Have you ever found yourself in a breathtaking location, eager to capture the perfect shot with your Galaxy Note 20 so you can share it to the world—but then the camera misbehaves? I certainly have, and let me tell you, it’s more than just a tad disheartening.
Now that you’re aware camera hiccups can strike at the worst possible moment, let’s take a quick peek at the array of perplexing problems your Note 20 camera might throw your way when you’re yearning to capture that unforgettable shot:
- The camera shuts down as soon as you launch it
- Focus issues make your shots less than crystal clear
- Blurry photos become the bane of your photography
- The dreaded “Camera Failed” error message appears
- A black screen with the message “You cannot use more than one application using the camera at the same time” pops up
The list of potential camera quandaries could be much longer, but fret not! In this post, we’ll delve into 10 tried-and-true solutions to help you conquer your camera issues on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series.
Read on so you can get back to snapping those picture-perfect moments without a hitch.
FIX 1. Close the camera and other apps
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 10 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
For most of your Samsung Galaxy Note 20’s camera issues, closing the app should be sufficient to return it to its working condition. This action works primarily with simple problems, such as the camera app immediately closing as you open it.
After all, minor issues like this are often due to insignificant system bugs and glitches that emerge due to temporary data your phone stores during use. Thus, closing your phone’s camera and other backgrounds is enough to fix these minor issues.
It’s because closing an app may delete its temporary data, allowing it to refresh and renew its running instance. Plus, this works well for a solution since it’s simple, especially as a first attempt at troubleshooting your faulty Galaxy Note 20.
| Step 1: Click your Samsung Galaxy Note 20’s recent apps button.  |
| Step 2: Swipe your phone’s camera app upward to close it or press Close All to stop every background up simultaneously.  |
| Step 3: Re-open your phone’s camera app to check whether it works.  |
FIX 2. Reset your phone’s camera app settings
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
Like any phone app, your camera’s settings configuration influences how it behaves when used on your Samsung Galaxy Note 20. As such, it’s essential not to change its settings too much unless you know what you’re doing.
Otherwise, your terrible configurations could be why your Galaxy Note 20 has camera issues. In cases where the camera isn’t focusing well and producing blurry photos, your best recourse is to revert the prior changes to its settings.
Unfortunately, reverting all your camera settings can be time-consuming and confusing. Therefore, we suggest using your camera app’s reset button to restore its configuration to the default factory settings in one fell swoop.
| Step 1: Launch your Samsung Galaxy Note 20’s Camera app.  |
| Step 2: Click its cog icon to open its settings menu.  |
| Step 3: Scroll down and press Reset Settings.  |
Step 4: Click Reset. |
FIX 3. Restart your phone
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
Restarting your Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is among the easiest ways to troubleshoot its faulty camera app. Since apps can malfunction due to system-related bugs and errors, rebooting your phone in this manner should be your go-to fix.
Not only will this fix your Note 20 camera issue, but you can do so without the risk of data loss. After all, the restart sequence only soft resets your phone to let it refresh its system memory and correct minor errors.
| Step 1: Press and simultaneously hold the volume down and power buttons on your Galaxy Note 20.  |
| Step 2: Release these buttons when your phone screen displays the Samsung Galaxy logo.  |
| Step 3: Wait until the Galaxy Note 20 completes the restart and check whether its camera app works again.  |
FIX 4. Update the camera
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 A working internet connection |
What differentiates Samsung from other phone developers is their care for their built-in system apps. In particular, they even have updates for the camera app, receiving quality-of-life changes every time a new iteration of One UI is available for download.
As such, you can always expect your Galaxy Note 20’s camera app to have the latest features and a modern menu layout. Above all, it helps the app perform better, which is crucial for preventing camera issues on your Samsung phone.
It’s the most significant reason the “camera failed” error message is more uncommon nowadays. Plus, even if it were to happen, updating your phone’s camera app will likely fix this error anyway.
Step 1: Open your Samsung phone’s Galaxy Store app. |
| Step 2: Press the burger menu in the Galaxy Store’s upper-left corner.  |
Step 3 Open its Updates menu. |
| Step 4: Press Update beside your desired Samsung system app or select Update All to download and install all available updates simultaneously.  Note: If you don’t see the camera app on the list, you may have its latest version already, or there isn’t any update for it. If you have third-party camera apps, update them from your phone’s Google Play Store. |
FIX 5. Clear the camera app’s cache and data
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 20 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 A working internet connection |
Regarding temporary data, your Galaxy Note 20’s camera app also stores them during use to make its processes smoother. Unfortunately, it may instead cause your phone to malfunction since temporary data can become corrupted over time.
Therefore, it’s best to consider clearing your phone’s temporary files to prevent its corrupt data from causing your Galaxy Note 20 a camera issue. Additionally, you improve the camera app’s performance, helping it avoid further errors and blunders.
| Step 1: Press and hold your Samsung Galaxy Note 20’s Camera app to view additional options.  |
Step 2: Go to your phone’s app info. |
Step 3: Go to Storage. |
| Step 4: Press the options to Clear Data or Clear Cache on your Galaxy Note 20.  |
FIX 6. Boot your Galaxy Note 20 into safe mode
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 1 minute and 50 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
Believe it or not, other app errors may stop your Samsung Galaxy Note’s camera from working correctly. Thus, you must always ensure you have no faulty apps running on your phone, which might be why your camera app is acting up.
That’s why booting your Samsung phone into safe mode is an excellent way to check whether a troublesome app is behind your faulty camera. This way, you can determine if you need to uninstall an app to fix your Galaxy Note 20’s camera issue.
After all, the newest app on your phone often triggers it to malfunction. You can tell whether this is the case if your Galaxy Note 20’s camera starts malfunctioning right after you install the culprit app.
| Step 1: Press and simultaneously hold the volume down and power buttons on your Galaxy Note 20.  |
| Step 2: Release only the power button when your phone screen turns off, and keep holding the volume down button until you see the Samsung Galaxy logo.  |
Step 3: Wait for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 to boot into safe mode. Note: It’s normal to fail in booting your Samsung Galaxy Note 20 into safe mode due to incorrectly timing the button press. Thus, you must repeat steps 1 to 3 to get it right. |
| Step 4: Check whether its camera app works again. |
| Step 5: Press and simultaneously hold the volume down and power buttons on your Galaxy Note 20 to force a reboot.  Note: Release these buttons when your phone screen displays the Samsung Galaxy logo. |
| Step 6: Uninstall the newest apps on your Galaxy Note 20 and confirm whether this fixes the camera. |
FIX 7. Reset app preferences
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
Sometimes, you may encounter an error message that says more than one app can’t simultaneously use your phone’s camera, causing it to close automatically.
It can happen due to multiple apps having permission to use the camera in the background.
As a result, your Galaxy Note 20 may suffer from a black screen error, preventing you from using the camera app. In such cases, your only option is to revoke the app permissions for using your phone’s camera.
Unfortunately, doing this for each app can be tedious, so resetting your phone’s app preferences is better. This way, all app permissions are reset to their default configuration simultaneously.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Go to Apps. |
| Step 3: Open the kebab menu to view additional app settings.  |
Step 4: Select “Reset app preferences.” |
Step 5: Click Reset. |
FIX 8. Reset your phone’s settings
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
The camera aside, you can also reset your Samsung phone’s settings configuration. This action lets you address your Galaxy Note 20’s camera issues caused by terrible device settings.
However, since checking every setting on your phone can get tedious, resetting them all is also your best option. Doing so should help fix issues like the camera app closing automatically or producing blurry photos due to poor focusing.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Open General Management. |
Step 3: Go to Reset. |
Step 4: Click “Reset all settings.” |
Step 5: Click Reset settings. |
Step 6: Click Reset. |
FIX 9. Wipe the cache partition
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 1 minute and 30 seconds |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
When it comes to temporary data, the best way to delete them is through wiping your phone’s cache partition. This action should fix the errors behind your phablet’s camera issues due to corrupt temporary data and cached memory.
The only downside is that wiping the cache partition isn’t a permanent solution. After all, your phone will continue storing temporary data that can corrupt over time, forcing you to keep using this troubleshooting method.
| Step 1: Press and simultaneously hold the volume down and power buttons on your Galaxy Note 20 until it turns off.  |
| Step 2: Press and simultaneously hold the volume up and power buttons on your Galaxy Note 20 until you see the Samsung Galaxy logo.  |
| Step 3: Wait for your Galaxy Note 20 to load the Android Recovery menu.  |
Step 4: Select “Wipe cache partition.” |
Step 5: Click Yes. |
| Step 6: Wait for your Galaxy Note 20 to complete the cache wipe.  |
| Step 7: Select “Reboot system now” to let your Galaxy Note 20 restart its system.  |
| Step 8: Test your Galaxy Note 20’s camera after the reboot to confirm whether it works. |
FIX 10. Factory reset your phone
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 7 |
| Time to Perform Fix | 3 minutes |
| Things Needed | A Samsung Galaxy Note 20 |
Unfortunately, wiping the cache partition can’t delete all harmful files that can cause your Galaxy Note 20’s camera issues. For instance, you can only remove malware and viruses that infect your Samsung phone via a factory reset.
This solution is advisable if none of the abovementioned tricks successfully fix your faulty camera app. However, you must note that resetting your phone to factory settings will delete all your essential data, files, and non-system apps.
WARNING: Reserve a copy of your essential files, apps and phone preferences as a factory reset deletes these.
Thus, reserving this as your last resort is best after trying all your troubleshooting options. Thankfully, Samsung has a cloud service that lets you back up user data, so you only need to reinstall your apps upon factory resetting your Galaxy Note 20.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Open General Management. |
Step 3: Go to Reset. |
Step 4: Click “Factory data reset.” |
Step 5: Click Reset. |
Step 6: Enter your pin. |
| Step 7: Click “Delete All” and restore your Samsung phone’s factory defaults.  |
