The Google Camera app, exclusive to the company’s Pixel phones, recently received a flood of one-star ratings on the Play Store. In fact, its overall rating has declined in the last year and a half from 3.8 stars to 3.3, and the details of most complaints may indicate that the well-known Pixel camera curse is spreading to affect more devices. However, Google tells us that there is no known application or software issue related to the issue, suggesting that the apparent increase in customer complaints is due to hardware damage.
To put it in context, over the last year or so, reports of problems with the Pixel 2 and 3 series cameras have increased, and the nature of the problem indicates that it is not a software problem. For some, the rear camera simply stops working, displaying a black screen when the app loads, emitting an error message (like the one below) or crashing completely. The problem may be consistent or the camera may work occasionally for short periods. The problem affects the original Google Camera app and third-party Snapchat apps for Duo when trying to use the rear camera. Troubleshooting steps, such as cleaning application data, factory resets, and even reversing system software apparently they cannot solve the problem.
A symptom of the problem with Google Camera, but it also affects third-party applications.
Some customers believe that a software update triggered the problem, as many reports claim that the problem first appeared immediately after an update. Others theorized that even if the changes in the software were not directly responsible for the inconsistent failures, it is possible that something else happening at the same time could be – phones tend to get hot during the installation of major updates. However, these claims may simply be the result of time; Pixels receive more updates than basically any other Android phone, and people like to blame updates generally when things go wrong as a more visible trigger for change.
Ultimately, we still don’t know what the cause is. Some claim that placing a magnet near the camera can repair it for a short time, which can indicate a hardware failure. In any case, the volume of reports appears to be increasing.
The main topic of affected customers on the Pixel Phone help forums reached 800 comments, and about half of the reviews recently submitted on the Play Store appear to mention symptoms associated with the problem. This in itself is hardly a scientific metric, but combined with the overall decline in the app’s rating from 3.8 to 3.3 stars since October 2019 and a spot check between previous reviews for those who mention similar symptoms, and complaints about the problem seem to be arising above.
The Play Store rating dropped last year, and reports are increasingly mentioning this problem.
Most reports that name a device are called Pixel 2, which seems to be the most affected by this problem, but there are some reports for the Pixel 3, 3a and 4 series as well. Although we have followed the reports since it started affecting more devices last year, the latest Pixel devices do not appear to be affected (yet?).
We contacted Google for more information about the problem and if something new came to light about the problem, and we were informed that there are no known application software or camera stability issues from operating system software that may cause these pixel problems. Instead, the company offered hardware failures as a potential explanation – due to wear and tear over time or abuse, such as physical damage or falls. Paired with Pixel’s regular update schedule, a hardware issue can be attributed to the most visible software changes, even if there is no connection. The company invites affected people to contact Google customer support to explore their options.
Previously, people affected by the problem who were still under warranty received RMA replacements, but you may be worse off if your phone is beyond the support window – although Google is known to make exceptions.
- Source:
- Game store; Twitter; Pixel smartphone help forum: (1),
- (two),
- (3),
- Reddit: (1),
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- (3),
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- (8)