Top 6 Ways to Fix Camera Focus Not Working on Android

Basic Fixes

• Check for Physical Damage: Before starting, it’s important to ensure that this isn’t a hardware issue. Make sure to remove the phone case, closely inspect the camera at the back, and check for any physical damage to the phone. If the camera module has been damaged physically, you should immediately consult with the service center.
• Ensure the Phone Isn’t Heating Up: The latest high-end Android CPU offerings from Qualcomm and Exynos are prone to overheating during long video recording or gaming sessions. The focus might fail to work if you use the camera during high temperatures. In such a scenario, you should wait for a few minutes and let the phone cool down
• Avoid Using Social Media Apps: Social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok simply screenshot the camera view when taking pictures. Unlike iPhones, these apps don’t integrate well with the phone’s camera app on Android. You should use your phone’s Camera app to take pictures and then upload them to Instagram and Snapchat.

How to Fix Camera Focus Not Working on Android

1. Force Quit and Relaunch the Camera App

When the Camera app acts up, you can close it completely, relaunch it, and try using it again. That might give it a fresh start on your Android. To do that, long-press on the Camera app icon and tap on App info. Then, tap on Force Stop. Finally, relaunch the Camera app to see if it can focus properly.

Fix 2: Use Pro Mode

If the Camera app doesn’t focus on the main subject automatically, you can tap on the main object and switch focus. Additionally, on some Android phones, you can switch to the Pro mode and manually adjust focus for better photography. For instance, here’s what the Pro Mode in OnePlus and vivo smartphones look like.

Fix 3: Try Using Macro Mode

When the subject is near your camera lens, the primary camera lens can’t focus on the object correctly. Thankfully, some Android smartphones come with a dedicated Macro lens to shoot these images. Alternatively, other devices use the Ultrawide lens to shoot macro images effectively. In either case, you will have to enable the Macro Mode from the camera settings.

For OnePlus users, open the Camera app and tap on the three-dot menu in the top right corner. Next, open Settings, and enable ‘Auto macro’ mode. Similarly, Samsung’s One UI Camera app also offers a similar option inside its settings to enable macro mode.

Now, whenever the Camera app detects a close object, it automatically switches to the macro mode.

Fix 4: Use Night Mode

Night mode is a standard feature among most Android phones. When you deal with challenging lighting conditions, the primary camera might face a hard time keeping the subject in focus. You can switch to night mode and capture the scene without any focusing issues.

When you move to the night mode, the system will open the camera shutter for a long time to gather more light and deliver a better result. Most Android camera apps will detect low-light scenes and offer to use the night mode.

Fix 5: Try Third-Party Camera Apps

If you are still having issues with the native Camera app on Android, you should try installing GCam on your phone. Google Camera’s post-processing algorithm is one of the best in the industry. First, you must confirm if your phone supports GCam and follow XDA Developer’s dedicated guide to install the app.

Alternatively, there are plenty of other third-party camera apps available on the Google Play Store. Some of the best recommendations are:

• Open Camera
• VSCO
• Camera FV-5

Fix 6: Update Android Software

Chances are that the focus issue you’re facing with the camera app is merely a bug caused by a faulty software update. Thankfully, Android phone makers like Samsung, Google, and OnePlus regularly release monthly security patches with bug fixes.

These companies fix camera misbehaves with monthly patches. You should head to Settings and install the latest software update to improve the camera experience.