[Q] camera issues - Nexus 6 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've tried browsing the forums, and even locating the post talking about the fix for the camera, and I simply can't find it. I really don't want to go without a phone seeing as my job requires my phone, but it really sucks not having a camera or a flashlight toggle.
I've seen some people that have indicated its a physical issue, however, it sporadically starts working again. Note: I would like to avoid doing the super data wipe as I'm also having computer issues at the same time. If someone needs me to post a catalog, I will need help Learning what to filter out in order to upload only the necessary info.
I've tried wiping the data through twrp advanced wipe, and of course the dalvik cache has been wiped many-a-time. Any help would be appreciated!

Um...I don't think you even explain you problem. Might want to elaborate a bit.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

No matter what ROM I use, no matter what camera I try to install, I cannot get it to consistently work. More often than not, cannot connect to camera. I feel like its a setting or file sticking on the "SD card" that is interfering. I also cannot use the flashlight toggle, and parts of Google+ and gallery crash at times. This has been intermittently occurring since my first flash. Blissful ROM v1.7 twrp 2.8.4.0
Tried every wipe except for the one that makes me type yes. I've already flashed boot.IMG to disable decryption, and I'm starting to think that may have something to do with it.
I was under the impression I had twrp 2.8.4.0, but after double checking, it looks like it was stuck on 2.8.2.1. I flashed the newer version from twrp manager, and now my camera is working. I didn't do anything other than install the new recovery. And yes I've tried rebooting my phone in the past. This may be a temporary fix, but I'll report back tomorrow on whether it is still working. This is very odd.

Andddddddd it stopped working again. Super legit.

Might be similar to my issue.
My camera started only showing front facing..even the option for back facing wasn't there. Did wipes in recovery and app settings. Would work, it seemed, but would revert right back to not working. At one point the camera app wasn't appearing in the app drawer at all even though it was shown in "all apps".
This occurred on stock and custom ROMs. I was advised to try flashing factory IMG but I'm well within the warranty period ( phone less than 2weeks) so I'm locking it back up and have a replacement on the way from ATT...
* I also noticed the issue starting while I was on bliss ROM 1.7
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

My camera is really shaky and won't focus correctly in landscape mode. I returned the first phone I had for basically the same thing because it wasn't focusing in portrait mode but looked fine in landscape. I haven't seen anyone else have this issue. At first I thought the camera was inconsistent but if you zoom in you can see that it doesn't focus properly.

I'm starting to wonder why there are so many people experiencing the same or similar camera issues. The only reason I'm starting to think that it is software based and not entirely hardware based is because I was having this same issue (cannot connect to camera) on my sgs5 with cm based Roms.
I'm not saying any of this makes sense, its just strange. I wish we could help troubleshoot what the root of this problem is instead of just RMAing the device. I'm afraid to RMA with T-Mobile.

you better do it before its too late. id rma it.

cellularticulate said:
No matter what ROM I use, no matter what camera I try to install, I cannot get it to consistently work. More often than not, cannot connect to camera. I feel like its a setting or file sticking on the "SD card" that is interfering. I also cannot use the flashlight toggle, and parts of Google+ and gallery crash at times. This has been intermittently occurring since my first flash. Blissful ROM v1.7 twrp 2.8.4.0
Tried every wipe except for the one that makes me type yes. I've already flashed boot.IMG to disable decryption, and I'm starting to think that may have something to do with it.
I was under the impression I had twrp 2.8.4.0, but after double checking, it looks like it was stuck on 2.8.2.1. I flashed the newer version from twrp manager, and now my camera is working. I didn't do anything other than install the new recovery. And yes I've tried rebooting my phone in the past. This may be a temporary fix, but I'll report back tomorrow on whether it is still working. This is very odd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no sdcard.
Try going back to factory sysimage, and data wipe.
Are you using any "added in" camera software? If so, what?

cellularticulate said:
I'm starting to wonder why there are so many people experiencing the same or similar camera issues. The only reason I'm starting to think that it is software based and not entirely hardware based is because I was having this same issue (cannot connect to camera) on my sgs5 with cm based Roms.
I'm not saying any of this makes sense, its just strange. I wish we could help troubleshoot what the root of this problem is instead of just RMAing the device. I'm afraid to RMA with T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similar issue. Get errors "Unfortunately, camera has stopped" or "cannot connect to camera." I picked up the phone right before a 2 week vacation so unfortunately I can't bring back to AT&T. Hopefully Moto plays nice. Problems originally occurred on stock 5.0 before the 5.0.1 update. Since AT&T was lagging on OTA, I flashed to the official BlissPop rom but I have the same problems. Sometimes it'll work like it's supposed to for a couple days but always reverts back to the errors. Nothing like being at the top of a mountain in Hawaii and "cannot connect to camera" right????Since I've read about this happening on so many different firmware variations, I have to believe it's a hardware issue.

I have only had issues with the stock camera app. Ive been running Pure Shamu for 2.5 weeks now and only using the Google Camera app from the play store (the one with HDR+ and the icon has the lens filled with rainbow colors) with absolutely no issues and only getting excellent quality pictures.

Had the issue where the camera wouldn't focus and everything on the screen gets jiggly and wavy like there's some sort of interference. I had motion sickness looking at the screen. Called Moto for an advance replacement and after a week of delay due to stock issue...somehow they were kind enough to upgrade me to a CW 64gb model. I hope it's new and no more camera issues.

Has everyone who got the 'no-focuse OIS' issue gotten new phone on RMA?
I took mine to repair few days ago and they said that they won't give me a new phone instantly, rather they try to fix the OIS. Not sure how that is going to work..?
They also suggested that this issue might be "self inflicted" or just an "feature" of the camera itself. fml.

Giants2010 said:
Similar issue. Get errors "Unfortunately, camera has stopped" or "cannot connect to camera." I picked up the phone right before a 2 week vacation so unfortunately I can't bring back to AT&T. Hopefully Moto plays nice. Problems originally occurred on stock 5.0 before the 5.0.1 update. Since AT&T was lagging on OTA, I flashed to the official BlissPop rom but I have the same problems. Sometimes it'll work like it's supposed to for a couple days but always reverts back to the errors. Nothing like being at the top of a mountain in Hawaii and "cannot connect to camera" right????Since I've read about this happening on so many different firmware variations, I have to believe it's a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned mine to stock, unroot/locked boot loader, factory reset, before shipping it off and the camera issue was still there. Maybe hardware related I'm thinking.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Something rather peculiar Ive noticed...
I didn't really pinpoint this until today, but the camera very consistently starts working when you go into fastboot, load the recovery, and then boot into system. I'm really, sincerely not quite sure why this would be happening, but I still feel like it has something to do with boot.IMG
If any devs can point me in the right direction to try and track down the possibility of this being an issue, I'd love to potentially fix a bunch of people's camera issues (albeit there is probably also a hardware defect direct from moto).
Is logcat going to pick up on issues that originate from boot?

cellularticulate said:
I've tried browsing the forums, and even locating the post talking about the fix for the camera, and I simply can't find it. I really don't want to go without a phone seeing as my job requires my phone, but it really sucks not having a camera or a flashlight toggle.
I've seen some people that have indicated its a physical issue, however, it sporadically starts working again. Note: I would like to avoid doing the super data wipe as I'm also having computer issues at the same time. If someone needs me to post a catalog, I will need help Learning what to filter out in order to upload only the necessary info.
I've tried wiping the data through twrp advanced wipe, and of course the dalvik cache has been wiped many-a-time. Any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a hardware issue. Check http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/camera-lens-movement-t2984298

rdizzle707 said:
This is a hardware issue. Check http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/camera-lens-movement-t2984298
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not the issue I'm explaining though. This is a bit more deeply seeded of an issue. When I boot directly into the ROM, my twrp installer says I'm back on 2.8.2.1, but when I boot into fastboot and then twrp, and then ROM, it says 2.8.4.0 and my camera works. This is legitimately weird as ****.

cellularticulate said:
Not the issue I'm explaining though. This is a bit more deeply seeded of an issue. When I boot directly into the ROM, my twrp installer says I'm back on 2.8.2.1, but when I boot into fastboot and then twrp, and then ROM, it says 2.8.4.0 and my camera works. This is legitimately weird as ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohhh man that is weird.

rdizzle707 said:
This is a hardware issue. Check http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/help/camera-lens-movement-t2984298
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rdizzle707 said:
Ohhh man that is weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears a bit more stable now. I tried flashing twrp from my computer and it seems to be a bit more nice. That and normal reboot to twrp doesn't say 2.8.2.1 - let me check twrp manager now.
And my camera and flashlight have worked for almost three days now. Dafuq.

Same issue. "Unfortunately, Camera has stopped."
No flash light available, only front camera working, clicking on HDR exits the app with the aforementioned error message.
Has anyone solved this issue?
I was on 5.1 stock (with root) and now I've updated to 5.1.1, but with no change to the Camera behaviour.

Related

Non ROM Specific Camera Issue

I've been scouring the forums in hopes of a fix for my problem (the G1 Q&A and the Android Development forums). In my searches I have found 10-20 people who have had this similar problem, specifically, a force close whenever I (we) attempt to use the camera.
I'm %90 positive this is a software issue. I have had this phone (my 3rd one) for a few months now, and never have I had any issues with the camera, i actually use the video cam fairly often. Anyways...I decided a while back to root and flash Cyanogen's latest ROM, with the latest radio (posted a few days ago) and the Death SPL. Once i completed this, I was met with an instant force close when attempting to use my camera.
I have actually wiped and installed Cyanogen's ROM 2x, (the 2 latest versions), I have also installed KingKlick latest ROM, neither of these, coupled with countless different configurations has solved the problem. I have attached a small snippet of the last log I pulled. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I also forgot to mention (and this might be completely wrong), I did restore the 1.5 image from the SPL, rebooted the phone, and the camera still didn't work, it didn't force close, just hung like it was trying to boot. I have also used the latest Super D ROM and I'm experiencing the same issue.
With my minimal knowledge, only one thing in the log jumped out at me, or, should I say I only saw one thing that I understood.
"X: /dev/msm_camera/control0 open failed: No such file or directory!"
Please help, this is a major deal for a number of people, every time it's posted, people just seem to ignore it.
Download Camera Magik from the market. If the problem is software related, then using a different camera app could be the solution. I like camera magik because is takes better pictures at low lights then the stock and the ability to zoom, but you can try any other app. Another suggestion is trying a sense based rom and using HTC camera. GL
I guess I should have said Kernel based as opposed to software based. I tried Camera Magic as well as one other new type of photo software, Camera Magic FC's, the other one opens, but, the camera never turns on.
Do you have any other apps that use camera(i.e barcode scanner, shopsavy)? You may have to uninstall and re-install. Did you wipe in-between roms? Try clearing your rotation settings from recovery, that may sort it out (I know it's a long shot). Other then that, email whoever's rom you're using directly with that log, they may be able to help you a lot faster then any of us regular folks can
Good luck
try a complete super duper wipe.
start from rc29, nonrooted. see if the camera works. if it does, start the root-rom process and check at certain intervals. if it doesnt work when your not rooted and on the stock original firmware, then its gotta be the phone. did it ever work before? i know you said this is your 3rd phone. has it ever worked on this particular phone?
First off, the camera/video has worked on all 3 of my phones, the 1st one had to be replaced because the keyboard went out, and, the 2nd one just kept randomly rebooting, the 3rd hasn't had any problems what so ever until my first root, which was Stock 2 Cyanogen.
So, I went back to RC29 unrooted and experienced a different problem. The camera didn't FC, but, it hung indefinitely at a black screen (kind of a dark grey). Unfortunately, for some reason the system option to force update to cupcake wasn't available, so, after 5hrs of waiting, I went back to root SuperD.

Droid4 Stock ICS Bugs

All,
We don't have an ICS Bugs thread going on. I wanted to check with some of the people here on XDA to see if they are experiencing what I am. Currently on .213, but most of these bugs I've seen since the begining. Oh, I'm also in Canada running on 3G HSPA+. I'm stock, but rooted with safestrap installed.
1) When placing a phone call, the phone hangs up immediately (you here the disconnected beep), then retries the phone call a few seconds later (it always succeeds). I have tried this on a freshly wiped phone and found the same experience. I have also tried disabling the Assisted Dialing, but have found ikt's the same thing
2) When using Google Chrome, if there is a input box, most of the time my keyboard won't appear (I'm using Swype as my default keyboard)
3) Phone runs hot sometimes, and when it's running hot it slows down to a halt. Usually happens after a day or two without a restart
4) My photo doesn't appear in the text messaging app (worked in AOKP/CM9 on my D3, as well as it works on my gf's Nexus S)
The only bug I noticed was that it initially booted up in global mode, and wouldn't connect to 4G/CDMA. Switching it to CDM+LTE fixed the issue and I haven't seen a bug since (213).:good:
podspi said:
The only bug I noticed was that it initially booted up in global mode, and wouldn't connect to 4G/CDMA. Switching it to CDM+LTE fixed the issue and I haven't seen a bug since (213).:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your chrome working properly? Specifically the bug I mentioned in the OP...?
I didn't comment on that because I use Opera
Just tried the Chrome Beta now just to see, and I can confirm I am seeing the same behavior. I use Swiftkey, so it isn't a Swype-specific bug either.
What exactly is the difference between Chrome and the built-in browser? Aren't they both Webkit-based? Why is Google bothering to work on both?
podspi said:
I didn't comment on that because I use Opera
Just tried the Chrome Beta now just to see, and I can confirm I am seeing the same behavior. I use Swiftkey, so it isn't a Swype-specific bug either.
What exactly is the difference between Chrome and the built-in browser? Aren't they both Webkit-based? Why is Google bothering to work on both?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chrome is way faster at many things since it users hardware acceleration for video. Does text input work properly on opera?
Sent from my XT894 running ICS
I'm in the US also running .213
I haven't noticed any bugs, its working fine for me. I do not use chrome beta so I can't comment on that. The stock is not too bad, I don't use it much anyways.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
danifunker said:
Chrome is way faster at many things since it users hardware acceleration for video. Does text input work properly on opera?
Sent from my XT894 running ICS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Text entry works fine in both the stock browser and Opera. BTW, Opera also has hardware acceleration, which is why it never worked in any of the Frankbuilds of ICS based off the GB kernel ... So you can have your teh snappy and type with it too :laugh:
I'm on the 212 build and i can't screencap using power + volume down.
Is this fixed in 213 or am i just doing it wrong?
Also on 212 i can't control the default google music app or winamp from my bluetooth headset when the screen is off. I could do this before with the same version of the winamp app when i was back on gingerbread. I tried upgrading winamp, but that did nothing. Is there any change in 213?
Thanks ahead of time
Edit: just tried it and the volume down + power combo worked. Lol
One question, possible thought to ponder.
Are the bugs being described here really bugs of Android 4 or are they bugs in the individual app itself not being fully compatible with Android 4 yet?
Do similar bugs happen on a non-motorola device with android 4?
I'm considering flashing one of the leaks, so I'm trying to understand how you are sure these are ics bugs before I make the leap and run into issues.
Thanks.
Apologies if this constitutes hijacking the thread, if it does let me know and I"ll edit it to delete the question.
I was able to figure out bug #4, I had to login with my Google+ account again, since the update yesterday everything seems to be working fine.
Bugs 1 through 3 still exist, although I've switched off Global mode for now and put it to GSM only, it seems like the phone runs a lot cooler in this mode.
Even after updating Chrome to the final version, I'm still experiencing that text input bug. Maybe it's a Motorola issue... Can't wait for the next version of the leak!
I have tasker reboot my phone every morning at 6am. The phone doesn't need to be rebooted every day, but it ensures that it is fresh and ready to go every morning :laugh:
Nothing more annoying than trying to do something with your phone and having to reboot it because it is slow for whatever reason.
podspi said:
I have tasker reboot my phone every morning at 6am. The phone doesn't need to be rebooted every day, but it ensures that it is fresh and ready to go every morning :laugh:
Nothing more annoying than trying to do something with your phone and having to reboot it because it is slow for whatever reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for this reason I think there will be other leaks, ICS is supposed to handle killing processes much better than GB, however the settings seem to not be aggressive enough in 213.
Probably there will be, though I likely won't update again for a while. Don't feel like losing all that data...
podspi said:
Probably there will be, though I likely won't update again for a while. Don't feel like losing all that data...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could just do what I do: once you have root install safestrap and then take a backup of your phone before flashing the upgrade.
Once you're all done upgrading, re-root and re-install safestrap, then do an advanced restore and only restore the data. Voilla, all your apps are back.
podspi said:
Probably there will be, though I likely won't update again for a while. Don't feel like losing all that data...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, just had a random reboot after watching a youtube video in firefox, most likely memory related, not sure who's fault though, Motorola or Firefox. gotta root and use system tuner to change memory mgmt states.
danifunker said:
You could just do what I do: once you have root install safestrap and then take a backup of your phone before flashing the upgrade.
Once you're all done upgrading, re-root and re-install safestrap, then do an advanced restore and only restore the data. Voilla, all your apps are back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a great idea. Though there hasn't been another leak since 213, so
Notification Bar Sticking/Wont Pull Down
I am on 212 currently, and I have noticed in 208 and 212 something that has happened only twice so far. Today, I just tried to check my notifications, and the bar will not pull down.
After a reboot it works fine, and it has only happened 2 times in the past couple weeks since the leaks first appeared.
Obviously it is a minor glitch, but just thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone else has seen it and overlooked it. :cyclops:
danifunker said:
You could just do what I do: once you have root install safestrap and then take a backup of your phone before flashing the upgrade.
Once you're all done upgrading, re-root and re-install safestrap, then do an advanced restore and only restore the data. Voilla, all your apps are back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have heard of a few others using this method successfully. If you are not using safestrap or just don't want to go this route take a look at the post link in my signature. It's a modified version of the original Droid 4 Utility and includes a script to jump from one ICS leak to another without losing data. It also flashes the GB files and the Kernel (boot.img) in one script, thus making it easier to go from one leak to another.
Regarding bugs, my wife got a razr yesterday. It wouldn't pull down the ICS update, so I just sideloaded it. We both run some of the same apps. So this gave me a chance to do side by side comparisons.The issue with some of the icons being small in the left top of the status seems to be a app issue. The chrome issue isn't present on the razr, of course there isn't a physical keyboard. Otherwise my 213 ICS seems to run great.
I found a new bug, it looks like GSM call forwarding doesn't work properly... at least it doesn't with my SIM card, I'm on Rogers in Canada.
Does Verizon support call forwarding? Does it work on there?
I have noticed in Chrome that pressing shift and then one of the symbol keys (like @) will only work if you hold the shift key.
More importantly I don't get notifications of app updates from google play. Check to see if you have any apps that need updating. Superuser had a update on July 1, dropbox yesterday and voodoo rootkeeper on June 28, I think. Anyone else?

Camera does not focus correctly - possibly software?

I have an SM-N910T flashed with Rapture 8.2 running 5.1.1 on baseband COG2.
I've been having trouble with the camera ever since I flashed any custom rom. Sometimes the stock camera fails to open and remains black and spits out "camera failed."
Sometimes it opens with a big delay and is unable to focus to anything. The only temporary fix is clearing the camera cache, and trying again. Even so It's impossible to take a photo without exiting several times.
I have noticed that whenever I boot my phone, I have a "Kernel is not seandroid enforcing" message that pops on the top left corner.
Could it possibly be that I have the wrong kernel interfering with the camera? I've booted in safemode and the issue persists.
Anyone experiencing something similar? I hope it's not hardware related.
ungraph said:
I have an SM-N910T flashed with Rapture 8.2 running 5.1.1 on baseband COG2.
I've been having trouble with the camera ever since I flashed any custom rom. Sometimes the stock camera fails to open and remains black and spits out "camera failed."
Sometimes it opens with a big delay and is unable to focus to anything. The only temporary fix is clearing the camera cache, and trying again. Even so It's impossible to take a photo without exiting several times.
I have noticed that whenever I boot my phone, I have a "Kernel is not seandroid enforcing" message that pops on the top left corner.
Could it possibly be that I have the wrong kernel interfering with the camera? I've booted in safemode and the issue persists.
Anyone experiencing something similar? I hope it's not hardware related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kernel message displayed on boot just signifies you have a custom kernel, which is required to run 5.1.1 on a COG2 base.
Suggestion: use Odin to flash back to stock 5.0.1 COG2. If the phone hangs on initial boot, pull battery, reboot to recovery (which should be stock), factory reset, and reboot. Then when phone finishes boot, see if your camera problems still persist. If not, it seems your phone doesn't like Rapture. If so, then it looks like it is a hardware issue.
It is not software problem really is hardware problem.
i hava same problem with my note 4 from T-Mobile.
to fast focus shake the phone.
If you can return it for a new one, do it. As I understood there was a batch of these that had that problem. I bought mine from Costco and returned three within the first three weeks. Shaking it fixes it which makes me belive it's hardware. But nothing you can do to fix it, belive me I tried.
I had a similar problem while being on FireKat v13. There was a partial fix post somewhere that told basically to remove almost all camera modes, etc. It sped things up for me. After I upgraded to Rapture, no problem at all. And I don't mess with the camera anymore by installing Samsung modes. Also, the whole camera operation became a lot faster.

Z3C/CM12.1 main camera no longer working / black screen

I'm using a Z3 compact with CM12.1, that means unlocked bootloader and no more warranty. All of sudden, the main/back camera has stopped working. It is black, OSD still working, front camera still working, other camera apps don't make a difference.
I don't know if that is a problem of some recent CM nightly or something else. Browsing the web I get the idea that this symptom also appears on stock firmware, and it seems that nobody has yet found a solution (neither factory reset nor hardware replacement of camera help).
My question:
Has somebody else this problem, is it CM related?
Is there a solution other than complete phone replacement?
Is there some logfile I might consult to find out if the camera HW should be replaced? I don't want to disassemble the phone only to find out that the camera still does not work.
Thanks!
Must be a software problem related to the nightlies unstableness.
Try flashing a stock firmware to see if it gets fixed.
I'd rather avoid going back to stock. Reverting to a previous CM nightly (from a time when the camera definitely worked) did not help.
Do you have any reports of CM nightlies problems with the camera? I'd love to hear that, because it would mean that I don't have hardware problems. However, searching the web I only found many reports of the camera suddenly stopping to work, but nothing that this is related with recent CM nightlies.
But if it's a Hardware problem, there should be a logfile somewhere, or?
just did trial and error on the same problem with the black camera for 2h
i did however not install CM to cause this
I have a custom debloated rom, which worked fine.
I had to switch phones so i did a TW recovery backup.
Changed the filename on the new phone so it is found when restoring.
Restored. Everything works well, except the camera app.
When i wipe from the systems menu i lose all my data but the camera app works again.
But of course i need my data exactly the way i had it backed up.
Tried all kinds of things around the camera app, backing and restoring with and without kernel, always the same.
Back camera stays black.
This is similar to other reports I found in the web: The hardware works (which means replacing the sensor is of no use), but somehow it is no longer accessible. I tried different hw info apps, which all report the back camera with all specs and no problems, but no camera app is able to get it to work. I flashed several new CM nigthlies since, it doesn't help
I don't really know how to read logs (with 3CToolbox), however this line caught my attention. Maybe somebody here can interpret it:
07:45:48.427 caladbolg( 301)
9530027 cald_parammgr_generic.c (4299) 301 E [PRM] Fail: camera eeprom status
Since my Kernel debugging skills are also not existent i simply factory reset it and transferred my data with titanium backup.
Everything works fine now.
So my advise is to stop wasting your time with it too, just go back to working software
Unfortunately reverting to stock firmware did not repair my camera. Afraid I have some hardware defect
No resolution to this problem it seems

Pixel 4XL Face Unlock

I couldnt find a solution or the same issue on the forums.. so here is my problem:
Pixel 4XLs face unlock is so bad. After a few unlocks the phone says "clean sensor". Rebooting usually does the job for a few hours.
I browsed the web and this error is common on so many Pixel 4/XL devices.
Is there a solution to this? Any CustomROM or Kernel solving this issue?
I am on stock kernel/ROM and wiped the whole thing before freshly installing Android 12.
Thanks!
Matzeus said:
I couldnt find a solution or the same issue on the forums.. so here is my problem:
Pixel 4XLs face unlock is so bad. After a few unlocks the phone says "clean sensor". Rebooting usually does the job for a few hours.
I browsed the web and this error is common on so many Pixel 4/XL devices.
Is there a solution to this? Any CustomROM or Kernel solving this issue?
I am on stock kernel/ROM and wiped the whole thing before freshly installing Android 12.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably a hardware issue. Find one of the many sensor testing apps and run it several times to identify a weak or defective sensor. There is not going to be a cleaning or software solution. If you do find a sensor not working 100%, do another clean wipe and test again before looking into replacement. Normally the FR on the P4 is extremely fast and accurate.
Thanks @v12xke for your reply!
To be honest, i dont think it's an hardware issue. See this link on the google forums: https://support.google.com/pixelpho...ing-the-dreaded-clean-the-top-of-screen?hl=en
There are countless other posts and threads about this error.
I should mention that the issue was there from time to time on Android 11 too. Looking at googles changelog, they tried to "fix" the issue in their updates. Nothing helped yet.
Matzeus said:
Thanks @v12xke for your reply!
To be honest, i dont think it's an hardware issue. See this link on the google forums: https://support.google.com/pixelpho...ing-the-dreaded-clean-the-top-of-screen?hl=en
There are countless other posts and threads about this error.
I should mention that the issue was there from time to time on Android 11 too. Looking at googles changelog, they tried to "fix" the issue in their updates. Nothing helped yet.
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Click to collapse
Google forums are a joke, this issue has *nothing* to do with Android11 or 12... and no, there is not a fix coming from anywhere. You're going to have to fix it yourself. Have you removed and re-added your facial profile at least once or twice since this started? Have you been able to replicate in safe mode? How can you know it is not a hardware issue if you don't test the sensors? It's just one step in the process of elimination. Try these and you may discover something you didn't know before.
v12xke said:
Google forums are a joke, this issue has *nothing* to do with Android11 or 12... and no, there is not a fix coming from anywhere. You're going to have to fix it yourself. Have you removed and re-added your facial profile at least once or twice since this started? Have you been able to replicate in safe mode? How can you know it is not a hardware issue if you don't test the sensors? It's just one step in the process of elimination. Try these and you may discover something you didn't know before.
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Click to collapse
How can you say google forums are a joke when literally hundreds of people are having the same issue? I dont want to believe that we all have hardware issues. Otherwise the hardware would be some hot garbage.
I removed and readded the face multiple times already.
I booted into safe mode. It works there. But like I said, it also works after a normal reboot for some hours/days before it needs a reboot again.
I also did test the sensors, no errors there. However my next step is to run the test when the error is present.
Any specific suggestion on which app I should use for testing?
Thanks again.
@Matzeus
No specific sensor app. Facial data is stored on the Titan M chip, and the only way I know to wipe that facial data and potentially fix it is by doing a factory reset from the stock recovery. Fastboot flashing will not wipe the Titan data and even from recovery is only a partial wipe. If you've ever had TWRP installed, there is a looong thread on broken face lock there. FDR from both recovery and setup would be my next suggestion.
@v12xke
In the past i ran the factory default from the system settings, didnt help. After that I used Googles "Android Flash Tool", which didnt help either.
Additional information: the device has never been rooted or anything. Always been on stock firmware.
Anyways, small update on the whole thing:
The issue occured again, I ran the app "Soli Sandbox" and it simply didnt do anything. So far so good.
After closing Soli Sandbox and clicking on the face unlock option in the system settings, magically everything worked properly again. Even without a reboot.
I am not sure what solved the error now..
I guess its safe to say, that all motion gestures stop working once the problem occurs.
Will keep this thread updated as I find out more.
I've had absolutely no major issues with my Pixel 4 XL's face unlock. I've upgraded from android 11 to 12 and still working perfectly. Yeah, i get the odd clean the bar notification but goes away after a bit and it just works.
The face unlock is fantastic on the Pixel 4 XL
The march update claims to have brought some improvements to Pixel 4s face unlock feature. At least thats what they say in the official changelog.
Biometrics
General improvements for face unlock stability & performance *[4]
Lets see if the problem is gone now. Will keep this thread updated.
sufy1000 said:
I've had absolutely no major issues with my Pixel 4 XL's face unlock. I've upgraded from android 11 to 12 and still working perfectly. Yeah, i get the odd clean the bar notification but goes away after a bit and it just works.
The face unlock is fantastic on the Pixel 4 XL
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It's uncannily good. I keep the phone upright in a cradle by my PC so I can monitor it, and all I have to do is turn my head to peek, and it unlocks every time. It's pretty amazing. I've never had a problem with it.
The last official update didnt help either. My hope for a fix from Google is gone.
-------------------
I have now installed LineageOS. Its been a week and Face Unlock is now working perfectly fine.
Will keep this thread updated in case anything stops working
Matzeus said:
The last official update didnt help either. My hope for a fix from Google is gone.
-------------------
I have now installed LineageOS. Its been a week and Face Unlock is now working perfectly fine.
Will keep this thread updated in case anything stops working
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Still going strong? And did you notice this issue on Android 10?
@puzzlefighter
Still on LineageOS 18.1, no Face Unlock issues since I installed the ROM.
I am honestly not quite sure if this issue occured on Android 10 already. But i think so, yeah.
Matzeus said:
@puzzlefighter
Still on LineageOS 18.1, no Face Unlock issues since I installed the ROM.
I am honestly not quite sure if this issue occured on Android 10 already. But i think so, yeah.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I've got a new 4 XL that definitely has this issue but I didn't spend much time with it before updating to 12 from 10. It's a real PITA. I've never installed a custom ROM, but thinking I may need to do what you've done as this is irritating af.
@puzzlefighter
Just go for it man.
I was so upset about face unlock and i regret that i didnt install a custom ROM earlier.
Share your results afterwards please if you installed a custom ROM
this is not a hardware problem, but a software one, it started with the release of android 12, the problem is not in the face unlock sensor, but in the proximity sensor, it sticks, as if it was closed with a finger, I use Pixel experience + 12, this firmware does not have this problem, I'm disappointed with google developers(

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