Samsung 'Camera failed' error: causes and fixes, step by step

Errors like “Camera failed” or “Cannot launch Camera” on Galaxy phones don’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with the camera itself.

Samsung’s official troubleshooting page (UK) mentions that the issue could be either temporary or caused by a faulty camera module, so it’s always best to eliminate potential software issues before jumping the gun and taking your phone in for service.

With that in mind, we’ve pulled together the fixes mentioned across Samsung’s various support pages in the most logical order (starting with the quick and easy stuff, and ending with a trip to the service centre).

Match what you see to a likely cause

Try these steps in order until your camera turns on. To help you find the right place to start, use the table to identify your camera’s symptoms. You can also browse through the following topics until you find one that solves your problem. If you are not seeing an error but instead the Camera icon is missing, refer to our camera icons guide to learn how to unhide or find the Camera icon. If the camera opens but won't focus, see our camera not focusing guide instead.

Restart the phone

Of Samsung’s own troubleshooting pages on this issue, nearly all of them advise you to restart your phone. This fixes a whole lot of temporary glitches and issues. Here’s how:

Swipe down from the top of the screen to access the quick panel. Tap on the power button icon and select Restart. Alternatively, if your screen freezes, press and hold down the Side key and Volume down key together for more than 7 seconds until the phone restarts, advises Samsung UK.

Clear the Camera app's cache, then its data

If clearing the app’s cache didn’t help, you may need to clear its data (this step is on Samsung’s UK website, but not its website for the Gulf and Levant). Corrupted temporary files could be what’s stopping the app from loading properly.

1. 1

   Clear the cache

   Head over to Settings > Apps > Camera > Storage. You should see options like App, Data, Cache and Total. Tap on Clear cache. As per Samsung’s Levant support page, reboot your phone and check if that helps.

2. 2

   Clear the data if it still fails

   If clearing the cache didn’t do the trick, try clearing the app data instead (tap Clear data > Delete on the aforementioned screen). Samsung says this will reset all camera-related settings to factory defaults but won’t delete your photos/videos.

3. 3

   Test every lens

   Launch the Camera app. Try tapping all the different zoom levels. Also make sure to check if the problem persists in selfie mode (flip to front camera). If one still fails, make a note of which camera doesn’t work.

Please note that any customised settings will need to be reconfigured as clearing the app data will reset all settings to default. All settings available in One UI 9 are covered in detail in our camera settings guide, listed in the same order as they appear in the menu.

Rule out other apps with Safe mode

Safe mode turns off all downloaded apps on startup. If your camera app works in Safe mode, then an app you downloaded is likely causing your camera to stop working. Both Samsung’s website in the US and its website in the Philippines use it this way.

1. 1

   Start Safe mode

   Long press Power off from the power menu and tap Safe mode when prompted. Confirm you’re in Safe mode by the message at the bottom of your screen.

2. 2

   Test the camera

   Try all of your camera lenses and confirm whether or not the issue persists. If the problem doesn’t occur while in Safe mode, a third-party app you installed is likely the cause.

3. 3

   Remove suspects one by one

   Uninstall recently installed apps one by one (restarting your phone in between) until you figure out which app is to blame.

4. 4

   Leave Safe mode

   Power off your phone and wait for it to completely shut down before powering back on.

If the camera app still doesn’t work in Safe mode, it may not be a problem with any downloaded apps. Continue to the next solution. Source: Samsung Philippines.

Check permissions and apps that hold the camera

According to Samsung’s Australian support page, the green dot in the top right corner of the screen indicates that an app is using your phone’s camera or microphone. Swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers and tap the green dot icon to see what app is using it, then close the app. This could be a scanning app or even a video call you forgot you left open.

Open the quick panel and check if you’ve disabled camera access for all apps (as per Samsung’s Australian support page).

Open Settings > Apps > Camera > Permissions (as per Samsung’s Gulf support page) and make sure Camera is under Allowed. Also turn off the torch if it’s on, then try opening Camera again.

Update One UI and the Camera app

Navigate to Settings > Software update > Download and install to download and install software updates for your phone, as Samsung US suggests.

To check for updates for the Camera app, open Camera, then Quick controls (four-dot button) > Settings (gear icon) > About Camera > Update (if applicable). If you're already using the latest version of Camera, this will be indicated on the About Camera screen (shown here on Galaxy S25 Ultra with One UI 9), along with the current version number.

Samsung US notes that you'll need some available storage space in order to download and install updates, and suggests freeing up space with Device care if your storage is full.

Samsung advises that after certain Google security updates some budget models may show the warning because Google Play system components are out of date. Before rebooting your phone, please check for any pending Google Play system updates in Settings > Security and privacy > Updates > Google Play system update and install them if available.

Affected models (listed on Samsung’s Levant website as of October 2026):

• Galaxy A12
• Galaxy A13
• Galaxy A14
• Galaxy A21s
• Galaxy A04s
• Galaxy M12
• Galaxy M13
• Galaxy XCover 5

When one camera fails, or the phone was dropped or wet

Try clearing the data of the Camera app. If clearing the app's data doesn't sort the issue out, the fault could be down to a problem with the phone's camera module. This is particularly likely if the problem affects one camera and not the others (i.e. the front camera displays a warning when you open the Camera app but the main camera works fine, or one of the zoom levels isn't working but the others are).

Samsung Members also has a test tool for your phone's cameras, and you can follow the steps we show you at the end of this page to try it out and take note of what happens when you test the affected lens.

Had a tumble? If your phone recently took a knock, inspect the lens cover first to see if it's cracked. If the quick fixes don't help, Samsung UK says you may need to get your phone checked out at a service centre to see what state the camera module is in.

If your phone isn’t water resistant, Samsung UK recommends switching it off straight away. Don’t plug the charger in until it’s completely dry, and don’t use a hair dryer or other form of heat to speed up the process. Get your phone checked even if it appears to be working, as it may still have moisture inside. Fog behind the lens after you come in from the cold is usually condensation, which our blurry photo guide covers.

Overheating messages

If the message is specific to the camera, “Exit Camera. Battery temperature too high.” (as worded on Samsung’s site for the Philippines), shut the camera app down and give your phone a breather before trying again.

If the message is the more general “Device cooling down”, take your phone’s case off and unplug it from any charger (per advice from Samsung’s US site) and wait until the alert disappears before resuming normal usage. And since recording high-res video counts as one of the more demanding things you can ask a phone to do (per Samsung’s overheating troubleshooting page), you may want to record at a lower res if you plan on shooting lots of video while things are hot (pun intended).

Reset settings inside the Camera app

If the Camera app opens fine but crashes in one camera mode, try resetting the app’s settings. Or if the problem began after changing a Camera setting, resetting the settings might solve the problem.

Samsung’s checklist for solving Camera problems in the Philippines calls this Method 1; Samsung US’s troubleshooting puts this tip second.

Note: If you’ve already cleared the Camera app’s data, skip this step. Clearing app data also resets app settings.

1. 1

   Open Camera settings

   Launch the Camera app. Tap the Quick controls (four-dot) button > Settings (gear icon). As of One UI 9 (Galaxy S25 Ultra, November 2026), scroll down to Reset settings (just below Permissions).

2. 2

   Reset

   Tap Reset settings. In the box that opens, tap Reset to confirm the “Reset camera settings?” question. Open the app from your home screen again.

Diagnostics, Maintenance mode and repair

If none of these help, check whether the problem is hardware-related before you shell out for repairs.

On One UI 9, you’ll find these tools in Settings > Device care > Additional care. Here you can access tools such as Software update, Diagnostics, and Maintenance mode (as seen on Galaxy S25 Ultra with One UI 9 in November 2026).

1. 1

   Open Diagnostics

   Tap Settings > Device care > Diagnostics to go to the Support tab of the Samsung Members app (on older software, open Samsung Members yourself and tap Support, as Samsung’s UK, Australian and Indian pages describe).

2. 2

   Run the camera check

   Select Phone checkup under Phone diagnostics and allow camera access. Wait for the automatic checks to complete. Alternatively, Samsung’s support pages say you can stop the Phone checkup and select Camera to run a camera test.

3. 3

   Read the result

   When the test is complete, check the results summary. If the test result for Camera indicates an issue, or the same lens keeps failing, take note of it before requesting a repair. Each check will have a result of either Normal, Issues or Not tested.

Samsung’s One UI 9 announcement also refers to a new Warranty and care option in Settings, which can check warranty status, run diagnostics, give you an idea of repair costs and even book in repairs.

This one isn’t available on all Samsung Galaxy phones, as a footnote says some features vary by market, and we didn’t see it on our Galaxy S25 Ultra (European model) running One UI 9 in November 2026, so start from Device care if you can’t find it.

If you’re handing your phone to someone else for a repair, for example, Samsung recommends that you enable Maintenance mode, which will start Samsung Galaxy phones up into a separate user that hides your personal data.

It’s buried away at the end of Device care > Additional care, and Samsung UK says that it’s a good idea to use it if you’re taking your phone in for a repair.

When enabled, Samsung says that only preinstalled apps will be available, and your personal data (like photos and messages) won’t be viewable and any changes won’t be saved.

Samsung Galaxy phones offer Temporary cloud backup and External storage backup options before you tap Turn on, and you’ll need your screen lock to disable it again.

You can also book a repair online with Samsung or drop by a Samsung service centre. Note that Samsung (US and Philippines) lists performing a factory reset as the last thing to try before getting your phone serviced. Factory resetting will erase everything on your phone and it may not resolve the issue, so back everything up first.

Copy your photos to a computer first with our PC transfer guide. Lost something during a reset or repair? Our guide to recovering deleted photos tells you where else you might find a copy. For what changed in the Camera app with the latest update, see One UI 9 camera and Gallery changes.