Apple fans buy #iPhone6 and #iPhone6plusdevices for a lot of reasons but one glaring reason for most of them is the fact that the camera is top-of-the-line. Understandably, there’s a lot of frustration for many of them when their camera starts to act up. In this post, we answer some camera-related problems for this device. We hope you’ll find this material useful.
If you are looking for solutions to your own #iOS issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:
Problem 1: iPhone 6 Plus auto-focus not working
Hi. I have a problem with my iPhone 6 plus camera. The autofocus feature is not working and it seems to be permanently focused to close distance. I have taken it to an Apple official repair representative in my country and they have replaced the camera according to the Apple iSight replacement program. Despite this the problem still exists and they told me that the problem is probably with the iPhone motherboard. Note that I have tried resetting the device and setting up the device as new but no change. Is there anything else I can try? Thanks. — Andreas H
Solution: Hi Andreas H. There are three methods of achieving auto-focus in smartphones today:
- Contrast-detection auto-focus
- Phase-detection auto-focus
- Laser auto-focus
Apple is using Phase-detection auto-focus technology in their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This technology, named Focus Pixels by Apple, uses the phone’s computer to analyze the light that goes through the lens of the rear camera. It then compares light from two apertures located at the sides of the lens to achieve focus. Basically, the heavy lifting that comes with evaluating and processing the images you’re trying to capture is done by your phone’s computer. The resulting product depends on a number of factors including ambient lighting, the condition of the lens, and the state of the computer (camera). If all the necessary factors fall into place, you’ll get a focused image. If not, one of such factors must be missing or malfunctioning.
Although Apple never gave specifics regarding the problem, we believe that the problem is due to bad hardware, probably a bad camera assembly, that’s the culprit. If the problem is coding-related, Apple would have simply released a patch to address the problem. Unfortunately, what this means for you is that there’s no fix for this issue at a user level. There’s no amount of software tweaks that you can do to fix the issue at all. You’ll need to return the phone and hope that they’ll be able to give you a good working one unit this time. If the problem is motherboard-related, then Apple must give you with a phone that has a good motherboard. We know for a fact that there are millions of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus around the world without any auto-focus problems at all so giving you a “bad motherboard” excuse is lame. Kindly go back to Apple and demand that they address the issue.
Problem 2: iPhone 6S Plus rear camera not working
The rear camera on my iPhone 6s Plus has stopped working. All I see is a very thin line of picture at the top of the screen and the rest is black. I have no idea what happened. This happened about a week ago. I used it in the morning and it was fine, I tried to use it later in the day and it was like this. I have restarted it and used the home and power button to reset with no luck. I can use the front camera. I’ve tried other camera apps with the same result. I cannot figure out what happened and why this has stopped working all of a sudden. I use my phone to take pictures and videos daily so this is causing me a lot of stress. — Trendsetterbna
Solution: Hi Trendsetterbna. If your phone was not misused, dropped, or exposed to water, heat, or too much cold, there’s a chance that the camera app may have simply failed. To fix the issue, consider doing the following:
Install iOS and app updates
This is the first troubleshooting step that you must do. Some known bugs are usually fixed come a new system or app update so be sure to double check if everything is up-to-date. All apps must be updated as well so be sure to check each one and not just iOS.
Restart your iPhone
We know you’ve already tried restarting your device before contacting us but we would like to remind you that you have to do it again, especially after updating your apps. It’s a simple but sometimes necessary step in fixing minor bugs. Once you’ve restarted the phone, launch the camera app again to check if rear camera issue has been fixed.
Force close camera app
The next logical troubleshooting for this case is to see if force closing camera app will make a difference. Here’s how:
- Double-click the Home button to show your most recently used apps.
- Find the app to close by swiping right or left.
- Swipe up on the app’s preview to close the app.
Do a full restore
The last software troubleshooting step that you can do is to restore the phone from a previous backup, or as a new device. Here’s how to do that:
- Create a backup of your files. You can do that in a number of ways but the fastest and most effective way is by using iTunes in your PC or Mac. If you don’t want to create a backup at all, you can simply erase everything on the phone by following the steps in this link.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer with the cable that came with your phone.
- We assume you remember your phone’s passcode so simply enter it when you’re prompted for it.
- Select your iPhone once iTunes asks you for the specific device.
- Once you’re in the Summary panel or screen, select the option that will restore your device (Restore).
- Confirm by clicking on Restore button.
- Wait for a few moments while iTunes restores your device to its factory settings. It may also take some time if iTunes will need to install an updated operating system version.
- After this factory reset, all software settings should be restored to their defaults.
Contact Apple for more support
Should all our suggestions above won’t fix the problem, there must be a hardware malfunction that causes the trouble. It can be the rear camera assembly, or any other component that’s involved with the former. To fix the issue, send the phone in to Apple.
Problem 3: iPhone 6 Plus front camera is blurry when taking photo or video
iPhone 6plus. I have noticed since the beginning of last week that the front facing camera is blurry in still or video mode. I have attempted the Apple recommended steps listed on your page including: Making sure the camera lens is clean with a microfiber cloth. There’s nothing blocking the camera lens. I’ve Ive removed the case. I’ve Adjusted the focus by tapping on the object in the preview screen. I’ve made sure that HDR is set to Auto or Off. I’ve done all available software updates available for the phone plus a factory reset by setting up the phone as a new device. I’ve checked with Apple support to see if my phone’s serial number fell into the replacement range, but it did not. I continue to miss out on preserving my four children’s memorable events. Please help. — Michael Mtinsley115
Solution: Hi Michael. The circumstances in your case may be slightly different from Trendsetterbna above but the troubleshooting should still be the same, so please check our suggestions above. A situation like this can either be caused by a software glitch or hardware malfunction. If a full restore did not help at all, it’s time that you let Apple know of the problem. We’re not sure it’s still covered by a 1-year warranty so you may have to invest in a repair fee for this one.
Problem 4: iPhone 6 front camera stopped working after screen replacement
Good day. I recently had to change my screen because it cracked. The place that I used was ubreakifix, I’m not sure if you’re familiar with them. Anyway, the screen was replaced and works perfectly but my front camera no longer works. I took it back to them and they hanged the whole front camera part and it still isn’t working for some reason. I did a factory restore and still the problems persist, I live in Trinidad so the option of carrying it into the Apple Store isn’t possible. Can you give me some advice as to the best course of action I should take? Regards. — Brathwaite.marc
Solution: Hi Brathwaite.marc. Replacing the front camera is relatively easy to do but care must still be taken in reassembling it. If the technician damaged a flex cable or misaligned the pin near the microphone, that may be enough to make the front camera non-functional. If you’re positive that the front camera was not damaged when the screen was initially cracked, you must bring the phone back to the shop so they can replace it with a new assembly.
Alternatively, you can replace the front camera yourself but you’ll need some tools and the necessary replacement part for it. We don’t provide hardware troubleshooting and solutions but you can easily find good guides in Youtube to help you.