menu appears.
- When the Power Menu appears, tap the “Power Off” or “Restart” button.
If you turn the phone off, hold the Side button down for few seconds until the Samsung logo appears onscreen. Your phone will fully boot within a minute.
Once the phone has fully booted, relaunch the camera app again and check if the error has gone.
3. Clear the camera data and cache
Clearing the camera cache and data will reset the camera app and its services. This can often fix problem when the issue is caused by some minor app related malfunction. To do this procedure, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings
- Next, tap on Apps
- Navigate to Camera app and tap on it
- Now, tap on Storage
- Tap Clear cache on the bottom right
- Next, tap Clear data and click OK to confirm
Once you have done this, open the camera and check if it is still not working.
4. Update apps
Check if there are new updates available for the apps installed on your phone including the camera app. Sometimes the bugs in the camera app or other apps may cause performance and incompatibility issues especially if one app is dependent on another app. Keeping the apps up-to date not only removes all known bugs but also ensure proper functioning of the whole app ecosystem. To check for updates, follow the below procedure.
- Open the Apps tray from the Home screen
- Tap Play Store > Menu > My apps & games
- Tap Update all to update all applications with updates available
- Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application
- To auto-update apps, tap Menu > Settings > Auto-update apps
5. Wipe system cache partition
A system cache partition is a memory storage allocated by Android system to store frequently accessed files and data. It makes future access to those files and data faster thereby allowing quick loading of the apps. However, overtime this cache storage may fill up and take up space on your device. This will result in performance issues and abnormal behavior when you run apps including the camera app. So it is important to clear this cache from time to time.
Here’s how to clear system cache partition.
- Turn off the device
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby/Power key.
- Continue to hold both keys until Android Recovery menu options appear
- Press the Volume down key and navigate to Wipe cache partition
- Press Bixby/Power key to select
- Press the Volume down key to highlight Yes, then press the Bixby/Power key to select
- When the process is complete, Reboot system now is highlighted
- Press the Bixby/Power key to restart the device.
6. Factory reset your phone
Perform this option only if all other solutions fail to fix the problem. This procedure will erase all data including apps, files and settings therefore it is important to backup all your important files and data before proceeding with this operation.
To restore your device to factory setting, follow the steps below:
- Open Settings from your home screen
- Tap on General management
- Tap on Reset
- Tap on Factory data reset
- Scroll down and tap on the Reset button
- Tap the Delete all button to proceed with the reset
After the reset process is complete, your phone will restart. Now launch the camera app and check if the problem persists. If the problem is still not resolved, it is recommended to check with a technician for further diagnosis.