When the camera fails to initialize on your Samsung Galaxy S8 or on any Android smartphone, you will see the “Warning- Camera failed” or “Unfortunately, the camera has stopped” error.
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Before moving on to troubleshooting, let’s see what these two errors tell us. When the error indicates that the camera has stopped, it refers to the camera app that crashed for some reason. More often than not, it’s a problem with the app. However, when it is said that the camera failed, it could mean that the sensor itself has not been initialized, so the problem is hardware in nature.
I mentioned two situations in this article but both show the failed camera error. Although they may be the same, their triggers are different and that’s what we need to examine. So continue reading below to learn more about this Samsung Galaxy S8 error “camera failure” and learn what to do to solve.
The fact is that every time you open the camera app, the sensor automatically prepares itself in the shooting position, as soon as you press the capture or recording button on the screen. Along with the sensor, there are other services that have to work with the camera, such as the Gallery app that manages the photos taken by the camera.
All these things happen in a fraction of a second and if there is one thing that does not load, this may not make the camera work on your Galaxy S8. So here’s what I suggest you do for this kind of problem.
Samsung Galaxy S8 “camera failure” error [Resolution Guide]
1) Close all the apps that could use the camera
There are many apps that use the camera and while they are running in the background, the main camera app may not be able to use the hardware.
This could be the reason why you receive the “Camera failed” warning whenever you open the camera app. Apps like Facebook, Instagram and other instant messaging applications are often the cause of this problem.
If you also like to record the screen while playing, even screen recording apps can cause this error. Therefore, take some time to close all the apps running in the background.
- Tap the Recent Apps recent Apps icon (bottom left).
- To close, scroll up to scroll the app upwards.
After closing all the apps in the background, try opening the camera app and see if it works this time. If the error persists, switch to the next effective solution.
2) Force reboot to fix the error Samsung Galaxy S8 “camera failure” error
It is also possible that the cause of the problem is a system error. These things always happen and you won’t be able to notice them except because of their effects on your phone’s performance. Exclude this possibility by performing the forced reboot procedure:
- Press and hold the Volume down key and the power button for at least 10 seconds.
This will restart the phone like a normal reboot but the memory will be updated and all apps and services reloaded. If doing so solves the problem then it is just some minor software related problems. Then, once the phone has become active, open Camera and see if the error “Camera failed” appears again. If the problem persists, proceed to the next procedure.
3) Use the Galaxy S8 camera in safe mode
Third-party apps or those downloaded from the Play Store and installed manually can cause the pre-installed apps to crash, particularly if those apps use the same service as the integrated ones. That is why it is necessary to know if they have something to do with this problem or not because if so, then we are already halfway to solving it.
To find out, you need to start the phone in safe mode:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the power key beyond the model name screen that appears on the screen.
- When SAMSUNG appears on the screen, release the power button.
- Immediately after releasing the power button, press and hold the Volume down button.
- Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device restarts.
- When the safe mode is displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen, release the Volume down key.
As soon as the phone enters this mode, open the camera and see if the error continues to be displayed. Assuming that the error is not displayed when the phone is in this mode, then it is confirmed that one or some of the installed apps are causing the problem.
The next challenge is to find the app, restore it and, if it doesn’t work, uninstall it. Then, the search starts from the apps installed before the problem starts. If you suspect an app, delete the cache and data first…
- From the Home screen, scroll up to an empty spot to open the taskbar.
- Tap Settings > Apps.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap the 3-point icon > Show system apps to view the pre-installed apps.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear cache.
- Tap Clear data, then tap OK.
If the problem persists, uninstall the app…
- From the Home screen, scroll up to an empty spot to open the taskbar.
- Tap Settings > Apps.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap the 3-point icon > Show system apps to view the pre-installed apps.
- Touch the desired application.
- Tap Uninstall.
- Tap Uninstall again to confirm.
On the other hand, if the “camera failure” error is displayed even in safe mode, the problem could be firmware or hardware. In this case, go to the next solution.
4) Back up important files and restore the Galaxy S8
We just have to return the phone to the factory default settings to see if it has anything to do with the firmware. However, since all files and data will be deleted when you reset the device, a backup is required. Then, disable the phone’s anti-theft function and then you can proceed with the reset.
However, before restoring, make sure you create a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted during the process. Also, remove your Google account from the phone after the backup so you don’t get stuck out of the device after the restore.
Once everything is ready and ready, follow these steps to restore your Galaxy S8 that is plagued by the “camera failure” error.
- Turn off the device.
- Hold down the Volume up and Power keys.
- When the Galaxy S8 logo appears, release all three keys.
- Your Galaxy S8 will continue to boot into recovery mode. When a black screen appears with blue and yellow text, proceed to the next step.
- Press the Volume Down key several times to highlight “clear data / restore factory settings”.
- Press the Power button to select.
- Press the Volume Down button until “Yes” is highlighted.
- Press the Power button to select and start the total reset.
- When the general recovery is complete, “Restart the system now” is highlighted.
- Press the power button to restart the device.
After restoring, do not restore the files and apps yet. Instead, try using the camera app first to see if the camera error has disappeared because otherwise, it is very possible at this point that the problem is with the hardware.
However, if the error is no longer displayed, reset the apps one at a time and continue to test the camera. This way, you would know which of the installed apps is causing the problem.
