Apple iPhone 7 Plus Camera Issues: Blurry image, no flash, won’t focus, black screen, other camera app problems and errors [Troubleshooting Guide]

Several owners of the new Apple iPhone 7 Plus are recently complaining about the iPhone’s camera that is becoming faulty. Among the issues that were raised would include but not limited to a faulty camera shutter, black screen, flashes of purple or green, and color tinting.

Other users are also complaining about the rear camera that is not working and left with only one functional camera lens on their iPhone 7 Plus. Apple has not yet issued any comment or official statement, acknowledging any of the said issues with the camera on the new iPhone device. Hence, iPhone 7 Plus users who are experiencing any of these problems are left with an option to resort to temporary workarounds or potential solutions they can try on and deal with the problem without having to pay for a service fee.

But before anything else, if you have other concerns with your iPhone 7 Plus, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this new iPhone. If you need further assistance or if you can’t find what you’re looking for in that page, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s a free consultation service so you don’t have to worry about anything. Just give us more information about the problem and we’ll do our best to help you fix it.

What causes camera errors and problems to occur on your new iPhone?

Basing on the given specs alone, anyone can tell that Apple’s newest iPhone 7 Plus handset sports a great camera. But contrary to what most people had expected, atypical symptoms while using the camera app have already manifested at this very early stage. This makes more users of the new iPhone disappointed. So far, the root cause is not yet determined but others speculate that certain bug on the built-in camera app might be to blame. Meanwhile, other users began to encounter problems while using the stock camera app on their new iPhone 7 plus after installing the latest iOS software update. In this case, the problem can be tagged among other post-update issues, which require immediate fix from Apple.

Unless a hardware damage is present like when the phone got wet or was dropped and resulted to a broken camera, you still can try some workarounds to try to fix the problem on your end before taking it back to the retailer or ask for a replacement unit.

Possible Solutions and Workarounds

Just like any other device issues, camera errors and problems may occur at any time unexpectedly due to several reasons including hardware damage. Your iPhone may tend to accumulate hardware damage after instances of hard drops or exposure to liquid. While the symptoms may not show up immediately after the actual incident, it can and will always manifest at a later time.

You may opt to proceed with these steps if you’re willing to spend time troubleshooting the problem on your end before contacting Apple Support for further assistance and recommendations. Keep reading to learn how.

Note: Be sure to test the camera app after completing each of these steps to see if the problem has already been fixed. Otherwise, try other methods.

The following methods apply to the built-in or stock camera app on the new iPhone 7 Plus.

Step 1. Quit the camera app and restart your iPhone.

If this is the first time you encounter an error or problem while using the iPhone’s built-in camera application, then try to quit the app and then restart your device. Devices issues that are inflicted by minor software glitches are usually resolved by a restart or reboot on the device.

• To restart your iPhone 7 Plus, press and hold down the Sleep/Wake button until the red slider shows up on the screen. Drag the slider towards the option to turn your iPhone completely off. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again until the Apple logo appears. Your device will now reboot.

If your iPhone gets frozen or not responding, you can force it to restart instead.

• To force restart your iPhone 7 Plus, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and Volume Down button simultaneously for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears. Your iPhone should then reboot.

Forcing your iPhone to restart will not erase current contents on your device. Therefore it’s deemed a safe process to try. It’s a recommended workaround to deal with an issue on black screen or unresponsive buttons on the camera app.

Step 2. Force close apps.

There might be some other apps that went rogue, still running in the background and causing other apps including the stock camera app to become dysfunctional or unresponsive. If the camera app keeps freezing, then you can try to force close app with these steps:

Double-tap the Home key to view all recently used applications. These apps are actually not open but are still in standby mode. It’s created this way in order to help users navigate and multitask. When things go wrong with certain apps like when they become unresponsive, force closing them is recommended.

Locate the app to close, which in this case is the camera app. To close the application, swipe up on the app’s preview. Reboot your device and then restart or open the camera app again.

Step 3. Check the lens.

If you are prompted with a black screen or closed lens when you open the Camera app, make sure that nothing is blocking the camera lens. If you are using a case, try to remove it and then see what happens. Try both cameras by tapping the Camera Swap icon to switch between the front and back cameras and then see if the black screen only occurs on one camera or both. If it only happens to one of the cameras, then possibly the other camera is damaged and dysfunctional. In this case, you should contact your device carrier or Apple Support for other recommendations. You may also consider taking your device to an Authorized Service center for more help.

Step 4. Keep the camera lens clean.

Sometimes, it’s just dirt that’s causing your photos to show up blurred, out of focus or have dark spots on them. That said, ensure that the camera lens is clean. If necessary, you can clean the lens using a microfiber cloth to wipe dirt or debris inside the lens. Be sure to do it gently.

Step 5. Remove any metallic casing or magnetic lens.

The iPhone’s optical image stabilization can be interfered by a metallic case or magnetic lens, thereby causing blurred images, no focus or dark spots on the photos captured using the phone’s stock camera. To rule this out from the possible causes, try to take a picture without a metallic case or magnetic lens on your device then compare the quality of the results.

Step 6. Adjust focus.

Before you start recording a video or taking a photo, be sure to adjust the focus by tapping that object or person on the preview screen when taking pictures. Doing so will let you see the screen pulse, and as the camera adjusts, you’ll briefly go in and out of focus. Try to stay steady when you adjust the focus especially in photo mode. The camera will automatically refocus to the center if you move too far in any direction.

Step 7. Test the LED flash.

For the camera flash that is not working, testing the LED flash using the Control Center might be helpful. You can turn the flashlight off and then back on. If the LED flash does not work as a flashlight, contact Apple Support for it’s possible that it has been damaged and therefore it no longer works.

If the flash goes off every time or not working at all, try to check your flash settings by tapping the Flash icon (black lightning bolt) located on the upper left of the screen. Doing so will show you with more settings. Try to select a different setting.

Sometimes, you might see a message prompt saying that the flash is disabled especially when using the camera in taking extended video with flash on or using the iPhone in a very warm environment. In this case, all you need to do is to let your device cools down. That message should disappear by then.

Step 8. Check and ensure the camera app is not blocked.

In case the camera app is not showing on your Home screen, try to search for the app or check your iPhone Settings to make sure the app is not blocked. Just type camera on the search box or spotlight search, and then tap Camera app.

Alternatively, you can navigate to Settings-> General-> Restrictions-> then go to Allow section and make sure that the Camera is ON.

Step 9. Update iOS to the latest version.

Bug fixes and software enhancements are usually implemented by device manufacturers through software updates just like Apple does when rolling out major iOS updates. If you haven’t done it already, then check for any software update available for your device.

You can update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS wireless or manually. To update wirelessly or via OTA, you will need a stable Wi-Fi network connection. If you can’t see the update on your device, you can proceed with updating iOS manually through iTunes. Be sure to back up your device before you update.

While this may not guarantee a definite fix, updating iOS can help optimize your device functions, hence, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot this time.

• To check if an update is available, head over to Settings-> General-> Software Update. If an update is available, you will see a red circle with a corresponding number of updates available for your device. Just tap on Software Update to proceed.

Note: It may take longer for an update download and installation to finish especially with major software update that comes in bigger file size. So all you have to do is wait until it’s completely installed.

Step 10. Try other camera apps (third-party).

If the camera problem persists even after performing all workarounds suggested above, then you might as well now consider trying other camera apps than the stock camera on your iPhone. There are lots of third-party camera apps you can download from the App Store, if the stock app won’t work.

Contact your device carrier or Apple Support for other options.

If you are not comfortable using third-party apps, then you should contact your device carrier or Apple Support to escalate the problem and ask for further assistance or other options. At this point, you should also consider the possibility of hardware damage is present on your new iPhone 7 Plus, thus resulting to a malfunctioning built-in camera app. If your iPhone is still eligible for warranties, then you may avail of any of these warranties (repair or replacement) as you desire or per Apple Support’s recommendation.

Engage with us

If you have other issues with your Apple iPhone 7 Plus, we are always willing to help. Contact us through our iPhone issues questionnaire and provide us with all necessary information about your problem so we can find a solution to your issue.