Android Camera not Working, “Unfortunately, camera has stopped” error

If there’s one distinctive point between different price grades in the smartphone industry, that’s the camera. But what can your ultra-zoom 4-lens setup do if the software is falling behind? Even worse, if it’s not functioning at all. Users are reporting the “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error on Android. It seems that the camera crashes in certain scenarios for some of them.

If you are affected by this persistent error, learn below how to fix it for good.

Table of contents:

1. Clear cache and data
2. Check camera permissions
3. Update your firmware
4. Wipe cache partition
5. Use APK to flash an older version if possible
6. Switch to a 3rd-party solution temporarily
7. Reset your device to factory settings

Android Camera not Working and keeps stopping

If the camera app keeps stopping and you are unable to take photos or record videos, reboot your device. If the issue persists, clearing the local cache and data should make it work. On the other hand, if you are still experiencing issues, try with permissions and alternative solutions we noted below.

1. Clear cache and data

The first thing to do is to force stop the Camera app and clear locally stored cache and data. We might be looking at corruption within the app configuration and that’s easily addressed this way.

Follow these instructions to clear cache and data from the Camera app on Android:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Apps & notifications.
3. Open All apps.
4. Open Camera.
5. Tap Force stop.
6. Now, tap Storage.
7. Clear cache and data and restart your device.

2. Check camera permissions

The next thing is definitely worth inspecting the permissions that are granted to the Camera. Navigate again to Camera in Settings and ensure that all required permissions are granted.

Follow these steps to check permission settings for the Camera app on Android:

1. Navigate to Settings > Apps & notifications > All apps > Camera again.
2. Tap Permissions.
3. Make sure to grant all required permissions to the Camera app and look for improvements.

If the “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error still occurs on Android, move to the next step.

3. Update your firmware

If you are at least slightly familiar with the state of current camera implementations in contemporary Android devices, you know that the multitude of lenses doesn’t mean much if your image processing software is not good. That’s why many OEMs tend to tweak software frequently and that leads to bugs and bugs lead to crashes. However, the fix is usually one update away.

Here’s how to update firmware on your handset and hopefully fix the Camera app:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose System.
3. Tap System update.
4. Check for updates.
5. Install any available firmware update.

4. Wipe the cache partition

Going a step forward from clearing cache and data, you can also wipe the whole cache partition. That can’t be done within the System UI but rather from the Recovery menu.

Follow these steps to Wipe the cache partition on your device:

1. Power off your device.
2. Press and hold the power button and the volume up key simultaneously to enter the Recovery menu.
3. By using the volume keys for navigation, select Wipe cache partition.
4. Press the Power button to confirm the selection.
5. Restart your device.

5. Use APK to flash an older version if possible

If your OEM offers its stock camera solution to users of other OEMs, you can locate an older version and, so to speak, downgrade. Maybe the latest version is having an overlying issue which is simple to overcome with an older version sideloaded with an APK.

Follow these steps to install an older version of your stock Camera app:

1. Navigate to APK Mirror.
2. If your OEM has the stock Camera app on the Store, it should also be on the website.
3. Find an older APK version of the Camera app and download it.
4. Allow installation from third-party sources and install the camera.
5. Restart your device and look for improvements.

6. Switch to a 3rd-party solution temporarily

Depending on your device’s popularity and SoC you have (Qualcomm Snapdragon is favored), the probability of having a decent Gcam port rises.

So, until the OEM resolves the problem with the stock Camera app, you can look for and install Gcam for your device. Keep in mind that not all devices have the Cam2API standard that allows full usage of various lenses and features, but a lot of them do.

• If you want to know everything about Gcam ports for Android and how to install and use them, we got you covered.

Alternatively, you can install a third-party camera from the Play Store, like Open Camera, and use it until everything is sorted out.

7. Reset your device to factory settings

Finally, if none of the previous steps worked for you, we can only recommend resetting your device to factory settings. Yes, you can also wait until the issue is sorted out but that’s often too much of a hassle for many of us.

Here’s how to reset your device to factory settings:

1. Back up your data.
2. Open Settings.
3. Choose System.
4. Select Reset options.
5. Tap Erase all.
6. Confirm selection.

With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more articles like this.