iPod / iPhone: Camera shutter will not open; how to fix

November 10, 2011

How-to

Several people have reported a problem where the camera shutter stays closed and frozen while the camera app is still open.

How to Fix Camera Shutter

Some users have reported that their device was replaced by a new device after they contacted Apple support about this issue. This indicates that this is in fact a hardware issue. So if you are having this issue, you may want to contact Apple, especially if the fixes below do not work for you.

Or you may try the following fixes:

  •  Some users have reported that covering the front facing camera with a finger results in opening the shutter. However, you may come across the same issue the next time you open the camera.
  • Turn your device off and on again by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds.
  • Try resetting all settings on your iPod Touch: Settings > General > Reset. Note that this will reset all of your preferences and settings but this will not affect all your data and media.
, , , ,

8 Responses to “iPod / iPhone: Camera shutter will not open; how to fix”

  1. Talat Says:

    All steps done,still shutter not opening.when perfect/solid solution is found please let me know.both front and back cameras also replaced still shutter not working.
    Thanks

    Reply

  2. MLangston Says:

    YES!!!! That did it!! Didn’t have to reload any apps, music or well, anything! Just did the Reset, went through the initial iPhone config wizard (country, language, Apple legal agreement, etc.), and that was it!!

    By the way, did this on an iPhone 4 running latest iOS 5. Still have an issue with the front facing camera but don’t use it much anyway. So long as I can use the back camera (the one that matters) I’m good. Thanks for the tip!!

    Reply

  3. Nikki Says:

    All I had to do as put my finger over the lens ! YES ! So glad i didnt have to do all the other stuff

    Reply

  4. Me me me Says:

    I just shut it down and restarted ipod and it worked.

    Reply

  5. person Says:

    i tried it all and it dosent work… what should i do?

    Reply

  6. Jon Says:

    Having the same problem, I tried covering the camera lense on front, and saw the button flicker that switches to front or back camera, I tapped that and it let me back into prompting for location services to be on. Tried the faceing camera side and it did it again, virtual shutter locked up, this time the little button that switches is gone.

    Reply

  7. jake Says:

    water damage, camra, app store, message, and wifi don’t work what should i do

    Reply

  8. Fixed it myself Says:

    This didn’t work for me. I even did a restore to factory settings. Genius Bar tech told me that my phone was 24 days out of warranty and would have to pay $60 to “try” to fix the phone, $149 to replace it, or $199/$299 to upgrade to 4S (because I qualified). Decided to wait it out a bit before I did anything. On a whim, I decided to try FaceTime tonight and was shocked that the camera worked. Immediately I switched over to the camera and VOILA…it works!!!! Thank god I didn’t spend the $$$.

    Reply

Leave a Reply