Most of us have come to rely on smartphone technology that we are taken aback easily when even the smallest things seem to not work all of a sudden. Have you ever been in a situation when you get the following error: can’t error connect to camera on Android and would like to know have to fix it? Then, you have come to the right place.
If you have an Android smartphone or mobile device, you will probably love its camera. One of the reasons people choose Android over iPhone is their camera. But even if that were not necessarily a contributing factor in choosing an Android device, I would bet good money that you still use the camera a lot.
The very annoyin @Android Lollipop camera bug’s ruinin the whole exp.!Most times, get an error. @AndroidDev #Android pic.twitter.com/wvZjFk4XJn
— Amit Mehta (@AmitKO84) November 21, 2014
And the reason I do this is not just because that fits my own personal experience but also because I’ve observed how most people around me use their smart mobile devices.
These days it is quite rare to see people use actual cameras. Even though they are some pretty amazing digital cameras around, most people do not bother to buy a camera and use their smartphone or tablet as a camera in most situations instead.
Most people always go out with their smartphone, so whenever they decide to snap a picture or record a short video, well, they already have pretty much all the equipment they need.
Even a simple Android device can take professional looking pictures or video and, if nothing else, this means that you will not need to carry any additional equipment with you, which tends to come in very handy in most everyday situations and, even, when you are on vacation.
And this is why it can be extremely annoying (to say the least) when you get the “can’t connect to camera” error!
For sure, this problem can happen with other devices, not just with Android but because the solution to it would be different depending on what device that happens on, I will only focus on Android.
In this article, I will tell you everything you will ever need to know about this error including, of course, how to fix it.
Quick Video Fix
The fixes in this video helped a lot people fix the issue:
Why Does This Error Happen?
This question can have several answers.
If you get the following error message when trying to access the camera on your Android smartphone or smart mobile device: “Camera error: Can’t connect to the camera”, this means that there is a problem with either your device’s software or their hardware.
The way this error will manifest itself will be that when you try to launch the camera whether from the camera app directly or from another app such as an instant messenger (KIK, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, etc.), social media app (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.), or any other app, you will get a blank screen and, shortly after, the error message that I mentioned before, will also display.
Because this error can happen because of a variety of different issues, there is not just one possible fix. The solution to the problem will very much depend on what is actually causing the error in the first place.
Most people’s first instinct would be to turn off their smart mobile device and turn it back on. This sometimes works so it is worth trying, particularly if you are in a hurry to use the camera. However, when people do this, they often find that as soon they use another app or do something else with their smartphones, they are not able to go back to the camera app again.
Another problem that people who restart their Android devices as a quick fix for this “can’t connect to camera” error is that, if they try to make a video recording, they are often limited to low-quality video instead of the full quality video that their camera should be able to produce.
So, restarting the Android device is not really a solution to this error. There are a few much more effective things that you could try out. Since it is difficult to know what is causing the problem, I would suggest that you follow the possible fixes in the order in which they are presented below. You are also welcome to try out the different fixes in a random order but let me warn you that the possible fixes are presented here in order of complexity, starting with the less complex fixes.
1st Fix: Device Restart
The first possible fix would be restarting your device. As I said before in this article, this is not the ideal fix but, it might just work for you and, if it does, why would you want to try something more complicated!
But, because, I have already gone through that fix, the first possible fix (if we do not count restarting your Android device), would be turning on the Android safe mode feature. This is just another way of restarting your Android device but one that has some extra steps, so it is not altogether that obvious to most users.
Basically, what you will do by turning on the safe mode is that all the third-party apps that you have downloaded and installed on your Android device, will be safely and temporarily disable. So if you restart your device in safe mode and the camera works, you will know that the problem is one of the other apps.
So, in order to restart your Android device in safe mode, you will need to follow these simple steps:
- Grab your Android
- Hold down the power button for a few seconds, until the shutdown menu displays on the screen.
- Then tap on the power off option but holding that for a few seconds, until you get a message displaying on your screen.
- Once you are asked to confirm whether you would like to reboot to safe mode, confirm this.
Once your device has been restarted in safe mode, then head over to the camera. Take a few snaps, leave the app, launch it again and see if you can take a few more pictures. If the camera is working fine, you will know that the error lies with another app.
Restart your Android and start uninstalling all the third party apps (like the ones I mentioned before and others that have access to the camera) one by one. Every time you delete one, try to use the camera. This is the only way that you will know which one is causing the problem. Obviously, you can reinstall any of those apps later, if you still want to use them.
But, what happens if the camera application still does not work and deleting apps does not make any difference? Well, in that case, you would have narrowed down the problem to your camera app itself. If that is the case, then follow these steps:
- Grab your Android device.
- Go into the Android settings.
- Then go into Apps and locate the camera app.
- Uninstall any updates for the camera.
- Then, clear all the cache and data.
- Next, Force stop the camera app.
- Reinstall all the updates.
Once you have gone through all these steps, check out whether the camera app now works as you did before.
If none of this works then, try the next solution.
2nd Fix: Permissions Change
The second possible fix involves these steps:
- Grab your Android device.
- Go into the Android settings.
- Then go into Apps and locate the camera app.
- Tap on the permissions option.
- Finally, slide right to confirm.
- Finally, restart your Android device.
Once you have followed these steps, check out whether you can access and use your camera as you usually do.
3rd Fix: An Android Wipe
The next possible solution is about wiping your Android device. So, do not attempt unless you are okay with deleting everything on your device: every picture, every video, every audio file, every app, etc.
If you have gotten to this fix randomly, I would strongly recommend you try out the first two fixes as they are a lot less complex and you won’t wipe anything out.
All that being said, here are the steps you will need to follow to wipe everything out:
- Grab your Android device.
- Power it off.
- Hold down the following buttons down simultaneously: the volume down button and the power button. This action will restart your device. You should see an Android menu display.
- Using your volume button, navigate to the recovery mode option.
- Once you have located the recovery mode option, press the power mode to select it.
- Next, press and hold down the power button. This action will prompt different options to display on your screen.
- Locate the wipe cache partition, again using the volume button and press the power button once you have found it.
After you have followed these steps, start your Android device and check out the camera again.
Video Fix
The default data wipe tool in Android may not be enough to permanently eliminate personal data on your old device. CNET’s Dan Graziano shows you how to properly wipe your Android:
Popular Android Camera Apps
- Google Camera
- Camera Zoom FX
- Camera MX
- Camera360
- Moment Pro
- Cymera Camera
- VSCO
- A Better Camera
- Camera FV-5
- Camera MX
- DSLR Camera Pro
- Footej Camera
- Manual Camera
- ProShot
Summing Up
If none of the fixes I have gone through in this article does the trick and you are still unable to use the camera, then all that is left for your to try out will be performing a factory reset. But this should be your very last option.
Do you have any feedback on Fixed! Can’t Connect To Camera Error On Android or would you like to share your own tips with our readers? If so, please leave us a message in the comments section below!
