Seeing a black screen in your Camera app? Try these fixes.
- aug
- 28
Trying to take a photo with the Camera app, but encountering a black screen instead? Here's how to fix it!
Our iPhones are great cameras, and for many of us, it's our primary device for taking photos. And we take photos of everything — from food to group photos for special occasions to spontaneous moments with family and friends, and even little ones. All of these moments matter, but sometimes, you may get interrupted with a technical glitch, like a black screen in the Camera app, and then that special moment is gone. I've experienced this issue a few times myself in the past, and it's certainly annoying! While that moment won't come back, you can fix the black screen issue in the Camera app if you come across it. Here's how.
Of course, the first thing you should do is to make sure that nothing was actually covering the camera lens on your iPhone (hey, it happens!) If there's nothing obstructing the lens, then let's try the following.
Jump to:
- 1. Close and restart the Camera app
- 2. Switch between the front and rear cameras
- 3. Make sure VoiceOver is turned off
- 4. Reboot the phone
- 5. Update to the latest software
- 6. Try a reset
- 7. Contact Apple Support
1. Close and restart the Camera app
While Apple's motto is "it just works," sometimes it doesn't. Apple isn't perfect, so its operating systems certainly aren't immune to errors every now and then — sometimes they aren't properly loaded up when launched. In this case, you should try force quitting out of the Camera app and launch it again. This is how the black screen in the Camera app issue usually resolves for me.
How to force quit apps on iPhone and iPad
2. Switch between the front and rear cameras
Sometimes, the black screen in the Camera app can be resolved by just switching between the rear and front-facing selfie camera. The black screen could be caused by the app not loading properly, and each time you switch cameras, it forces the app to load again, so this could help. Another suggestion is to try seeing if a third-party camera or video app works, such as Instagram or Snapchat.
How to switch from the rear-facing to front-facing camera on your iPhone or iPad
3. Make sure VoiceOver is turned off
For some reason, VoiceOver seems to cause some glitches with the Camera app, so if you have it on, it's a good time to try turning it off to see if it solves your issue.
- Launch Settings on your iPhone.
Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
- Tap VoiceOver.
Tap the toggle to OFF (gray).
How to use VoiceOver on iPhone and iPad
4. Reboot the phone
If the other steps so far have not alleviated the problem of the black screen in the Camera app, then you should try rebooting your iPhone. A good reboot of the hardware fixes a myriad of issues, and could just be what your phone needs. After all, a reboot refreshes the device memory and clears caches.
How to reboot and reset your iPhone or iPad
5. Update to the latest software
If you're running an older version of iOS, then you may be experiencing glitches and bugs that may be patched in newer versions of the OS. It's important to keep your hardware up-to-date with the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS. Not only do new versions of iOS and iPadOS patch previous issues, but they also make your device more secure and less vulnerable to security exploits.
How to download and install the latest iOS on your iPhone
How to download and install the latest iPadOS on your iPad
6. Try a reset
And when all else fails and you're still seeing a black screen in the Camera app, you may need to try resetting your iPhone or iPad back to factory settings. If default factory settings does not work, the next step would be to erase all data and reset the phone — start off with a clean slate, basically. However, these are last resort steps, and should only be used when everything else has failed. If you end up having to erase all of your data and resetting the phone, then make sure that you have a backup first.
How to reset all of your iPhone's settings
How to erase and restore your iPhone
How to back up your iPhone or iPad
7. Contact Apple Support
If you have tried everything in this guide and still have the black screen in Camera app problem, then it may be an issue with your hardware. The only way to fix that is to contact Apple Support, or take it to an authorized repair center to see what they can do.
How to contact Apple Support for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch